Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
117th out of 281 books
—
437 voters
Breathing Room
by
Marsha Hayles (Goodreads Author)
Evvy Hoffmeister is thirteen years old when her family brings her to Loon Lake Sanatorium to get cured of tuberculosis (TB). Evvy is frightened by her new surroundings; the rules to abide are harsh and the nurses equally rigid. But Evvy soon falls into step with the other girls in her ward. There’s Sarah, quiet but thoughtful; Pearl, who adores Hollywood glamour; and Di
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
June 5th 2012
by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
557)
Book buzz is a capricious thing. A book gets a starred review or two, a word from the right blogger, and suddenly it's the It Girl of Publishing Year 2013. Last year it was Okay for Now. This year it's Wonder. Sometimes they show up in the Newbery pantheon (oh lovely When You Reach Me), but sometimes the committee looks further afield (Moon Over what?). If this year's committee has been casting about for neglected titles (as well they should be), Breathing Room may be up for discussion.
Sam gave...more
Sam gave...more
Eveleyn’s father drops her off at Loon Lake in May of 1940. Although she is thirteen, she is scared to be left at a sanitarium by herself. What is worse is that she is only allowed to bring a few items with her, and her stuffed animal gets taken away from her because it could contain germs. Evvy has tuberculosis and in order for her to get better she must be separated from her family and follow the rules. Because she has tuberculosis breathing isn’t easy. Being alone is hard too, and Evvy has tr...more
I picked this one to read because the setting sounded interesting: the story takes place in a sanatorium in the early 1940's. 13-year-old Evvy Hoffmeister has to go live there to recover from tuberculosis, and the story focuses on her feelings as she deals with being away from her family and as she makes friends with the other girls in her room. Evvy has a way with words (she loves poetry and later on discovers that she wants to be a writer in some capacity), and there are some really beautiful...more
Evvy has tuberculosis and is sent to the Loon Lake Sanatorium to recover. She is put into a room with other girls her age: Dena, Bethany, Pearl and Sarah. Together they struggle with their disease and the ever present fear that death is just around the corner.
All I have to say about this book is Wow! I loved it. It was such a powerful look and how these girls struggled every day with the certainty that death could take them. There was death around them always. And the author was not afraid to b...more
All I have to say about this book is Wow! I loved it. It was such a powerful look and how these girls struggled every day with the certainty that death could take them. There was death around them always. And the author was not afraid to b...more
This was a wonderful read! I almost read the whole book in one sitting but a pesky little thing called sleep won out.
Breathing Room takes place in 1940 at a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients. 13 year old Evvy has to leave everyone and everything she knows in order to get well. At Loon Lake Sanitorium in Minnesota, she is housed with other girls her age in a ward where the biggest rule is to rest. This means no talking, walking, or even going to the bathroom. (Can you say metal bedpans?) Stoic...more
Breathing Room takes place in 1940 at a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients. 13 year old Evvy has to leave everyone and everything she knows in order to get well. At Loon Lake Sanitorium in Minnesota, she is housed with other girls her age in a ward where the biggest rule is to rest. This means no talking, walking, or even going to the bathroom. (Can you say metal bedpans?) Stoic...more
Narrated by 13 year old Evvy Hoffmeister, this story tells about her year at the Loon Lake Sanatorium in 1940. Her family sent her there to get cured of tuberculosis (TB). Never having been away from home before and separated from her twin brother, Abe, Evvy is sad, lonely, and frightened. She is put into a room with three other girls her age and quickly makes friends. There are many rules the patients need to follow in order to get rest and get better; no visitors, no mail, no walking, no going...more
Mar 01, 2013
Laurendancer1221
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes a slow moving book
The Breathing Room by Marsha Hayles, Evvy is turning thirteen when she finds out that she needs to be treated for Tuberculosis. Her family takes her to loon lake sanatorium in Minnesota to be cured of tuberculosis. Evvy does not like how Loon lake sanatorium is run. The rules are outrageous, the nurses are annoying, mean, and some are even evil. But Evvy does like the girls in her room. They are all very nice. Dina who has been there the longest and is still trying to hang in, Pearl who loves H...more
A beautifully-written story with wonderful characters. The girls in the sanitarium ward with Evvy are all different and deal with the worry and fear of being a TB patient in different ways. As the story progresses, they come to understand each other better, and Evvy forms strong friendships. Evvy also starts to find her voice in writing poetry, making this a particularly good recommendation for young writers.
It's not full of action, but it is a compelling story. Death is very real, and some of...more
It's not full of action, but it is a compelling story. Death is very real, and some of...more
Breathing Room is an excellent book that discusses life for a young teen girl, Evvy, in a TB sanatorium in the early 1940s. Her days are filled with rest and friends. The end notes of the book give good historical and factual data about TB and sanatoriums. They also describe and credit the photographs that appear in the book. Just a note (and spoiler alert), I noticed that Barnes & Noble had the age of this novel for 10-14. I agree with the upper end of this range, but want to caution people...more
Evvy is suffering from tuberculosis in 1940 and is sent to a sanatorium in Minnesota in hopes of recovering. What follows is a story not just of the history of life in a sanatorium, but also of Evvy's coming of age, as she struggles to learn how to be a whole person, when up until now she has always been one half of a set of twins. While this book is honest in its portrayal of sickness, primitive TB treatments, and death, it is also a slow, subtle story that will appeal to gentle readers. The au...more
Thirteen-year-old Evvy spends a year in a TB sanitorium in 1940-41. What a prison! No visitors, no talking, bed-rest for months at a time, intensive therapy, insensitive nursing staff. Frightened and weak, Evvy slowly develops relationships with the 3 girls in her room as they figure out ways to talk and eventually support each other. Two of them die, but Evvy manages to improve. She is the one who tells the story and her narration grows in strength as the story progresses. While grim, her story...more
view 2 comments
It’s 1940, war is threatening and 13 year old Evvy has been sent to the sanatorium at Loon Lake hoping to recover from tuberculosis. Over the course of a year, she misses her twin brother and parents, but makes life-long friends among the other girls in the ward. This is a touching story of a difficult period in our history. There are details of the disease, but it doesn’t overshadow the story of Evvy and her friends. Between chapters of the narrative there are illustrations related to the time...more
This book has several things to recommend it, like a great sense of setting and a simple, clear style, but I found it generally sort of well-trodden. Every character here feels like one I've seen before--the handsome, kind young doctor; the mean nurse and the young, pretty, nice one; the rebellious sick girl, the saintly sick girl, the celebrity-obsessed sick girl, the bookish sick girl.
The author's note is over-the-top with detail and the FOUR PAGES of acknowledgments are a little much. (Especi...more
The author's note is over-the-top with detail and the FOUR PAGES of acknowledgments are a little much. (Especi...more
7-20-12
I can't believe I'm the first to have read this book on GoodReads! What a great book--a well crafted story based on such a scary time period for those who suffered with TB. I was totally engrossed and developed a bond with the characters. Tear jerker for sure, as many do not survive TB. Story is about girls living in a sanatorium, in order to heal and to prevent exposure to others as TB was a highly contagious disease in 1940. The boredom that was their daily existence as REST was one of...more
I can't believe I'm the first to have read this book on GoodReads! What a great book--a well crafted story based on such a scary time period for those who suffered with TB. I was totally engrossed and developed a bond with the characters. Tear jerker for sure, as many do not survive TB. Story is about girls living in a sanatorium, in order to heal and to prevent exposure to others as TB was a highly contagious disease in 1940. The boredom that was their daily existence as REST was one of...more
It's an interesting setting for an early teen's growing up story, and there aren't many other tales of the TB sanitorium days out there for young readers. Evie is a sympathetic character, and her cast of friends are interesting enough. At the same time, because of the setting, large chunks of time go by quickly without much happening. Hayles also employs too much telling and not enough showing when it comes to integrating the history into her story. Also, a number of the characters seem to have...more
Hayles’ historical fiction tackles an era and experience that I haven’t read about in children’s literature before - life in a pre-World War II tuberculosis sanatorium. Told from the perspective of Evvy, a 14-year old patient, I was at once fascinated and horrified by the treatment that these young patients received. The primary source-like documents compliment the narration and the author’s note was as fascinating (if not more so) than the story itself. This one might not have tremendous wide a...more
This was such a good book! Part of the reason I liked it so much is probably because I'm an RT...But even without that, it was still good. I even learned some new things about TB! Like...I had no idea they used to give TB patients pneumos on purpose, to rest their lungs. Weird. The book was a little slow, but it wouldn't have fit the story if it wasn't. It was a short, easy read, so that made up for the slowness. I also really enjoyed all the old pics. There was a few a tear jerker moments, but...more
1 like · like · see review
Evvy has TB, and she has to go to a santorium, a place where teens and adults go to "rest" and recover from TB. Many teens who go in there never make it alive. Evvy befriends three girls who are ill as well, and most likely, some of them won't survive. The best thing, hands down, was the historical pictures and documents that were contained in this book. I really enjoyed looking at them and found it very fascinating. The plot itself was just okay, very light and easy to follow. I did enjoy this...more
Very good story about a girl named Evelyn in the 1940s who has Tuberculosis and goes to a sanitarium to get well. She becomes friends with several girls in her ward, some of who do not stay there long. The story was very detailed about the disease and the types of treatments used on patients. Of particular interest were the pictures at the beginning of each chapter. Some were photos of wards back then and some were posters suggesting ways for people to stay healthy.
