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aralston08's review
5.0
*I received an eCopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was absolutely beautiful. I really loved it. First of all, I'm in love with the cover of this book. I think I would have accepted it for review just based on that but the blurb really hooked me. I am a sucker for tragedies. I know, this probably makes me a little masochistic but I’ve accepted it. River has just lost the girl he loves, Nia, at the beginning of the novel. He’s pretty much paralyzed by the loss and anxiety and it begins to consume him. After River is given a box of Nia’s belongings from her sister, he awakens one night to see Nia sitting on his bedroom floor staring at her most treasured belonging, an extremely detailed map of all the places she wanted to discover. Nia then disappears as quickly as she came and River begins the journey of a lifetime. He begins to overcome the anxiety that has crippled him his entire life to follow Nia’s dream and explore all the places she will never be able to go in hopes he might see her again.
The entire premise of this story was wonderful. It was one of the first books I’ve read where the ending wasn’t really the important aspect but rather the journey itself. The story is told through alternating past, Nia and River together before her death, and present scenes, River’s road trip. River meets some unlikely and unwelcome twins with some seriously hilarious quirks, one of those quirks being their rather interesting names, June and Carter.
Their adventures lead them to some pretty interesting places, including an inmate battle arena and a wild concert. Through their journeys River learns many things about himself; his strength, his determination, and his ability to dream. Kemp uses strong imagery to weave a beautiful and unique story that truly touches the heart. Breathing Ghosts is a story about the journey of self-discovery, learning to let go, and daring and dreaming to move on. With wonderful and quirky characters, including a three-legged dog, Breathing Ghosts is one memorable story and I can't wait to read more from Kemp.
"The manic melody. Fluid. Wild. All of that chaos. These are the things she loved, the things she understood but I never could. I clung to my routines but Nia didn’t exist in the routine. She existed in the reckless in-between. In those free falls and spur of the moment decisions. In those late-night conversations when you’re too tired to censor a word you say. In those moments when you swallow the fear and do it anyway. When you like the way it tastes.”
Find this and other reviews at Teacups&Bookends Blog
This book was absolutely beautiful. I really loved it. First of all, I'm in love with the cover of this book. I think I would have accepted it for review just based on that but the blurb really hooked me. I am a sucker for tragedies. I know, this probably makes me a little masochistic but I’ve accepted it. River has just lost the girl he loves, Nia, at the beginning of the novel. He’s pretty much paralyzed by the loss and anxiety and it begins to consume him. After River is given a box of Nia’s belongings from her sister, he awakens one night to see Nia sitting on his bedroom floor staring at her most treasured belonging, an extremely detailed map of all the places she wanted to discover. Nia then disappears as quickly as she came and River begins the journey of a lifetime. He begins to overcome the anxiety that has crippled him his entire life to follow Nia’s dream and explore all the places she will never be able to go in hopes he might see her again.
The entire premise of this story was wonderful. It was one of the first books I’ve read where the ending wasn’t really the important aspect but rather the journey itself. The story is told through alternating past, Nia and River together before her death, and present scenes, River’s road trip. River meets some unlikely and unwelcome twins with some seriously hilarious quirks, one of those quirks being their rather interesting names, June and Carter.
Their adventures lead them to some pretty interesting places, including an inmate battle arena and a wild concert. Through their journeys River learns many things about himself; his strength, his determination, and his ability to dream. Kemp uses strong imagery to weave a beautiful and unique story that truly touches the heart. Breathing Ghosts is a story about the journey of self-discovery, learning to let go, and daring and dreaming to move on. With wonderful and quirky characters, including a three-legged dog, Breathing Ghosts is one memorable story and I can't wait to read more from Kemp.
"The manic melody. Fluid. Wild. All of that chaos. These are the things she loved, the things she understood but I never could. I clung to my routines but Nia didn’t exist in the routine. She existed in the reckless in-between. In those free falls and spur of the moment decisions. In those late-night conversations when you’re too tired to censor a word you say. In those moments when you swallow the fear and do it anyway. When you like the way it tastes.”
Find this and other reviews at Teacups&Bookends Blog
eclaidley's review
2.0
Breathing Ghosts is told in an alternating narration, giving equal time to River's road trip across the country and his relationship with Nia. This slow-paced, contemplative narration provides readers with a better understanding of the depths of River's feelings for Nia, while also showing the extent of his grief in the present day. The writing was incredibly detailed, but at times the heavy description made it tedious to read.
It's hard to enjoy a book when you're not a fan of the narrator, and this made it very difficult for River's grief to resonate with me. River's view of how "perfect" Nia was, coupled with his selfish nature and the less-than-civil way that he treated his companions, made it difficult for me to feel any sympathy for him; in fact, the predominant emotion that I felt was annoyance at the way he was acting.
The road trip itself was the highlight of the story for me. The places that River visited were quirky and the scenarios that he found himself in were often unrealistic, allowing for brief moments of lightness in an otherwise heavy book. And, thankfully, this journey of self-discovery led to some slight character development for all parties involved.
Overall, Breathing Ghosts was neither as poignant nor as enthralling as I was expecting - which is a shame, considering how much I love stories about grief and stories involving road trips.
Thanks to Laekan Zea Kemp for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It's hard to enjoy a book when you're not a fan of the narrator, and this made it very difficult for River's grief to resonate with me. River's view of how "perfect" Nia was, coupled with his selfish nature and the less-than-civil way that he treated his companions, made it difficult for me to feel any sympathy for him; in fact, the predominant emotion that I felt was annoyance at the way he was acting.
The road trip itself was the highlight of the story for me. The places that River visited were quirky and the scenarios that he found himself in were often unrealistic, allowing for brief moments of lightness in an otherwise heavy book. And, thankfully, this journey of self-discovery led to some slight character development for all parties involved.
Overall, Breathing Ghosts was neither as poignant nor as enthralling as I was expecting - which is a shame, considering how much I love stories about grief and stories involving road trips.
Thanks to Laekan Zea Kemp for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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