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Breathing with Trees
What if your best friend kept a secret from you? What if your mom refused to tell you who your father was?
This coming of age story rides the ups and downs of Lucy's rollercoaster of emotions resulting from too many secrets and rules. Lucy has just turned 14 and is starting the eighth grade. She lives with her mom and grandmother, both free thinkers. She's been raised in the world of natural healthcare—homeopathy, thermography, no GMOs, PCBs, EMFs. No vaccines.
Lucy's world changes when she learns a classmate has called her names, but her best friend refuses to tell her who said it. Accompanied by her mother's longstanding secret about her father, it becomes too much, especially when her mom starts dating, her BFF has OCD, and her Nan might have cancer. Amidst the chaos, Lucy crushes on a boy and begins developing unique sensory abilities.
Yearning to exert independence from her family in order to fit in with the crowd, Lucy starts to think for herself, to question everything, and to challenge the rules. Will her nature-spirit guides give her answers? Can she trust her own growing intuition? Will she follow the unwritten family rules?
Or are rules meant to be broken?
This coming of age story rides the ups and downs of Lucy's rollercoaster of emotions resulting from too many secrets and rules. Lucy has just turned 14 and is starting the eighth grade. She lives with her mom and grandmother, both free thinkers. She's been raised in the world of natural healthcare—homeopathy, thermography, no GMOs, PCBs, EMFs. No vaccines.
Lucy's world changes when she learns a classmate has called her names, but her best friend refuses to tell her who said it. Accompanied by her mother's longstanding secret about her father, it becomes too much, especially when her mom starts dating, her BFF has OCD, and her Nan might have cancer. Amidst the chaos, Lucy crushes on a boy and begins developing unique sensory abilities.
Yearning to exert independence from her family in order to fit in with the crowd, Lucy starts to think for herself, to question everything, and to challenge the rules. Will her nature-spirit guides give her answers? Can she trust her own growing intuition? Will she follow the unwritten family rules?
Or are rules meant to be broken?
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Published February 7, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 6, 2023
This is an excellent book with rich, vibrant characters who struggle with various issues that are true to many people's lives. I loved it. Woven within it is ideas around homeopathy, energy and healing and it was very well done. This is a great book and well worth the read
February 2, 2026
Novels about the inner lives of teenage girls? They've never been on my reading list.
But I decided to branch out with my most recent read of Breathing With Trees by Donna Costa (whom I met through the Alliance of Independent Authors). Like me, Costa writes character-driven stories challenging mainstream medicine.
In her 290-page novel, a teenage girl named Lucy is deciding whether or not to get the HPV vaccine — as she faces the onset of puberty, dates her first boyfriend, connects with Mother Nature and tries to unravel the mystery behind her absent father.
The story has enough layers and moving parts that it kept me flipping pages, finding myself more engaged with each chapter, wondering what choices and repercussions Lucy would face next.
In particular, Costa did an excellent job, through narrative and characters, showing the many sides of the vaccine debate. In particular, Lucy’s science teacher, Mr. Munro, challenged the HPV propaganda video played for the students by saying:
“This video lists the pros and cons of the vaccine, but there is data that did not get mentioned in the cutesy video. You and your parents are expected to make a decision about getting the vaccine. It’s called informed consent. If you’re not fully informed or if you don’t have all the data, can a scientific mind make a decision with only some data?”
The seriousness of HPV theme is countered by the amusing and quasi-ritualistic dietary and lifestyle choices of Lucy’s mother and grandmother — including their morning shot of cod liver oil. Lucy enjoys the nutrient-dense Weston A. Price menu — finding even pasteurized fruit juice repulsive — but struggles to fit in with her peers.
She actually sees getting a vaccine as an act of rebellion against her mother and a way to prove to the kids she's really one of them.
“I thought growing up was about having freedom… to stay out late, to get a real tattoo, a piercing, go to a bar,” Lucy laments. “But growing up was about freedom of choice. To make decisions. Adult decisions. It didn’t feel as free as I expected.”
This is a coming-of-age story for teenage girls navigating the minefield of modern medical propaganda, junk food commercials and a society better connected to the internet than nature.
Now, what bugged me about the novel...
The story rushes through — or outright skips — key emotional moments.
The prime example is the novel's climactic scene, when Lucy decides to get the HPV vaccine. The book builds towards this decision from page one. Yet when the moment actually arrives, sixty chapters in, it’s already over. All we get is this passive summary:
“After getting the needle, the nurse made us wait fifteen minutes to be sure no one had an allergic reaction.”
After getting the needle... What?! I was expecting a blow-by-blow chapter full of tension, doubt and resolve — not a four-word footnote.
The other letdown was Lucy's long-awaited first meeting with her father. I'll avoid any spoilers, but only say that the interaction with him was essentially a long info dump conversation in the living room that felt remarkably bizarre, considering he’s been absent from her entire life. It felt like a drawn-out family therapy session in which only one person is allowed to talk. Rather, this needed to be handled with far more emotional tension and back-and-forth dialogue, unfolding over multiple chapters.
Likewise, the grandmother's struggle with cervical cancer is wrapped up too quickly. (I did, however, think it brilliant of the author to have Lucy’s grandmother diagnosed with the very disease the HPV vaccine is claimed to prevent.)