Evvy is 13 and has TB. She is also known as patient 22781. In Minnesota 1940 if you have TB you get sent to Loon Lake Sanatorium, a hospital for TB patients. Evvy is in a room with a few other girls. There they must be silent and rest. Their bodies will either learn to fight the TB or they will die. Most will die. Evvy misses her twin brother and her parents. She wants to get better but she also wants to enjoy life. Looking around her breathing room she wonders who will go home and who will neve...more
An amazing survival story that takes place in the early 1940s at Loon Lake Sanatorium. 13 year old Evvy is there to be treated for tuberculosis. This is a quiet story with strong character development as Evvy develops relationships with her roommates, some who survive and some who do not. I did not want the story to end as I was so connected to the main character, Evvy. There is a not to be missed afterword with a history of tuberculosis and its treatment. One of the many things I learned in thi...more
This was a beautifully written book about a girl who had tuberculosis. The perspective was believable and relatable, and I couldn't put it down. Evvy was an amazing person whose view about the world and others kind of changes, and even for a non-mystery or -action book, this had its surprises! I recommend this to everyone.
To me this book was a timeless story of friendship and determination. It is about a teenage girl named Evvy suffering from tuberculosis in a sanatorium in the 1940s.
The book is sort of quiet, unobtrusive and strong, just like Evvy. She finds her way to having strength to get well and to support her friends.
The book is sort of quiet, unobtrusive and strong, just like Evvy. She finds her way to having strength to get well and to support her friends.
This was okay. It was interestesing to see a side of history that rarely gets explored. I can't think of any other title about the TB epidemic and treatment during the middle of the 20th century. The story didn't capture me emotionally as much as I had hoped for. The writing was a little too dry.
A nice easy read. The chapters were not long at all, but the story was wonderful.
Evvie has been sent to a tuberculosis hospital, and while she is there learns more about herself and life. A book about friendship, love, and hope in the midst of feeling out of place and alone.
Evvie has been sent to a tuberculosis hospital, and while she is there learns more about herself and life. A book about friendship, love, and hope in the midst of feeling out of place and alone.
A quiet but wonderful novel. After reading it, my google search history is full of gross stuff like "tuberculosis" and "Minnesota sanatoriums." Definitely fulfilled my weird interest in medical fiction, with a lovely protagonist.
Full review forthcoming on www.slatebreakers.com
Full review forthcoming on www.slatebreakers.com
This takes place in the 1940's. A young girl with tuberculosis is sent to a sanatorium to see if she can get help. It is a very strict and cold environment for everyone and scary too. Building relationships is awkward but helps them thrive in different ways.
Somewhat predictable story of a 13 year old girl sent to a sanatorium to be treated for TB in 1940. Even though the cast of characters almost seem wooden and type cast, it's an interesting peek into a time when there were few tools to battle the "white plague".
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This was a very fast and easy read. It was a good look at a facet of history I don't know much about and I liked reading about the girls' slowly developing friendship. Even though the girls were mostly bedridden, there was enough excitement to keep me interested.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Marsha Hayles is the author of many picture books and now a novel for young people. Her picture books frequently make use of rhyme and playful language, and range in topic from celebrating a day at the beach to suffering sore feet. Her novel Breathing Room is about girls suffering from tuberculosis at a sanatorium in 1940 and reflects her life-long interest in medicine, inspired, in part, by her c...more
More about Marsha Hayles...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
