What is the toughest request anyone can be asked to fulfill?
Travis Morrison is a champion diver and one of the most popular kids at ... read full description
Travis Morrison is a champion diver and one of the most popular kids at ... read full description
reviews
Feb 09, 2011
Brianna
rated it: 
This book could have been A LOT better.
It felt rushed. 150 pages for a book? That's not even enough time to let your characters grow. I was very disappointed.
I wanted to know more about the relationships, the characters, what happened over the period of time, but it just happened too fast.
Maybe it was because everyone was awaiting a new novel by her, maybe it was because she didn't plan it out properly or took enough time. You're supposed to feel connections with characters, no More...
It felt rushed. 150 pages for a book? That's not even enough time to let your characters grow. I was very disappointed.
I wanted to know more about the relationships, the characters, what happened over the period of time, but it just happened too fast.
Maybe it was because everyone was awaiting a new novel by her, maybe it was because she didn't plan it out properly or took enough time. You're supposed to feel connections with characters, no More...
Oct 31, 2011
Peony
rated it: 
The book "Breathless" by Lurlene McDaniel is a fantastic story about a boy's surprising news. Travis Morrison is a typical teenage boy who has a girlfriend, a sister that he loves, and a best friend. He's champion at diving and the whole school thinks he's the best. But when Travis makes a big mistake of diving into a lake one day, his life completely changes. He finds out that he has cancer, and soon all he thinks about is dying because the pain he's in. I personally really enjoyed th
More...
Jun 11, 2011
Shelby
rated it: 
Breathless was absolutely an amazing book. Lurlene McDaniel knows how to write a good book! I've read pretty much all of her books and with each book I feel like I'm part of the story. Breathless had to do with a champion diver, Travis and over the summer he decided to do a stunt at a lake and all he thought he did was break his leg but as it turns out, he had a rare form of cancer. And to save him, the doctors tell his parents they must amputate. From that moment, his life and the lives of ever
More...
Nov 08, 2010
Karen
rated it:
OMG! Another 5/5* book....
Before I even picked up this book I was a little disappointed because of how thin it was (165pg), and I thought I wouldn't get much out of it. I mean, c'mon, how much can you really get out of book that is less then 200 pgs? Especially a book that is about such a serious subject?
So, reluctantly I picked up the book and started reading it. Once again, the pages flew by without me noticing because the book was that good!
This book is abo More...
Before I even picked up this book I was a little disappointed because of how thin it was (165pg), and I thought I wouldn't get much out of it. I mean, c'mon, how much can you really get out of book that is less then 200 pgs? Especially a book that is about such a serious subject?
So, reluctantly I picked up the book and started reading it. Once again, the pages flew by without me noticing because the book was that good!
This book is abo More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 29, 2010
Damian
rated it:
Breathless by Lurlene McDaniel. The setting for this book is Alexander, Alabama and the main characters are Travis Morrison, Cooper, Darla and Emily. Travis and Cooper are best friends, Emily is Travis' sister and Darla is Travis' girlfriend. Travis is a very popular boy at school and is a great diver. He has scouts from all over the country offering him scholarships to their college. He loves to dive and gets an adrenaline rush when he does it. He has always loved the water and said if he
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 23, 2010
Theresa
rated it: 
I went to reserve the other Breathless at the library, and this one came up on the list. A new Lurlene McDaniel book? About assisted suicide? I clearly needed to read this one. I haven't read a Lurlene in years and years- not since I still enjoyed her books.
Two important things to note in this book, I believe.
One- In the eighth grade, I wrote a short story about a girl who falls off a ladder and breaks her leg, and when they x-ray it, they find out she had cancer. This was t More...
Two important things to note in this book, I believe.
One- In the eighth grade, I wrote a short story about a girl who falls off a ladder and breaks her leg, and when they x-ray it, they find out she had cancer. This was t More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
May 22, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Cancer is terrible, but when it strikes a young, active body, it seems especially horrific. That's the case with high school student Travis Morrison. One minute he's a vibrant, healthy teen, and the next he's struck down by the devastating disease.
One sunny afternoon at the lake, Travis, two friends, Cooper and Darla, and sister Emily are enjoying a picnic and a swim. Travis tears up a rocky path be More...
Cancer is terrible, but when it strikes a young, active body, it seems especially horrific. That's the case with high school student Travis Morrison. One minute he's a vibrant, healthy teen, and the next he's struck down by the devastating disease.
One sunny afternoon at the lake, Travis, two friends, Cooper and Darla, and sister Emily are enjoying a picnic and a swim. Travis tears up a rocky path be More...
May 20, 2009
Cheyenne
rated it: 
Great Discussion Stimulator
Breathless
By Lurlene McDaniel
Pub. Date: May 2009
4 out of 5 stars
PG-13 – Sexual References, Violence, Alcohol Abuse, and Profanity
Recommended
Travis lives in the water. There is nothing more thrilling or gratifying then a successful dive. To celebrate the first day of summer vacation, Travis, his sister, his girlfriend, and his best friend, head out to the lake for some boating and swimming. During the trip, they stop More...