From Lucy’s point of view, this remains a strong coming-of-age story about a young girl trying to discern how to make her way in a world full of erring humans and harmful propaganda. However, the story tries to cram too much inner and outer complexity into too few pages (with too much white space).
For example, I’d much rather have seen the father revealed at the very end of the novel, leaving his story and (slowly-unfolding) relationship with Lucy for a sequel. (That said, the father's identity made for an unexpected plot twist at the end, which was foreshadowed quite well.)
Despite these shortcuts with pacing, Donna Costa’s Breathing With Trees does a fantastic job portraying the inner struggle of a girl facing the real challenges of "informed consent" while dealing with the social pressures and biological upheavals of teenage life.
In the end, Breathing With Trees delivers an urgently needed message about questioning authority from the well-developed point of view of a teenage girl... the plot, however, simply needs a little more breathing space. For those who prefer a faster clip, however, maybe Donna Costa's pacing will be perfect.
But I decided to branch out with my most recent read of Breathing With Trees by Donna Costa (whom I met through the Alliance of Independent Authors). Like me, Costa writes character-driven stories challenging mainstream medicine.
In her 290-page novel, a teenage girl named Lucy is deciding whether or not to get the HPV vaccine — as she faces the onset of puberty, dates her first boyfriend, connects with Mother Nature and tries to unravel the mystery behind her absent father.
The story has enough layers and moving parts that it kept me flipping pages, finding myself more engaged with each chapter, wondering what choices and repercussions Lucy would face next.
In particular, Costa did an excellent job, through narrative and characters, showing the many sides of the vaccine debate. In particular, Lucy’s science teacher, Mr. Munro, challenged the HPV propaganda video played for the students by saying:
“This video lists the pros and cons of the vaccine, but there is data that did not get mentioned in the cutesy video. You and your parents are expected to make a decision about getting the vaccine. It’s called informed consent. If you’re not fully informed or if you don’t have all the data, can a scientific mind make a decision with only some data?”
The seriousness of HPV theme is countered by the amusing and quasi-ritualistic dietary and lifestyle choices of Lucy’s mother and grandmother — including their morning shot of cod liver oil. Lucy enjoys the nutrient-dense Weston A. Price menu — finding even pasteurized fruit juice repulsive — but struggles to fit in with her peers.
She actually sees getting a vaccine as an act of rebellion against her mother and a way to prove to the kids she's really one of them.
“I thought growing up was about having freedom… to stay out late, to get a real tattoo, a piercing, go to a bar,” Lucy laments. “But growing up was about freedom of choice. To make decisions. Adult decisions. It didn’t feel as free as I expected.”
This is a coming-of-age story for teenage girls navigating the minefield of modern medical propaganda, junk food commercials and a society better connected to the internet than nature.
Now, what bugged me about the novel...
The story rushes through — or outright skips — key emotional moments.
The prime example is the novel's climactic scene, when Lucy decides to get the HPV vaccine. The book builds towards this decision from page one. Yet when the moment actually arrives, sixty chapters in, it’s already over. All we get is this passive summary:
“After getting the needle, the nurse made us wait fifteen minutes to be sure no one had an allergic reaction.”
After getting the needle... What?! I was expecting a blow-by-blow chapter full of tension, doubt and resolve — not a four-word footnote.
The other letdown was Lucy's long-awaited first meeting with her father. I'll avoid any spoilers, but only say that the interaction with him was essentially a long info dump conversation in the living room that felt remarkably bizarre, considering he’s been absent from her entire life. It felt like a drawn-out family therapy session in which only one person is allowed to talk. Rather, this needed to be handled with far more emotional tension and back-and-forth dialogue, unfolding over multiple chapters.
Likewise, the grandmother's struggle with cervical cancer is wrapped up too quickly. (I did, however, think it brilliant of the author to have Lucy’s grandmother diagnosed with the very disease the HPV vaccine is claimed to prevent.)
From Lucy’s point of view, this remains a strong coming-of-age story about a young girl trying to discern how to make her way in a world full of erring humans and harmful propaganda. However, the story tries to cram too much inner and outer complexity into too few pages (with too much white space).
For example, I’d much rather have seen the father revealed at the very end of the novel, leaving his story and (slowly-unfolding) relationship with Lucy for a sequel. (That said, the father's identity made for an unexpected plot twist at the end, which was foreshadowed quite well.)
Despite these shortcuts with pacing, Donna Costa’s Breathing With Trees does a fantastic job portraying the inner struggle of a girl facing the real challenges of "informed consent" while dealing with the social pressures and biological upheavals of teenage life.
In the end, Breathing With Trees delivers an urgently needed message about questioning authority from the well-developed point of view of a teenage girl... the plot, however, simply needs a little more breathing space. For those who prefer a faster clip, however, maybe Donna Costa's pacing will be perfect.
January 18, 2021
I found this book to be a well written story targeted at young adults, although I wish there was more conflict and tension throughout.
April 25, 2025
Beautifully written! I enjoyed this book thoroughly and I also think it would make a really thoughtful gift.
May 30, 2025
To me, this is the modern version of "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret." Lots of similarities in this coming-of-age tale of a young girl finding her way in the world where her views don't necessarily jive with her mother and grandmother, and where her values don't necessarily synch with her best friend. It's an enjoyable story that I'd recommend to others. I didn't align with the anti-vax angle that the MC ultimately chooses, but it's okay to read things that you don't agree with. :-)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews