Don't Breathe A Word Review

TITLE Don't Breathe a Word
AUTHOR Holly Cupala
PAGES 209 (ePub format)
PUBLISHED January 3rd 2012 by HarperTeen
READ March 25, 2012
BUY THIS BOOK AT Amazon / Kobo / Chapters.Indigo

SYNOPSIS Joy Delamere is suffocating...

From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.

Joy can take his words—tender words, cruel words—until the night they go too far.

Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe... if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.

Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength.

I am by no means and expert on street living but I imagine this is about as close to the reality of it you can get.  Don't Breathe a Word is heartbreakingly real as it delves into the gritty lifestyle faced by kids living on the street every hour of everyday. The extremes these kids are forced to go to to survive is unbelievable. This book starts off very vague, referencing important occurances so it peaked my interest right off the bat.

The characters in this book are all very complex and life like.  They all have a unique and equally horrifying story that has led them to where they are, and through that they are brought together as a little family.  May was absolutely painful to read about. She used her body as her most valuable asset and devalued herself so many times.  Santos was just about as heartbreaking, doing anything he could to be able to see another day.  Creed was a bit of a contrast, he was a more hopeful character,  in spite of the cards life had dealt him he still persued his passion and kept the fire burning inside him.  Joy was a character who had to find her strength and she went to great extremes to do so.  She was suffocating, not only from her cystic fibrosis, but from the hovering and constant worrying of everyone around her.

The relationship between Joy and Asher was so wrong.  Asher reminded me of the husband from the movie Enough (my most HATED character ever.) Even though he wasn't physically abusing Joy he was emotionally abusing her which is just as bad. Being inside Joy's head let us see that Asher made her feel as if what he was doing was all because of her, that she derserved it, and in so many instances that's exactly what an abuser does.  She took the only out that she could see that would get her away from Asher and still protect her family.

This is, at times, a little hard to read but it was a really good read none the less.  I recommend this one for anyone looking for an Alluring read.