Breathless
By Lurlene McDaniel
Pub. Date: May 2009
4 out of 5 stars
PG-13 – Sexual References, Violence, Alcohol Abuse, and Profanity
Recommended
Travis lives in the water. There is nothing more thrilling or gratifying then a successful dive. To celebrate the first day of summer vacation, Travis, his sister, his girlfriend, and his best friend, head out to the lake for some boating and swimming. During the trip, they stop More...
Dec 03, 2011
rameau
rated it:
This is how I think about my life: Before I got sick, endless possibilities. After? No possibilities.
Travis has his whole life ahead of him, then he doesn't. A broken leg starts a vicious cycle of hospitalisation, out patient treatment, pain, medication, remission, and relapse. Pain changes him. It changes the people around him. It changes everything.
There's a lovely author's note in the beginning to warn those who find the word euthanasia a trigger. I for one would have More...
4 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 14, 2010
Theresa
rated it:
What I love about this book is that it has truth in it. I love fantasy, but sometimes I like some true stories. Darla and Travis are together for a longer time and both are seniors at their high school. Cooper is Travis’s best friend. Travis is a diver and Cooper also joined because of him, but Travis is the best in his school and quit frankly the best in State. Darla is proud to have Travis because he is different than the most boyfriends she had, through which her “bad reputation” became famou
More...
Sep 29, 2009
Tracy
rated it:
Beathless is an interesting and risk taking concept. It begs the question is it okay to take someone’s life if they are terminal and ask for it? However, the concept is the only aspect McDaniel got right with her newest melodrama. Maybe it’s because I’m older-I used to love Lurlene McDaniel’s books when I was younger- or maybe it’s because the author lacks the ability to appropriately execute her idea effectively. In this book she has four main characters and four interpretations- Travis the sto
More...
Sep 29, 2011
3AllisonT
rated it:
This book had to be the best book i ever read. I loved this book. The characters in this book are Darla, Emily, Cooper, Travis, and Emily and travis parents. This book was about Travis, the allstar, popular guy in high school. He was captain of the swimteam, until that one trip down to Alabama. Him and his family all went to Alabama, this was their vacation weekend. Travis was good at diving, so he saw this massive cliff that landed into a lake. He had the feeling to do it today. So, Emily, Tra
More...
May 24, 2009
Karalee
rated it:
This book has a very powerful story that grabs you right from the beginning. In style, Lurlene McDaniel is similar to Jodi Picoult -- she often selects difficult subjects with morally ambiguous elements and also tends to write books from the perspective of multiple different characters. The book was much shorter than a typical Jodi Picoult book but covered a lot of the same types of issues. Although I found the subject matter incredibly depressing, I also found the book thought-provoking and
More...
Jan 25, 2009
Brandy
rated it:
Travis, a champion diver and one of the star athletes at school, is hanging out with his best friends on the first day of summer vacation. The cliffs over the lake call to him, and he climbs up to dive from them, only to hear his leg snap when he jumps. Days later, he's still in the hospital, facing amputation due to osteosarcoma, and he knows he'll never get back to the life he had. His parents, sister, best friend, and girlfriend all want what's best for Travis, but Travis' parents' opinion
More...
Jan 08, 2010
Ashleigh
rated it:
This book is about a boy named Travis who gets into a diving accident while jumping off of a huge cliff in the middle of the ocean. In this book, four charecters- Travis, Cooper, Emily, and Darla take turns sharing their perspective of what's going on and how their dealing with whats happened and their lives.
This book was very good, and i really liked it. It was short and to the point, nothing extra that felt like wasted space, which is why it was only 164 pages. The only dissapointment More...
This book was very good, and i really liked it. It was short and to the point, nothing extra that felt like wasted space, which is why it was only 164 pages. The only dissapointment More...
Jun 12, 2009
Loryn
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Apr 22, 2011
Krista
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 19, 2010
Michelle
rated it:
This book was a short story about a high school diver named Travis and was diagnosed with bone cancer. There are 3 other characters that surround him that also tell the story and their inner feelings. One of those characters are his sister, Emily, his girlfriend, Darla and his best friend, Cooper. I think that this book was good afterall because when most hear stories or read stories about those who suffered from a longterm illness also thought that the one who is suffering is hurting the most.
More...
Aug 26, 2009
Landon
rated it:
This proved to be a good, two-sitting YA snippet--a good sample if you'd like to taste a bit of McDaniel's writing without "diving" too far in (no pun intended). While retrospectively I can see not much really happened throughout it, and some details/aspects/concepts typical of good YA books were absent from it, I ended up not minding either of those points. It's obvious, through the feeling of fulfillment I got upon putting the novella down, that the details McDaniels chose to show we
More...
May 26, 2011
Janice
rated it:
This was a book I grabbed for my daughter (one of many). I just read the back and see if it's a contender and bring home a bunch so she can choose if she runs out of books. She said it was good and I found myself without a book and wanting to read in the sun, so I gave it a shot. It's a quick, easy read and dealt with a serious subject. It's just too short and simple to really give the characters much depth, but I still thought it was good and not as predictable as I had thought. I even got my s
More...
