Breathe (Breathe, #1)

Sep 20, 2012 Katy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm normally a HUGE fan of just about any dystopian, and I was really looking forward to this one, but it ended up really disappointing me because 1) the plot did not stand out, 2) I could not stand the characters and 3) too many inconsistencies.

First of all, this book followed your typical dystopian plot - oppressive government, rebels who know the truth, duped citizens who finds out the truth and decide to do something about it, all hell breaks loose, etc. And I can't put my finger on it, but...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-or-galley, dystopia-or-pa-favourites, dystopia-or-post-apocalyptic, romance, dystopian

3.5 stars

“Oxygen is essential for most living things. For 2.5 billion years, it was the most abundant chemical element on Earth. Until the Switch.”

In Sarah Crossan’s latest novel, breathing freely and comfortably is easier said than done. Here, oxygen is hard to come by. Set in a futuristic and plant-deprived world, the characters in Breathe have no choice but to remain within the protection of the Pod, where the air is breathable and clean. Oxygen tanks can be purchased by the wealthiest of Po...more 3.5 stars

“Oxygen is essential for most living things. For 2.5 billion years, it was the most abundant chemical element on Earth. Until the Switch.”

In Sarah Crossan’s latest novel, breathing freely and comfortably is easier said than done. Here, oxygen is hard to come by. Set in a futuristic and plant-deprived world, the characters in Breathe have no choice but to remain within the protection of the Pod, where the air is breathable and clean. Oxygen tanks can be purchased by the wealthiest of Pod citizens – typically those in Zone One – for venturing out into the wilderness on day trips and partaking in strenuous activities such as exercise. For the remaining population, for people like Bea, oxygen is too expensive for daily pleasures and breathing must be carefully controlled. When the opportunity arises for Bea to go camping outside with her best friend Quinn, she doesn’t let it pass. What she wants is to spend some time alone with Quinn, hoping that he will finally notice her. What she gets is a run-in with a Resistance member and a sudden detour into the dangerous and unknown.

It should be said that this is very much a plot-driven novel. With three different points of view to warm to (from Bea, Quinn and Alina), the characters are not immediately easy to connect with. There are better developments in the story than there are in the characters. Despite the rocky start, the three main protagonists do eventually become easier to appreciate and my opinion of them changed by the end of the book for a more positive stance, even if I wasn’t completely in love with them. Alina is a fiery and strong character, Bea a compassionate girl and Quinn very much a boyish boy. The hints of a love triangle linger between them, but nothing too extreme or worthy of frustration.

The strength of this book lies in its gripping story line. Sarah Crossan has come up with an interesting concept and her oxygen-depleted world was chillingly real. My chest constricted with the feeling of suffocation every time the characters’ did and my focus on breathing suddenly sky-rocketed. It’s funny how something so vital is never given a second thought during our lives. It was thrilling (and terrifying) to be able to experience the harsh consequences of a damaged world through Crossan’s words. Even with my initial lack of enthusiasm for the characters, every chapter held my attention and the plot unravelled in ways I wanted it to. While the pacing suffered occasionally, this is not a story that failed to impress.

Admittedly, I entered Breathe with low expectations after having read a flurry of negative reviews. Perhaps this suited me for the better in the end as Breathe proved to be a pleasant surprise. I hope the sequel will be just as engaging, and ideally, any remaining character issues are ironed out then. This was definitely a promising start to a new dystopian trilogy.

(This review also appears on my blog)(less)

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Oct 11, 2012 Jasprit rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-galley, out-2012, read-in-2012, ya

3.5 stars

Gritty dystopians have really been hitting the spot as of late. Breathe I’m happy to say is a book which managed to tick a lot of my boxes in providing a masterfully woven novel which kept me on the edge of my seat when several books have failed. There are only a distinct number of dystopians which I would categorise as utterly mind-blowing and I’m pleased to say Breathe is one of those books.

With the number of dystopians coming through these days, I’ve become increasingly picky over wh...more 3.5 stars

Gritty dystopians have really been hitting the spot as of late. Breathe I’m happy to say is a book which managed to tick a lot of my boxes in providing a masterfully woven novel which kept me on the edge of my seat when several books have failed. There are only a distinct number of dystopians which I would categorise as utterly mind-blowing and I’m pleased to say Breathe is one of those books.

With the number of dystopians coming through these days, I’ve become increasingly picky over what I choose to read. Unfortunately the majority of the ones I’ve decided to pick up have failed to live up to expectations. But when I first came across Breathe, for once I didn’t have any feelings of dread in deciding to pick it up. The premise of a society dependant on the rules and regulations they’re governed by that they don’t have their own say is quite over done in books, but despite Breathe focusing on a similar theme touched on by many others, it also had a uniqueness about it which shone through.

Quinn and Bea are brought up in a society where oxygen is a privilege. If you’re a premium like Quinn then you have more access to oxygen tanks and thus generally you get to live the better life. Whereas Bea is an auxiliary, her parents are barely scraping by, the fact that Quinn is her friend makes her life a lot easier, but Bea doesn’t want to be dependent on Quinn for everything, she knows her best shot is to win a place in the pod through the Breathe leadership program.

I know that I would utterly fail at having my oxygen intake monitored by the ministry, so it was tough reading about the two distinct groups; premiums and auxiliaries; how different their lives could be, how everything about society was thoroughly drilled into them, that they weren’t aware of what was within their grasp until they met Alina a member of the resistance. I admit I didn’t like Alina at first, I thought she was sort of butting in Bea and Quinn’s friendship. But the multiple povs in this book allowed me to get a proper understanding of her character, and as the book progressed, the character changes that emerged in her I admired.

Bea was my favourite character; there was so much heartache she had to go through that I really felt for her at times. But through the tough situations she faced, she demonstrated she could be a fierce fire cracker when necessary. I’m still a little conflicted over how I felt about the romance in this book, I’m happy about the direction it went in, but felt it happened all of a sudden, as we were always led to believe it was one sided.

The secondary characters certainly livened up this book; so many times I was quick to make judgements about them, but was surprised by how wrong I could be. Jazz and Maude quickly became favourites.

Overall Breathe is a fresh book that I’m sure many will devour, the insightful multiple povs, fast pace and action packed scenes will sure to keep readers captivated. Book two which is scheduled for release in October 2013, I’m sure will be one of my highly anticipated reads of the year.

This review and more can be found on The Readers Den (less)

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Mar 08, 2013 fяσzєη marked it as to-read

Shelves: covergasm, dystopian, owned-physical-copies

I love this cover but the only thing that bugs me is the font for the author's name.

IT'S COMIC SANS MS. COMIC SANS FRIGGIN' MS.

Or it looks like it, at least. ._. Do you guys see it?

Update: Okay, I own the hardcover, and upon further inspection I saw that it wasn't Comic Sans. But damn if it doesn't look a lot like it. And why that color? x_x

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Mar 22, 2013 Emilija rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads, first-in-series

Review can be found at Madhouse Reads

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Nov 29, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, galley, amazing-ending, cliffhanger-ending, cover-love, dystopian, edelweiss, futuristic, love-triangle, male-and-female-pov, part-of-a-series, post-apocalypse, romance, switching-pov, ya, reviewcopies

This review and more can be found on my blog

Breathe left me with very mixed feelings. Parts of it were outstanding and other parts were OK. I liked the plot and the characters but not enough happened to keep me completely enthralled. There is a great idea here, I loved the concept and the POD world Crossan created. I really enjoyed the dystopian elements and I liked that the love triangle (I use the term loosely) was between two girls and a boy.

All of the characters were interesting. You have Be...more This review and more can be found on my blog

Breathe left me with very mixed feelings. Parts of it were outstanding and other parts were OK. I liked the plot and the characters but not enough happened to keep me completely enthralled. There is a great idea here, I loved the concept and the POD world Crossan created. I really enjoyed the dystopian elements and I liked that the love triangle (I use the term loosely) was between two girls and a boy.

All of the characters were interesting. You have Bea, the smart and caring one, Alina, the strong warrior, and Quinn, the funny charmer. I liked all of these characters but I didn’t fall in love with them. Joining the main three are a host of secondary characters that were all very well fleshed out. The most notable is Quinn’s dad who provides a great villain who is maybe not who we are lead to believe he is.

There are real moments of greatness in this book. There are a couple of scenes in the middle that stand out. But it is the last quarter which impressed me the most; it was an adrenaline rush of action and suspense.

Yet for all the things that Breathe does right there is an equal amount which disappointed me. The romance is lack lustre and I personally didn’t think much of it. The resistance are disappointing and seemed no better that the corrupt government. Their leader throws people in dungeons and takes advice from petulant nine year olds. A few things happen (especially towards the end) that should have been very emotional but I felt no connection to the characters involved and remained emotionally detached from the events. Also we are introduced to a character early on who may not be who he seems, he is bought up a couple of times but nothing really happens. I would have liked to have seen a little more of this character because I have a feeling he will be important in the upcoming sequel. If he isn’t then he is just dropped and left which would be a disappointment.

Breathe at times felt like a prologue to me. With the way it ended I couldn’t stop myself from thinking that it is just one big build up for book two.

Breathe is very enjoyable but I do think there are better dystopian YA novels out there. I will pick up the next book in the series because I believe there is potential here.

(The publisher provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review)(less)

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Sep 06, 2012 Max rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian-utopian, young-adult, sci-fi-fantasy

This review is for an advanced reader's copy.

I will start by saying that I picked up this book as I was about to go to sleep thinking I would read the first couple of chapters to see how I liked it. I ended up reading all of part one and then forcing myself to go to sleep because I had already stayed up way later than I should have.

Breathe is definitely readable and Crossan has done a great job creating an endearing setting as well as three main characters that you can't help but invest yourself...more This review is for an advanced reader's copy.

I will start by saying that I picked up this book as I was about to go to sleep thinking I would read the first couple of chapters to see how I liked it. I ended up reading all of part one and then forcing myself to go to sleep because I had already stayed up way later than I should have.

Breathe is definitely readable and Crossan has done a great job creating an endearing setting as well as three main characters that you can't help but invest yourself in. Bea is smart and well-spoken but she's also pretty strong and, I'd say, the bravest of the main three. Alina is fierce and the bitch, but she also has a softer side that slowly unravels itself as the story progresses. Quinn is smart and witty, but he's still growing into himself and understanding the facade of his privileged life. All have qualities that one can relate to and endured struggles I found myself empathizing with. Crossan also did a great job with most of the minor characters. Overall, I do think she could have developed the characters a little more in-depth, as their changes and decisions did not always seem entirely sincere because there wasn't as much deliberation or reflection as there could have been.

