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aamethystash's review against another edition
2.0
this is a decent book yes but my gosh does it need trigger warnings , i read this book when i was 17 and i assumed it was just about a runaway i didn’t expect it to be so scary ? i feel like yes i understand the reading of why it got so dark but i will not read it again personally, i wouldn’t recommend unless you don’t get triggered from dark themes
lemmyrose's review against another edition
5.0
Warning: This review contains some light spoilers.
I don't give books 5 stars very often, but this book was breathtaking. Joy leaves her home and abusive boyfriend to live on the streets and find a homeless boy who once offered to help her. Being homeless, while completely different than she imagined, was still better than what she left behind.
This book blew me away. The characters are rich, full and realistic. They make mistakes, do stupid things, feel fear and embarrassment and all other sorts of genuine qualities. The main character, Joy, is very true to character in the way that she plays the part of a victim trying to break free of her abuser. She is very lovable and heartbreaking. I wanted her to be happy so very much.
Alert: This book is pretty graphic. It mentions a lot of drug and alcohol use along with rape, violence and self-injury. There are a lot of swear words and this is raw in the way that it portrays the world of living on the streets and gives us a solid look into the terrifying reality that too many people in our world face.
The ending of this book was perfect for me. It was realistic, but still had enough touches of fairy tale ending to please the squealing little girl I have inside of me.
Fantastic work, Holly. I'll definitely read more of your books.
I don't give books 5 stars very often, but this book was breathtaking. Joy leaves her home and abusive boyfriend to live on the streets and find a homeless boy who once offered to help her. Being homeless, while completely different than she imagined, was still better than what she left behind.
This book blew me away. The characters are rich, full and realistic. They make mistakes, do stupid things, feel fear and embarrassment and all other sorts of genuine qualities. The main character, Joy, is very true to character in the way that she plays the part of a victim trying to break free of her abuser. She is very lovable and heartbreaking. I wanted her to be happy so very much.
Alert: This book is pretty graphic. It mentions a lot of drug and alcohol use along with rape, violence and self-injury. There are a lot of swear words and this is raw in the way that it portrays the world of living on the streets and gives us a solid look into the terrifying reality that too many people in our world face.
The ending of this book was perfect for me. It was realistic, but still had enough touches of fairy tale ending to please the squealing little girl I have inside of me.
Fantastic work, Holly. I'll definitely read more of your books.
mrsjkamp's review against another edition
4.0
I received this through Around The World ARC Tours. Here is my honest review:
Wow. This book is not like anything I've read lately. Joy is serious and means business by faking her kidnapping and running away to the streets of Seattle. What happens to here there really changes her, but she has to work through her past while figuring out her future. Her past is slightly shocking. While I was kind of expecting more, I really shouldn't have. It honestly made me think of my own life so I wanted her to survive and kick butt like you wouldn't believe.
I enjoyed the real feeling I got from this book. It wasn't really sugar coated, so the language is crude, the subject matter is shocking and sad, and what these characters have to do to survive is disturbing. Don't let that scare you away, though! Of course I won't say what happens, but the end makes this novel worth the hard journey.
Full review @ imabookshark closer to release date.
Wow. This book is not like anything I've read lately. Joy is serious and means business by faking her kidnapping and running away to the streets of Seattle. What happens to here there really changes her, but she has to work through her past while figuring out her future. Her past is slightly shocking. While I was kind of expecting more, I really shouldn't have. It honestly made me think of my own life so I wanted her to survive and kick butt like you wouldn't believe.
I enjoyed the real feeling I got from this book. It wasn't really sugar coated, so the language is crude, the subject matter is shocking and sad, and what these characters have to do to survive is disturbing. Don't let that scare you away, though! Of course I won't say what happens, but the end makes this novel worth the hard journey.
Full review @ imabookshark closer to release date.
bookgoonie's review against another edition
4.0
Asthma first incapacitated Joy. Her near death experiences caused her to be coddled and protected by her family. This grew into a lack of self-confidence, life and worthiness deep within her. So when Asher comes along, she is the perfect victim. First can we agree, that anyone that drives a DeLorean is a douchebag. If it isn’t 1980 and you’re not traveling Back to the Future, you don’t drive one. So in this case Holly’s car choice tells us a lot about him as a person. Asher victimizes Joy. He uses his rewards and punishments to control her. Eventually his emotional abuse turns physical. This is when Joy has to figure out a way to escape this life.
It took one person reaching out to her in a moment to get Joy to think there was another way. She stages her own abduction in order to find that homeless boy who offered her a glimpse of hope. Over the course of two months on the streets, Joy finds a strength didn’t know she had and what real love should feel like.
I couldn’t put this book down. Holly did a great job unveiling pieces of Joy’s past as she spends time on the streets. Creed and his friends, May and Santos, help her discover that she doesn’t have to be a victim of her asthma or of Asher. These characters are rich and complicated. No easy fix will do. Family and love are more than money and blood.
I wanted more Crows. Asher studies crows. His relationship with Joy was much like that of the crows he studied. You give them rewards and then eventually they’ll continue to come back even when you punish them. Ya, Asher is sick sucker. As Joy breaks the control Asher had on her, I kept looking for the crows. They just disappeared. I understood why they did, but I kept looking.
It took one person reaching out to her in a moment to get Joy to think there was another way. She stages her own abduction in order to find that homeless boy who offered her a glimpse of hope. Over the course of two months on the streets, Joy finds a strength didn’t know she had and what real love should feel like.
I couldn’t put this book down. Holly did a great job unveiling pieces of Joy’s past as she spends time on the streets. Creed and his friends, May and Santos, help her discover that she doesn’t have to be a victim of her asthma or of Asher. These characters are rich and complicated. No easy fix will do. Family and love are more than money and blood.
I wanted more Crows. Asher studies crows. His relationship with Joy was much like that of the crows he studied. You give them rewards and then eventually they’ll continue to come back even when you punish them. Ya, Asher is sick sucker. As Joy breaks the control Asher had on her, I kept looking for the crows. They just disappeared. I understood why they did, but I kept looking.
bookishanjali's review against another edition
4.0
Joy is suffocating. She has had enough near death experiences to where her family has become obsessively overprotective of her. Then comes along Asher who seems great at first but then emotionally abuses her which soon leads to physical. All this is wearing Joy down until one day she comes across a boy who offers her an option which she didn't think she had.
Joy fakes her own abduction and pretty much runs away to Seattle where she finds Creed the boy who told her if she needs him he is there. And she meets his street family May and Santos. All the characters were very well written and we learn about each of their hardships and inner battles. Cupala also kept it very realistic as far as the street life goes and what it means to be a runaway. We met all kinds of people from pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers, addicts and the list goes on.
My only issue with this book was the ending. For a book so intense the ending wrapped up too quickly and perfectly. I guess I just expected more.
Overall this book took me by surprise it had been sitting on my shelf for months and it's another one of those books where i'm cursing myself out for not picking up sooner. Cupala not only creates a story so gripping about Joy's struggle to find strength in herself to live a life that she wants but she also bring attention to the teen homeless population and all the horrible things they are really dealing with in real life.
Joy fakes her own abduction and pretty much runs away to Seattle where she finds Creed the boy who told her if she needs him he is there. And she meets his street family May and Santos. All the characters were very well written and we learn about each of their hardships and inner battles. Cupala also kept it very realistic as far as the street life goes and what it means to be a runaway. We met all kinds of people from pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers, addicts and the list goes on.
My only issue with this book was the ending. For a book so intense the ending wrapped up too quickly and perfectly. I guess I just expected more.
Overall this book took me by surprise it had been sitting on my shelf for months and it's another one of those books where i'm cursing myself out for not picking up sooner. Cupala not only creates a story so gripping about Joy's struggle to find strength in herself to live a life that she wants but she also bring attention to the teen homeless population and all the horrible things they are really dealing with in real life.
little_hapa_librarian's review against another edition
5.0
In a Nutshell: Don't Breathe a Word is a beautiful novel that doesn't back down, even when it comes to tough issues like abuse, and life on the streets.
Putdownability Factor: This book was SO GOOD. And once you got past the halfway point? Yeah, almost impossible to put down.
Cover Love: Gorgeous. It feels very ethereal and doesn't quite match with what the story is actually about but the cover is too awesome for that to really matter.
My Thoughts
After reading Tell Me a Secret I just knew that Holly Cupala was going to become one of my favorite authors. Don't Breathe a Word totally cemented that fact and it further proved the fact that Holly Cupala can write "issue" books like nobodies business! Seriously, I am such a fan. :P
The thing I love most about Don't Breathe a Word is that it is so honest. Abuse and homelessness are both really difficult subjects to tackle but Holly Cupala does it beautifully. She paints a portrait of friends, family, loyalty, forgiveness, and healing that is truly moving. There were countless moments when my heart would just break for the characters. It was raw, and real, and I loved every minute of it.
Joy, Creed, Santos, May, I just loved each and every one of them. I felt a real connection with each character, and what they were struggling with. The character development was some of the best I've ever read.
Don't Breathe a Word has definitely caused me to change my attitude toward homeless teenagers. I have a lot more compassion and understanding for what they're going through. This book taught me that you can't just judge people by their circumstances. You never know what kinds of demons they might be running from.
Overall I give Don't Breathe a Word 4 and a half out of 5 ice cream cones.
Who would I recommend this to? Older/more mature teens who enjoy books with edgier topics. Anyone who enjoys Ellen Hopkins would love this book.
Putdownability Factor: This book was SO GOOD. And once you got past the halfway point? Yeah, almost impossible to put down.
Cover Love: Gorgeous. It feels very ethereal and doesn't quite match with what the story is actually about but the cover is too awesome for that to really matter.
My Thoughts
After reading Tell Me a Secret I just knew that Holly Cupala was going to become one of my favorite authors. Don't Breathe a Word totally cemented that fact and it further proved the fact that Holly Cupala can write "issue" books like nobodies business! Seriously, I am such a fan. :P
The thing I love most about Don't Breathe a Word is that it is so honest. Abuse and homelessness are both really difficult subjects to tackle but Holly Cupala does it beautifully. She paints a portrait of friends, family, loyalty, forgiveness, and healing that is truly moving. There were countless moments when my heart would just break for the characters. It was raw, and real, and I loved every minute of it.
Joy, Creed, Santos, May, I just loved each and every one of them. I felt a real connection with each character, and what they were struggling with. The character development was some of the best I've ever read.
Don't Breathe a Word has definitely caused me to change my attitude toward homeless teenagers. I have a lot more compassion and understanding for what they're going through. This book taught me that you can't just judge people by their circumstances. You never know what kinds of demons they might be running from.
Overall I give Don't Breathe a Word 4 and a half out of 5 ice cream cones.
Who would I recommend this to? Older/more mature teens who enjoy books with edgier topics. Anyone who enjoys Ellen Hopkins would love this book.
beasleymomtwo's review against another edition
5.0
What a amazing book, every teenager should read it!
ainiali's review against another edition
4.0
Joy is a girl suffocating with her life. She need to get away. She has to. So she did. Meeting May, Santos & Creed switched something in her. Something called bravery.
After a great job with her debut novel, Tell Me A Secret, once again Holly Cupala did it! This book impressed me. A new experience, a new view. Thank you!
After a great job with her debut novel, Tell Me A Secret, once again Holly Cupala did it! This book impressed me. A new experience, a new view. Thank you!