Jan 05, 2010
Tyshawnsof2014
rated it:
This book is about a girl name beverly and how she goes to Kauai with her uncle for her summer vaction. Her uncle owns a scuba diving shop and needs her help. Later in the book she meets a man called Garth who is trying to get with her. But he is to old with her and trying to force her to do stuff with him.
I could not connect with her because i was never in probelm or area when a girl was being forced to do stuff like kissing and other stuff.
I gave this book a More...
I could not connect with her because i was never in probelm or area when a girl was being forced to do stuff like kissing and other stuff.
I gave this book a More...
Mar 11, 2011
Alex
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 08, 2010
Ashley
rated it:
The title of this book fits well: it left me feeling breathless. The author definitely hit on valuing quality of life over life in general, and even more the importance of respecting one's wishes. Family and close friends are all that a being really has when his or her life crashes down, and if he or she cant talk to someone who can hear them out, things only get worse. I learned to always listen to my friends and family, and not to question them or try to persuade them otherwise. No one person
More...
Jun 13, 2009
Holly
rated it:
I must have a thing for books about choices. First I read "If I Stay" (amazing, but that's besides the point) and now Breathless.
Choose to live or choose to die? That's what it comes down to. Travis has cancer and his life is ruined. His dreams of being an Olympic diver? Gone. High School? Done. The only things he still has are his friends and family. Even then it's not all it's cracked up to be.
In the beginning of the book, it brings up the point that More...
Choose to live or choose to die? That's what it comes down to. Travis has cancer and his life is ruined. His dreams of being an Olympic diver? Gone. High School? Done. The only things he still has are his friends and family. Even then it's not all it's cracked up to be.
In the beginning of the book, it brings up the point that More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Sep 08, 2010
Katie
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 03, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
It's too bad that McDaniel writes such short books, novellas really. I understand she does this for reluctant readers, and her topics of the past few years have been intriguing (thank goodness she is no longer writing those awful romance novels of years ago!). If this book had been a bit longer, I think the characterization would have been better. The topic is a controversial one and one that deserves more in-depth discussion/analysis. Alas, the characters are not well developed. I liked the end
More...
Sep 10, 2011
Makii
rated it:
la verdad...no entiendo como alguien puede escribir algo tan cruel....de verdad....este libro me dejo sin lagrimas....
Llore desde la hoja 3 en adelante mas o menos...es terrible.
A veces no entiendo como la vida se ensaña tanto con una persona....no basta con destruir todo lo que el es, sino que también lo tiene agonizando hasta el ultimo momento...no quiero entrar en una discusion ni nada..peor viendo esto a veces uno piensa...para que tener fe? de que sirve?
un libro innecesariame More...
Llore desde la hoja 3 en adelante mas o menos...es terrible.
A veces no entiendo como la vida se ensaña tanto con una persona....no basta con destruir todo lo que el es, sino que también lo tiene agonizando hasta el ultimo momento...no quiero entrar en una discusion ni nada..peor viendo esto a veces uno piensa...para que tener fe? de que sirve?
un libro innecesariame More...
Oct 18, 2009
Princess Bookie
rated it:
My Thoughts: WOW! Another one of those books that leaves me at the end, with a what next? Who did it? My mouth literally dropped open. From start to finish this book was pretty awesome! I usually do not like where it switches between different people's thoughts, but this book, it actually worked!!! We meet Travis who is a diver. He is a athlete! We meet his sister, his girlfriend, and his best friend. This story is told from each of their perspectives. Do we have a choice on the way we want to d
More...
Oct 13, 2011
Ann
rated it:
Se que chillare como una loca pero ahi vamos a leerlo :)
Estoy llorando a mares! Yo admiro a todos ellos; Travis fue un
campeon hasta el final; Cooper es un gran amigo, se necesita
mucho valor para hacer eso & yo no lo tendria. Si fuera Emily
habria hecho lo mismo; apoyar a mi hermano en su desicion
asi me rompiera el corazon. Darla demostro que el amor
es lo mas poderoso que existe. Dios! nunca quisiera estar en
la posicion de ninguno de los 4; sobre todo no de More...
Estoy llorando a mares! Yo admiro a todos ellos; Travis fue un
campeon hasta el final; Cooper es un gran amigo, se necesita
mucho valor para hacer eso & yo no lo tendria. Si fuera Emily
habria hecho lo mismo; apoyar a mi hermano en su desicion
asi me rompiera el corazon. Darla demostro que el amor
es lo mas poderoso que existe. Dios! nunca quisiera estar en
la posicion de ninguno de los 4; sobre todo no de More...
Feb 08, 2009
Colleen
rated it:
Lurlene McDaniel takes a very controversial topic and deals with it in a very realistic/ down to earth way in this teen drama.
Told in three voices, this story takes us through the lives of three teens affected by cancer. The idea of quality of life and whether it is better to live or die is reminiscent of Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. More...
Told in three voices, this story takes us through the lives of three teens affected by cancer. The idea of quality of life and whether it is better to live or die is reminiscent of Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. More...