The story line itself I did not have a problem with. I thought the concept of the novel was intriguing and something different than what most dystopian fiction has tackled. While there is the dictator style of government that is suppressing the lower classes and keeping the community misinformed, I think Crossan added an aspect that changes it even for them. Without the oxygen tanks, no one would be able to survive. She's added an enemy that is greater than even the government. I do think the action seemed a little rushed at times, and Crossan needs to work on her descriptions. I don't really have a concrete idea of what many of the characters look like, and there were times where I couldn't picture what was going on because there was just a little bit of information that seemed to be lacking. A lot of the events seemed predictable as well, although that did not stop my enjoyment of the novel or lead me to put down the book. I think if Crossan added a little more to the side stories rather than having every scene center around the major plot, she could develop the characters more and also make it seem less jumpy and predictable.

Overall, I would say this is a really promising debut novel that will keep you flipping the page, and I'm excited to read the second installation in the series.(less)

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Oct 27, 2012 Nikki (Fiction Freak) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-that-i-wish-i-had-in-hardback, favorites

Breathe is an incredibly ironic title. Throughout this entire book, I couldn’t breathe! It was incredibly depressing and touching, reading Breathe! I’m starting to feel like all the dystopians this year are going to have the same effect on me: stunned, on the edge of tears, and knowing it’s an amazing book. 2012 really does have some of the best books ever. And especially Breathe. I had no idea what to expect! I knew Breathe would be original. I mean, an air shortage? Having to buy oxygen? It ju...more Breathe is an incredibly ironic title. Throughout this entire book, I couldn’t breathe! It was incredibly depressing and touching, reading Breathe! I’m starting to feel like all the dystopians this year are going to have the same effect on me: stunned, on the edge of tears, and knowing it’s an amazing book. 2012 really does have some of the best books ever. And especially Breathe. I had no idea what to expect! I knew Breathe would be original. I mean, an air shortage? Having to buy oxygen? It just caught my interest immediately. And…it may have something to do with the stunning cover.

Plot
Like I said! This was definitely one original plot and world. It was full of twists that made me cringe or stare and after a while, I just quit trying to guess what was going on. It was just too hard! With tyrannical leaders, a shortage of air supply, the spark of a rebellion, and the start of a civil war, there’s no wonder you never get bored! It was fast paced, but I honestly wanted to punch someone. So. Many people. DIED. Agh. But I have to admit (grudgingly) that not everyone can do that. So props!

Romance
Heads up, there wasn’t a love triangle at all! Thank goodness! The romance was slow, sweat, and steady! It was so…lovey-dovey and thankfully not insta-romance! (Finally, authors are seeing how much we hate it!). Sarah Crossan basically crossed out all the romance-type stuff we hate like love triangles and insta-love and turned it into one that we’d enjoy!

Characters
Bea:
Bea was definitely my favorite character out of all three. She was empathetic and she was incredibly loyal. She saw the best in people and instead of making her weak, that trait made her seem stronger and more defiant than Alina could be. Bea was one of those quiet, shy good girls who always accepts and follows the rules until she meets Alina, who she warms up to even if the guy she loved liked her. Like I said, Bea could see the best in people. Bea is one of the smartest characters ever and she was brave enough to take a stand against the people she’s feared and listened to her entire life.
Alina:
At first, I really didn’t like Alina, but she did grow on me. She just seemed insanely cruel and cold to Bea and Quinn, but after a few chapters from her POV, I realized that she wasn’t as cold as she seemed to be from someone else’s view. She lost the guy she loved because she liked him and wanted to be with him and that tends to turn someone cold. She had all these complexities in her life being a Rebel member and I realized that Alina didn’t want to be the bitch excuse the language!) of the story either. She just couldn’t let anyone else in.
Quinn:
I definitely thought Quinn was the bravest character. He’s grown up in a luxurious life with as much air as possible and has trusted the government his entire life. But the things he discovers with Alina and Bea contradict all that and new sides of everything he’s known are revealed. And he’s still enough to face them with lies, not flinching. Now that takes guts. He was caring, but he did annoy me when he agreed with Alina because she was a pretty face even when he really disagreed with her. And that fact that (ROMANCE SPOILER) it took him almost dying to realize Bea was the right one for him did annoy me as well. Just a tad.

(less)

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Oct 09, 2012 Jennifer | Nerdhuffing rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, young-adult, favorites, for-review

