"Breathless" by Jennifer Niven

Well... it sure has been a while. Oops. It feels like it's been so long since I've posted here that I don't even remember how to start this.

Honestly, I have wanted to read in so long! Unfortunately, life happens sometimes and right now, I have hardly any free time :( 

Exams are coming up - they're going to be a killer for me this year. I won't be able to fit in much reading until late November - Early December. 

But nonetheless, I am back (momentarily) for another review!

Enjoy x

Novel: Breathless 

Author: Jennifer Niven

Published: 2020

Genre: romance, coming-of-age

Pages: 381

It had some really great aspects; love, adventure, the beginning of the rest of your life. But, it also had a lot that I couldn't connect to; this, unfortunately, included Claudine Henry, the main freaking character.

"Sometimes things end, even if you don't want them to" - Claudine Henry 

Blurb:

Claudine Henry was supposed to be spending the summer before college hanging out with her best friend, going on the road trip of a lifetime and maybe hooking up with smouldering-eyes Wyatt Jones. Instead, after her father drops the bombshell that he's leaving them, she's exiled to a remote Georgia island with her heartbroken mother, no phone service and no chance of romance.

Until she meets Jeremiah. Free-spirited, mysterious and beautiful, their chemistry is immediate and irresistible. They both know that whatever they have can only last the summer, but maybe one summer is enough...

I can still remember it so vividly. The time I read All The Bright Places as a twelve-year-old, crying my little heart out at how heartbreakingly beautiful and important the story was. From the moment I finished that book, Niven had captured my attention. Like many other authors before her, I'd made myself a vow, without even really knowing it, that I'd continue to read her YA novels. Because I don't think anyone can deny that ATBP defined a lot of our generation. It was like the next big thing after the craze surrounding The Fault in our Stars. The story was completely magical and I felt lucky that I'd found the book. That I'd been able to read something so powerful that it physically hurt. That is why I read and write stories. To feel emotion. To feel so connected to a story that it changes your life. You know the plot back-to-front, even if you've only read it once, because it is so memorable and ingrained in your mind that you could never forget it.

Following my vow, next up was Niven's 2016 release, Holding up the Universe. The excitement of reading her next big thing was intense. When you come to love a writer so much, it can place a huge amount of pressure on their next story to amount to something as fantastic as their first. For me, Holding up the Universe did not accomplish that. And neither did Breathless. 

My biggest issue with Breathless is that I found it difficult to connect to Claudine. Dealing with the immense confusion and sadness surrounding her parent's separation was no doubt hard for her, which I'm sure a lot of teens can relate to. Maybe it isn't fair for me to judge, because I am grateful enough to say that my parents are still happily married, but I did feel that majority of the story was filled with too much inner monologue of her drowning in her own self-pity. Clearly, the separation has effected her, like it would anyone, but I began to get frustrated, feeling as though she was focusing on such a small view of the world. Throughout it all, I had just said to myself wait for her growth, it'll be better soon. But I felt as though this is something that never changed; the wallowing, the back-and-forth monologue over her parent's separation. When you put into perspective what some of the other characters you meet have gone/are going through, Claudine struggles to even acknowledge that maybe she should look at the bigger picture. That despite her father leaving, at least she had a stable family unit. It is almost like she has been wrapped up in her own bubble, unable to see the rest of the world's problems. She also makes so seriously poor decisions based on her anger, which I do not think is fair. You cannot blame anger for your actions. You can only blame yourself. And yes, I understand how upsetting the news must have been for her, but I think I would have liked to see even more growth by the end of the novel. Like possibly realising how lucky she truly is and that some people really do have it worse off than her. 

In addition, I did also find that she was a bit too sex-crazed. Like I understand that losing your V-card can be a huge deal, but it was as though this was the only thing she could think about for the majority of the story. Like it would be her most defining moment. It was a though she only had two things on her mind; hating her father and sex with Jeremiah 'Miah' Crew.

Speaking of Miah, I have a few things to say about him too. Much like Claude, he frustrated me a bit in the story. I found that he so often dodged questions that it began to really annoy me. I understand that he's supposed to be mysterious, but I think it comes to a certain point where it begins to be too much. I still don't entirely know some of his back story, which unfortunately will always remain a mystery. 

I also wasn't a huge fan of the ending. Like, from reading the blurb and knowing Niven's writing, I was already aware that it was highly unlikely to be a happy ending, but still. Despite not loving the ending, it did make me emotional. Some of the imagery and the way Claude suddenly describes the island when viewing Miah's house suddenly made me feel this overwhelming sadness for her, and it was the first time where I really felt like I could understand her. Like despite being surrounded by people, she was the loneliest, yet the happiest person in the world. And I truly believe that her relationship with Miah fulfilled that void for a while, That she learnt a lot from her relationship with him. For the majority of the story, I didn't feel much of a connection between the two. I often questioned where it was going and whether the relationship was more one-sided than the other. But, I think a defining moment for me was when Claude makes a terrible, reckless decision that she instantly regrets. I disliked her for it, but it did end up proving to me that her relationship with Miah was something special, something that should be cherished. The beauty of first love. It may not last forever, but you learn so many life lessons. 

Overall, I think I was able to appreciate some of the lessons told throughout the story. I also came to like the relationship between Claude and Miah, despite how turbulent it felt at times.

PROS: The defining moment that helped me understand the true depth of emotion in Claude and Miah's relationship. I also love that Niven incorporated some really meaningful moments from her own life with her husband, weaving them in with some of the cute adventures Claude and Miah have together.

CONS: I would have liked to see less monologue surrounding Claude's parent's separation. It felt repetitive and ultimately redundant at times.

So, I give this story a 7.5/10!

I don't know when I'll see you next, but until then, thank you for reading this.

Love, 

Madi xo