BREATHE left me breathless. Sarah Crossan has created a world so profound and scary, I hope to never see something like this happen. But even scarier…it could.
They say that humanity is the largest and longest plague Earth has ever experienced, and there is no better illustration of that than Crossan’s new dystopian novel, BREATHE. In it, humanity has been nearly decimated of its own hand, by logging all the forests, causing oxygen levels to plummet. The lucky few chosen by lottery – or sheer imp...more BREATHE left me breathless. Sarah Crossan has created a world so profound and scary, I hope to never see something like this happen. But even scarier…it could.
They say that humanity is the largest and longest plague Earth has ever experienced, and there is no better illustration of that than Crossan’s new dystopian novel, BREATHE. In it, humanity has been nearly decimated of its own hand, by logging all the forests, causing oxygen levels to plummet. The lucky few chosen by lottery – or sheer importance to their field of study – won homes inside the glass-enclosed dome, where class systems have been put into place and families get taxed on the amount of air they use. Everything is run by the Ministry, and the Ministry watches everyone.
I was blown away by BREATHE. It’s been awhile since I’ve enjoyed a dystopian novel as much as I enjoyed this one. Crossan’s use of oxygen as the controlling element is so unique, but even better, it’s frightening because with all the logging we do now, this isn’t an impossible scenario. Improbable, maybe. But impossible? No.
I also enjoyed how relevant it all seemed. Because the government provides an essential commodity (in abundance), its citizens are absolutely indentured to them. I’ve always been a fan of the old adage “give a man a fish and he eats for one day; teach a man to fish and he eats for life.” The citizens in BREATHE ate for one day, at a time, because commodities were provided to them. And the lesson I took away from this was, the more one can take care of themselves, the less they have to depend on others for what they need. I never want to need from my government, but I especially never want to need air. The message overall felt particularly relevant to the political climate of today with the many social programs and the government’s desire to decide what is best for us.
Crossan’s characters covered the gamut of what a dystopian should have: the rebels, the people who are complacent and/or believe that what’s going on is good for the people, and finally, those who work for the government, ruling with their iron fist. I liked all these characters equally, because each had something so important to contribute to the story.
Bea, a level 3 sub, wants so badly to be a Premium, and is in love with a Premium. She believes in the cause of Breathe, the entity that created the dome and sustains their way of life. Except, she’s a reasonable girl, and what she thinks is the cause may not be afterall.
Quinn, a Premium, is humble and honest. It’s refreshing to get a privileged character like Quinn who hasn’t let it go to his head. He’s oblivious to a lot of things around him, something I did find irritating at times, but I chalked that up to his being a teenage boy. They’re all kind of dense. ☺
Alina is the smartest of the bunch. She sees things for what they are, but at the same time, her experiences have jaded her. And she feels she may have lost herself.
The three of them are such an unusual group, but I enjoyed their interaction with one another, as well as the other characters throughout the novel. I am not going to go into the other characters, especially the villains, because I want you to read it and make up your own mind about them. Are they truly evil, or are they surviving with what they’ve been given? I’ll leave that to you to decide.
BREATHE is a keeper and I urge every fan of the dystopian genre to read it. You will especially love it if you’re a fan of Under the Never Sky and – dare I say it – The Hunger Games.(less)

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Aug 19, 2012 Eileen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, dystopian, owned, physical-book, young-adult, won, favorite-books

Check out more of my reviews at ***Singing and Reading in the Rain***!

Breathe was...how do I give it justice? It was amazing. It was epic. It was one of my favorite books this year. After hearing some mixed things—it seems like everybody either loves this novel or hates it—I was a little reluctant to start it. But, soon, I fell in love with this book and I could NOT put it down. When I first found out I won this my immediate reaction was:

And then I was to Sarah Crossan:

Then I found out we li...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Kayla Beck rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-release, dystopia, romance, post-apocalyptic, science-fiction, wishlist, young-adult, edelweiss, 2012-read, 2012-debut

Review originally posted on Bibliophilia, Please

Breathe is a young adult dystopian novel by Sarah Crossan that is set in a future where oxygen, as well as the domes that saved humanity, are all owned by a corporation called Breathe. Trees are gone and the oceans have died, leaving an environment outside of the "pods" that only has oxygen levels of about six percent. The interactions and relationships between three teenagers in this bleak future are the focus of the novel: Alina, the rebel; Bea,...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Giselle at Book Nerd Canada rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, bought-in-store

Global warming has devastated the entire planet, and oxygen levels are at an all time low. The survivors have found a way to live in domed cities which are erected around the planet by the corporation Breathe. They control the oxygen consumption of everyone in the city. Lower class citizens must pay for their oxygen, while wealthier classes have an unlimited supply. Quinn, the handsome, wealthy Premium whose father works for the Breathe corporation. Bea, who is an auxiliary, and also Quinn's bes...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Faye (The Social Potato) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1st-in-series, 2012, dystopian, good-heroine, politics, young-adult, series

Can also be seen on The Social Potato.

Let me start this off by saying Breathe by Sarah Crossan is one of the better Dystopian books out there. It's not perfect, but it's a good book 1 to what may be an epic dystopian adventure following three main characters: Alina, a stunningly beautiful girl who's fighting against the abuses of the new society; Quinn, a naïve and sheltered son of an influential figure who finally realizes the truths that were withheld from him regarding the place he called hom...more Can also be seen on The Social Potato.

Let me start this off by saying Breathe by Sarah Crossan is one of the better Dystopian books out there. It's not perfect, but it's a good book 1 to what may be an epic dystopian adventure following three main characters: Alina, a stunningly beautiful girl who's fighting against the abuses of the new society; Quinn, a naïve and sheltered son of an influential figure who finally realizes the truths that were withheld from him regarding the place he called home all his life; and Bea, a smart, level-headed girl who wanted nothing more but to achieve a comfortable life for herself and for her family.

One of the factors that made this book work for me was the world building. Throughout the book, I was amazed on how the author was able to construct a"perfect" society that followed an apocalyptic event, a society that had a system, but at the same time, wasn't really what it seemed to be ("a there's more to it than what meets the eye" thing). It's not that it was realistic, but more like it was plausible. The world she created was one that could actually happen in the distant future - a situation that could actually materialize in real life. So while it was an enjoyable read, it was a bit scary, too, because I could just imagine the sufferings and the anguish of the people maybe 200-500 years from now as they fight for the last remaining oxygen. Hopefully, if ever this happens, I'd have been long dead. Haha.

Another thing that I absolutely appreciated in this book were the political dilemmas or the political drama that were portrayed. I remember saying before that in my opinion, a dystopian can't be called a dystopian if no form of politics is present. Otherwise, if there are no political dramas that bar and hinder the main characters in their new world surrounded with their new systems, then there aren't any "concrete" skeletons for the plot. Fortunately, Sarah Crossan was able to make very exciting conspiracies in Breathe that were able to move the story in a thrilling and fast pace. They were a bit predictable, yes... you could even see a bit of Michel Foucault ideologies in it, in which scientific knowledge were used but they were means to control the people. Interesting, huh? x= There were no closure yet in regards to these political problems and the rebels fighting against the government, but everything is just beginning... hopefully we see more of them delicious drama come book 2 :p

As for the characters, I thought they were okay... honestly, they didn't really stand out much at the beginning, and it took some time for me to really, really appreciate and get used to them. Although the book used all three's POVs, they all had distinct voices, so any confusion regarding who's who was minimal... But if anything, I felt really uneasy towards Alina's character. She was the kind of girl that we see frequently in YAs - stunningly beautiful, tough, strong, smart, and clever... it was difficult to relate to her at all due to the lack of flaws (I mean, come on... every one has some... and honestly, I wouldn't be attracted to a too-good-to-be-true guy, either... haha).

There was one thing I really appreciated, though, and that was the romance. Yes, there is romance in this book (hello, YA?), but the plot doesn't revolve around it at all. I appreciated the gradual development between two of the three characters, and I sit here hoping it becomes more meaningful in the next installments.

All in all, it was a good read, and I look forward to book 2 :)(less)

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Oct 02, 2012 Irish rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-book, to-buy

UPDATE : June 2012

Another interesting book for this year. It is scheduled to be released on October 2012, I hope it's something worth waiting for.

REVIEW : Oct 3, 2012

Air and breathing is one of the free things in this world. However, what if we started living where we need to buy air, where breathing is very expensive. That is our story with this novel, Breathe. The trees have died and we're running out of oxygen. The government then created a Pod, a dome where people now live and have to share...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Scott Pilgrim rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, e-books, edelweiss, male-pov, science-fiction, dystopia-post-apocalyptic, love-triangle, big-disappointments

Find this review at Scott Reads It

**Thank you to Greenwillow Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review**

Breathe had a lot of promise in my opinion but it really disappointed me. Imagine a world where people live inside a dome and outside is pretty much ruins (Under The Never Sky) then imagine that inside the dome people need oxygen masks to survive (Masque of the Red Death). Breathe takes in place in a dome ruled by a government called Breathe.

This book is told from...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Sue Moro rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: edelweiss-arcs

In Breathe, Sarah Crossan has created a dystopian book, set sometime in the future, where the world has been devastated by overpopulation. In order to feed the masses, the forests around the world have been logged to make way for crop growing. This massive deforestation takes a terrible toll on the planet’s oxygen levels. The Breathe corporation steps in with a solution that will save humanity, but ultimately steal their freedom, for the government now literally controls the air they breathe!

The...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Aneeqah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, covers-to-die-for

After seeing so many shining reviews of this one, and being thrilled by the concept before it’s release, there’s no doubt that I was excited for this book. However, after finishing this book, I had one thought: Meh. That pretty much sums up the entire book for me, honestly. While there were a few things that I really did like in Breathe, there were many other aspects that I didn’t like either.

The world-building is definitely a shining aspect of this book. I loved the concept of air literally run...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Mel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, arc, qp, home

Wow...I'm stunned. This is an amazing story and I'm so excited that there will be a sequel. I'm really only bummed that I have to wait a year or so until it's out. :)

I wrote a proper review on my blog at http://shiploadofwilco.blogspot.com

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May 19, 2013 Sharons Bücherparadies rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lange, bevor dieses Buch im Handel erschienen ist, habe ich es vorbestellt und freute mich um so mehr, als ich es vor einigen Wochen dann endlich in den Händen hielt.

Alles beginnt damit, dass Alina, Quinn und auch Bea in einzelnen Kapiteln von ihren Erlebnissen unter der Kuppel berichten. Alina ist gegen alles, was die Organisation um "Breathe" betrifft. Quinn hingegen gehört zu den Premium Bürgern und ist Sohn des "Breathe" Direktors. Er lebt streng nach den Regeln der Organisation und gehorch...more

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May 18, 2013 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I actually received this a while ago but never got round to reading it. Then I was looking for something to give my Teen Reading Group and decided this would be a good choice so it gave me the excuse to pick it up.
We are introduced into a world of the future, there is no more trees and oxygen is running out. A select few are given the chance to live inside the 'Pod', where Oxygen levels are managed and people are provided wit...more I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I actually received this a while ago but never got round to reading it. Then I was looking for something to give my Teen Reading Group and decided this would be a good choice so it gave me the excuse to pick it up.
We are introduced into a world of the future, there is no more trees and oxygen is running out. A select few are given the chance to live inside the 'Pod', where Oxygen levels are managed and people are provided with air tanks. It still comes down to status, the rich 'premiums' can afford more oxygen, therefore can lead better lives, whilst the poorer 'subs' are taxed for any excess oxygen they use.
First we meet Alina, a young girl trying to make a difference. As part of the resistance she is feisty and determined. Her mission is essential and she wants the resistance to win. She can come across as a bit cold at first and I wasn't quite sure what to make of her but I actually found myself liking her as the book went on. Sure she isn't exactly endearing but something about her made me like her and I wanted to get to know her better.
We then meet Bea and Quinn. Quinn is a Premium, one of high standing, his father works for 'Breathe' the government in charge, he has an abundance of oxygen, money and opportunity but he isn't a spoilt brat, he does all he can for Bea and they are the best of friends. Bea is a sub, her parents work as hard as they can just to afford enough oxygen for them all to live on. Bea hates taking money and things from Quinn but he never makes her feel bad. There is definitely tension between them in the book - Bea loves him but he's totally clueless. I loved to see how they worked together and became closer but also more independent too. Bea really grows up through the book, her eyes are opened and she doesn't back down.
I saw some complaints about the characters but for me they were well written and worked well, i could visualize them all and they seemed to be realistic enough to me, I felt like I knew them and saw them grow and develop.
The whole idea is very well constructed and it all makes sense, it's a very scientific idea, how to run on limited oxygen etc, what would survive, but it's done really well and makes it totally believable.
There are some questions left unanswered by the end of the book, especially who is Abel? but it is set for a trilogy so maybe we will find out in the next book. The ending of this book certainly sets you up for an exciting sequel and I can't wait to get my hands on it. October suddenly seems very far away.(less)

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May 08, 2013 Cornelia Zass rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Eine Welt unter Glas, ein Buch geschaffen aus der Feder der Amerikanerin Sarah Crossan - das ist “Breathe - Gefangen unter Glas”.
Erschienen ist diese 432 Seiten umfassende Dystopie am 1.März 2013 im dtv-Verlag.
Ich danke dem “Buch-Magazin” und dem Verlag für dieses tolle Rezensionsexemplar!

Ein “Premium” sein und endlich nicht mehr nachdenken müssen, wie viel Sauerstoff sie verbrauchen darf, das ist Beas größter Wunsch. Als Second darf sie kein Sport treiben, noch nicht einmal Küssen ist ihr erla...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Carolyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

With a premise that’s much more exciting than its execution, Breathe ranks solidly among mediocre teen dystopian novels such as The Gardener and Incarceron. In a near-future oxygen-poor Earth, people survive by living in domed cities. Moody Quinn is from an entitled Premium family, able to afford as much oxygen as he wants. His best friend Bea is a clingy, idealistic lower-class girl with an unrequited love for Quinn. Bea hopes that Quinn will finally notice her when they go on a camping trip am...more With a premise that’s much more exciting than its execution, Breathe ranks solidly among mediocre teen dystopian novels such as The Gardener and Incarceron. In a near-future oxygen-poor Earth, people survive by living in domed cities. Moody Quinn is from an entitled Premium family, able to afford as much oxygen as he wants. His best friend Bea is a clingy, idealistic lower-class girl with an unrequited love for Quinn. Bea hopes that Quinn will finally notice her when they go on a camping trip among the ruins of the world outside. However, Quinn can’t resist the chance to play hero to damsel-in-distress Alina, a naïve member of the resistance, and Alina becomes their third wheel. Unsurprisingly, the love triangle between these three not-particularly-loveable characters forms the bulk of the story. Quinn, Bea, and Alina take turns telling the story from a first-person point of view, a jarring editorial decision given how frequently narrators change.

The low point of the book is the poor world-building. For readers who like the plot to follow logically from a thoroughly-imagined world, questions raised by the thinly-developed setting will mar their enjoyment of the story. Here are only a few such questions (warning: spoilers ahead):

(view spoiler)[

Why would Quinn, Bea, and Alina go to the same school, given that they live in different geographical areas and are also from different social classes? If the reason is that there are too few students to justify more than one school, then how is it possible that Quinn and Bea had never met Alina before?
What are the sports teams at Quinn’s school like? Is every team member a Premium? Do they play with oxygen tanks strapped to their backs?
The regime has already made its citizens oxygen-dependent by pumping extra oxygen into the city. Why would they take the additional risk of giving people supposed vaccinations against fake illnesses that make them only slightly more dependent on oxygen? It’s a high risk of discovery for very little reward.
If Premiums can afford oxygen, why do they run in public with uncomfortable airtanks instead of exercising in luxurious privacy at home? Granted, running in public could be a status symbol, but when all Premiums bear obvious tattoos, it’s not really necessary to do anything more to flaunt one’s status.
The citizens of the pod know there is a resistance, but what do they believe it stands for? The public view on the resistance seems surprisingly apathetic.
If people are not allowed to run in public because they use too much public oxygen, how is it any more justifiable to waste oxygen by sending vehicles to enforce the no-running law?
How can the government justify its rule against owning houseplants in a way that rational citizens would accept?
If private oxygen costs money but public oxygen is free, what’s to stop poor citizens from just opening all their windows?
As a toddler, Bea was strapped to her crib to prevent her from running around and using too much oxygen. Why didn’t her parents just take her outside to play in the free public air? It’s not like it ever rains in a domed city.
How did the Earth become a completely barren wasteland so suddenly? Wouldn’t at least a few plants have survived, plants that by now would have spread across the Earth? And if the catastrophic change was indeed so sudden, how did the architects of the domed city have enough time and resources to build it?
Camping in the ruins of old Earth is a luxury for the Premiums who can afford the necessary air tanks. Why is it, then, that Quinn and Bea encounter no fellow campers after they leave, despite the huge lines described at the exit? And why isn’t there more infrastructure to support this supposedly large tourism industry, such as rental vehicles or even hotels?
The resistance carefully tends trees in secret, with the ultimate goal of using them to create breathable atmosphere again. Instead, why doesn’t the resistance just scatter dandelion seeds or phytoplankton? No one has enough herbicide to kill plants that reproduce so quickly and don’t need any special care. While weeds are less majestic than trees, they could accomplish the resistance’s goal of oxygenating the atmosphere much more efficiently.
Why doesn’t the resistance scatter seeds around the clear-glass dome? Even if the army vigilantly kills off all the sprouts, people on the inside will eventually notice that plants are capable of growing outside, contrary to popular belief.

(hide spoiler)]

Nevertheless, readers who are willing to overlook somewhat annoying characters and a thinly-imagined world in favor of a fast-paced story with plenty of angst, betrayal, and violence will be satisfied with Breathe.
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Apr 27, 2013 Alex rated it 5 of 5 stars

When I bought it I was a little unsure. I thought it was going to be one of those books which lure you in with their cover, then disappoint you. But boy was I wrong! This book is epic!!!

At first I was put off by the story being told from three different perspectives, but this is actually what makes it so amazing. The characters are timeless, and you can really relate to them. In the beginning I thought I was in for a long sappy love triangle with lots of fights and drama, so when I read it I wa...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Stanley rated it 2 of 5 stars

Review
When this book was introduced to me, I thought it had a creative storyline. I was really looking forward to reading this book but instead the ending of the book did not meet my expectation and gave me a shock in the face, the storyline was great but it didn't grab my attention. Also the three main characters had an interesting personality but I think the writer didn't make them stand out at all.
I didn't really like the characters in this story even though they had a great start at the begi...more Review
When this book was introduced to me, I thought it had a creative storyline. I was really looking forward to reading this book but instead the ending of the book did not meet my expectation and gave me a shock in the face, the storyline was great but it didn't grab my attention. Also the three main characters had an interesting personality but I think the writer didn't make them stand out at all.
I didn't really like the characters in this story even though they had a great start at the beginning. There were 3 main characters and their names are Alina, Bea and Quinn. These three had a very strong personality at the beginning but it kind of died out at the end.
If I had to choose one of the characters and relate is to me, I think I would choose Alina. Alina's character was a brave girl and she could basically do whatever she wants. I personally think that the author didn't bring out the meaning for this character but I could still make lots of connections between Alina and I. Some good things i liked about her character were that she took risks. Alina's character was not easy to understand because she personally always changes like from suffering for the lost of her parent, turning into a rude person and than later she starts to care about others. This character is very hard to understand and if you miss some parts of the story you will be clueless.
Bea was another main character in the story and at the beginning I think Bea's character was very strong. Mid way into the book I think Bea's character kind of dies out because at a certain part of the story Alina starts to respect her and this turned out really weird to me because it was so random. But I really didn't care about Bea's character that much because the author did not put her on the top of the rankings during story.

For Quinn, I think it’s pretty obvious that the character is just there for the story because I didn't find much about him. I could mostly predict his next move every time I read about him and there isn't really anything special about Quinn.
This book was very disappointing to me because every time when the story gets interesting it dies out instantly. This proves that it is very inconsistencies and the fact that the characters were very confusing at time, I was clueless at what I was reading. The characters did not develop at all, instead it kind of went down and I just wanted to throw the book away.
Overall I would give this book 6.5 out of 10 because I think the storyline was great but the way she told the story kind of confused me. I think if the author could make the characters stronger like not just 1 by 1 but in a group the characters would be a lot stronger together, Also improving the storyline would give a big boost to the top for this book because the story leads readers to shock and disappointed.

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Apr 13, 2013 Kat rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: drama, dystopian, escape, not-continuing-the-series, pretty-good-for-what-it-was, reccommened, teen-angst

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Pretty good book for what it was. Although I have the same issue with it that I have with most young adult fiction these days, the romance is annoying an unrealistic.

The premise is great. In a world with no trees and thus no oxygen, members of society live in Pods where they are supplied everything they need to live. But life outside the Pod isn't as desolate as it is claimed to be. There's a resistance forming, they can grow trees and can live without the aid of the Pods and thus deem them use...more Pretty good book for what it was. Although I have the same issue with it that I have with most young adult fiction these days, the romance is annoying an unrealistic.

The premise is great. In a world with no trees and thus no oxygen, members of society live in Pods where they are supplied everything they need to live. But life outside the Pod isn't as desolate as it is claimed to be. There's a resistance forming, they can grow trees and can live without the aid of the Pods and thus deem them useless - governmental disaster.

We follow the story from the POV's of three lead characters. Quinn, a premium boy who has the best of life in the Pod. Bea, a member of a working-class Pod family who struggle for the barest of oxygen. Bea also harbors a lust for Quinn. And Alina, a resistance fighter who infiltrated the Pod for some reason and is now breaking out.

The trio meet at the start of the novel and Quinn, with his Premium Powers, is able to sneak Alina across. The reason he does this annoys me, it's because she's pretty. She is a stranger to him, he is supposed to be going camping with Bea, and instead he sees a pretty face and literally sacrifices his own and Bea's safety to help Alina, who isn't that thankful. In fact, she's downright furious that they have wormed their way into her escape (which I don't mind by the way, Alina was my favourite character mainly due to her anti-social and abrasive ways).

The trio get out and Alina ditches Bea and Quinn, only to have to be saved by them when a decrepit old woman attacks Alina for her oxygen tank. Rather than leave the attacker behind or kill her, which is Alina's preference, Bea is horrified and decides they must bring her along. Bea bugged the crap out of me, she's so righteous. It's insufferable. And her whole life is Quinn, even though she's well aware that he's into Alina and doesn't like her "that way".

So this old woman, Maude, becomes part of the gang. With limited oxygen, food and having to be constantly on the move it seems like the worst decision to have brought along someone who will only slow them down, use their supplies and tried to kill them, but whatever.

Then odd stuff starts happening. We're told at the start of the novel that no one can live outside the Pods, but there seems to be a pretty big world of people living out there. There are armies in tanks who apparently work for the Pod Minister, there is a large resistance gang who scout for new members all over the land which presumes that people are living on their own in small groups somehow.

Alina steal a tank, and then claims that she's started a war. I'm not really sure how.

Anyway, Alina brings Quinn, Bea and Maude back to her resistance hideout where her sadistic leader, Petra, locks up Bea and Maude and plans to use Quinn because of his status as a Premium. The war has presumably been building for some time as the resistance have a large base, full grown trees large enough to sit in which would indicate decades of growth if they had planted them, which is implied in an abandoned stadium where the seats are full of seedlings. Alina knows most of the people in the resistance despite the fact she's been living in the Pod forever. It's drummed in pretty hard that people can't just come and go from the Pod when they chose, so how she's keeping in contact with the hundreds of resistance members I have no idea.

Long story short, a war doesn't start. At least not in this book, I'm sure they'll go into it more in the next one but I don't care to read it. Things started picking up, action-wise, throughout the last third of the book and I read it way faster than I did the first two thirds. It's slow to start and it felt like I was missing something, perhaps something was lost in being in the minds of three characters. Personally, I would have liked to read the story purely from Alina's perspective. Quinn and Bea don't really add much to the overall narrative except to pine for each other. Oh, in the end Quinn realizes he is in love with Bea and they're soul mates or whatever.

Recommended, I'm sure it'll hit the mark for fans of dystopia :)(less)

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Apr 12, 2013 Abagayle Bostek rated it 4 of 5 stars

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I liked the drama and feel that it was distributed well throughout the book. The idea of the book is creative and I believe could be plausible in the next hundred years or so - aside from creating oxygen filled with chemicals. The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is that it was almost like every other dystopian book I've read. Over-controlling government, rebels, romance, war, wanting to prove something, etc.

Lately I have been in love with dystopian books,...more

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Mar 26, 2013 B_Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sauerstoff ist für die meisten Lebewesen überlebenswichtig.
Ungefähr 2,5 Milliarden Jahre lang war Sauerstoff das am häufigsten vorkommende chemische Element auf Erden.
Bis zum Switch.

Ein kleiner Einblick:

Die Erde wurde von einer massiven Umweltkatastrophe heimgesucht, dem sogenannten "Switch". Bei diesem Switch sank der Sauerstoffgehalt so drastisch ab, dass ein Überleben nicht möglich scheint. Wälder sterben ab und es wächst nichts mehr nach. Die Weltbevölkerung wurde aufgrund dieser Katastrophe...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Tamara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Die Menschheit zerstörte die Natur. Deren Ignoranz kostete sie das Leben. Nun sind die restlichen 0,5 Prozent der ursprünglichen vier Milliarden Menschen dazu gezwungen, unter einer riesigen Glaskuppel zu leben. Das sogenannte Projekt "Breathe" produziert nun für sie den notwendigen Sauerstoff, bis ausreichend Bäume gepflanzt wurden, sodass ein freies Leben wieder möglich ist.

Deren Gesellschaft ist in zwei Klassen unterteilt: Premiums, die die höhere Gesellschaft bilden und unbegrenzt Sauerstof...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Oksana *Bookaholic* rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cute, future, hmm, kinda-cute, ok, oh-my-gosh, dystopian-bébé-challenge

After the first couple chapters, I was ready to call it quits. It was sounding a lot like Skylark, and I really didn't enjoy that book, as most of you know. Anyway, back to Breathe.

At first, for me the characters were really unlikable. Ditto for the boring and slow-paced plot. But then it picked up, and things actually got really good.

At the beginning of the book, I really hated Bea. I wanted Quinn to get together with Alina just to spite her. Instead as the story went on, I found myself fallin...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Grace rated it 4 of 5 stars

Good eco-dystopian society, well fleshed out with cool consequences. And I honestly enjoyed all of the main characters here, largely because they avoided many of the typical teen-book grooves - I was fully expecting certain events to take place, and then the plot would zig when I expected a zag, and it was really very refreshing.

It took me a while to place the location, but this is set outside of London. Humanity have retreated into domes, protected and supplied by the Breathe company ever sinc...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
YA Buddy Readers'...: Breathe by Sarah Crossan START DATE: March 28th	8	17	Mar 30, 2013 04:37pm
Bea or Alina	11	40	Mar 17, 2013 01:31am
Bea or Alina	1	2	Jan 23, 2013 02:39pm
Bea or Alina	1	1	Jan 23, 2013 02:39pm

title link	preview: Breathe
avg rating	preview: Breathe Goodreads rating: 3.70 (4123 ratings)
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