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The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath
Secrets--like war--have their own casualties
MacKenna's mother died when she was a baby, a casualty of the first Gulf War. Now seventeen, MacKenna has spent her life navigating the minefield of her dad's moods, certain of one thing: she is destined to follow in her mother's combat boots. But when she pursues an ROTC scholarship, she finds herself at war before even enlisting.
Her father forbids her from joining the military, inexplicable considering he'd raised her to be a "warrior princess." MacKenna turns to her grandmother--who arms her with an ammo crate containing her mother's personal effects from the war. Hidden in the crate's false bottom is a journal, one her mom stashed there hours before her death.
While MacKenna untangles the secrets of her parents' tragic love story, her own life unravels. Dad's behavior becomes erratic, her best friend grows distant and even hostile, and a boy from her past returns--with a life-threatening secret of his own.
If ever a girl needed her mother, it's now.
The pen might be mightier than the sword, but are a mother's words strong enough to slice through years of hidden pain? Can those words reach through the battlefields of the past to change MacKenna's future?
MacKenna's mother died when she was a baby, a casualty of the first Gulf War. Now seventeen, MacKenna has spent her life navigating the minefield of her dad's moods, certain of one thing: she is destined to follow in her mother's combat boots. But when she pursues an ROTC scholarship, she finds herself at war before even enlisting.
Her father forbids her from joining the military, inexplicable considering he'd raised her to be a "warrior princess." MacKenna turns to her grandmother--who arms her with an ammo crate containing her mother's personal effects from the war. Hidden in the crate's false bottom is a journal, one her mom stashed there hours before her death.
While MacKenna untangles the secrets of her parents' tragic love story, her own life unravels. Dad's behavior becomes erratic, her best friend grows distant and even hostile, and a boy from her past returns--with a life-threatening secret of his own.
If ever a girl needed her mother, it's now.
The pen might be mightier than the sword, but are a mother's words strong enough to slice through years of hidden pain? Can those words reach through the battlefields of the past to change MacKenna's future?
278 pages, Paperback
First published November 26, 2014
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672 people want to read
About the author
Charity Tahmaseb
63 books175 followersCharity Tahmaseb has slung corn on the cob for Green Giant and jumped out of airplanes (but not at the same time).
She spent twelve years as a Girl Scout and six in the Army; that she wore a green uniform for both may not be a coincidence. These days, she writes fiction full-time from her home in Minnesota.
She spent twelve years as a Girl Scout and six in the Army; that she wore a green uniform for both may not be a coincidence. These days, she writes fiction full-time from her home in Minnesota.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 21, 2017
Deep
I wasn't sure I was going to get into it, but I kept reading and I'm glad I did. The struggles of the main character, emotional ups and downs, and high school crap made this story feel very realistic. I would recommend this for any teen that thinks they're the only ones with problems. Oh, and just an FYI, this is nowhere near the genres that I normally read.
I wasn't sure I was going to get into it, but I kept reading and I'm glad I did. The struggles of the main character, emotional ups and downs, and high school crap made this story feel very realistic. I would recommend this for any teen that thinks they're the only ones with problems. Oh, and just an FYI, this is nowhere near the genres that I normally read.
June 1, 2020
MacKenna is dealing with the end of High School, boy issues, bullying girls (losing her best friend), a father still suffering from PTSD and never having known her deceased soldier mother.
There's lots of emotional stress but lots of good times as well.
A book of teenage growth.
ps I don't like free-form poetry and so would skim over that.
There's lots of emotional stress but lots of good times as well.
A book of teenage growth.
ps I don't like free-form poetry and so would skim over that.
February 11, 2022
I originally started reading this book by randomly searching my name on Amazon. When this book came up, I decided to give it a try! This book resonated with me in so many ways, the parallels to my own father's time in a war, the lifestyle, sports, and friends. The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath was so well written, and the ending was so great!
July 1, 2017
I so LOVED this book! That I stayed up until I finished it!
August 5, 2018
This book was very well written. Thoroughly enjoyed it
May 6, 2015
***Also posted on RurouniJenniReads***
I received an e-copy of this book from the author as part of the 2015 YA Spring Fling. This did not affect my views.
MacKennna Meyers is a seventeen-year old girl who is part of the swim team in Black Earth High . She was raised by her war veteran father who is still deeply affected by her mother’s death. Her reclusive father did not want to talk anything about her mother making MacKenna long for her even more. MacKenna secretly applied for an ROTC scholarship in her desperate attempt to somehow have a connection with her mother.
Meanwhile in school, her relationship with her bestfriend Nissa is falling apart for some strange reason. And Landon, a boy who left five years ago without any explanation, is back in town and wants to continue what they had from the past.
This book tells a wonderfully woven story of how having secrets destroy relationships. The tagline on the book cover said it aptly, “Secrets , like war, had their own casualties.”
It's really a simple story but the simplicity is mainly the reason why I related to it and enjoyed it thoroughly. The book is told in MacKenna’s point of view and her words and thoughts feel real to me. I can understand when sometimes she thinks that she needs to fly under the radar and be in stealth girl mode. Her longing for her mother and her confusion about her father not talking about it grips me. When MacKenna is being swept off her feet by Landon, I am also beside myself in swooning. Her transformation from the girl who thought at the start of the novel that, “Eveyone had secrets.” into “But the time for secrets are over.” in the end is so well-written.
One of my favorite parts of the book is how MacKenna randomly remembers her father’s opinion on things. Examples of these are:
"Dad on his old clothes: About time they were put to good use."
"Dad on staying late: Mission first, princess."
"Dad on free stuff: Nothing’s ever free, princess. Remember that."
It just shows how MacKenna thinks highly of what her dad might think of her actions. I like how MacKenna's father is not an absentee parent in MacKenna's life despite his depression/trauma.
Another nice touch in the book are the free verse poems on a journal written by MacKenna’s mother. It’s a brilliant way of giving us a glimpse of how MacKenna’s mother was.
I enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend it to readers of the young adult genre.
I received an e-copy of this book from the author as part of the 2015 YA Spring Fling. This did not affect my views.
MacKennna Meyers is a seventeen-year old girl who is part of the swim team in Black Earth High . She was raised by her war veteran father who is still deeply affected by her mother’s death. Her reclusive father did not want to talk anything about her mother making MacKenna long for her even more. MacKenna secretly applied for an ROTC scholarship in her desperate attempt to somehow have a connection with her mother.
Meanwhile in school, her relationship with her bestfriend Nissa is falling apart for some strange reason. And Landon, a boy who left five years ago without any explanation, is back in town and wants to continue what they had from the past.
This book tells a wonderfully woven story of how having secrets destroy relationships. The tagline on the book cover said it aptly, “Secrets , like war, had their own casualties.”
It's really a simple story but the simplicity is mainly the reason why I related to it and enjoyed it thoroughly. The book is told in MacKenna’s point of view and her words and thoughts feel real to me. I can understand when sometimes she thinks that she needs to fly under the radar and be in stealth girl mode. Her longing for her mother and her confusion about her father not talking about it grips me. When MacKenna is being swept off her feet by Landon, I am also beside myself in swooning. Her transformation from the girl who thought at the start of the novel that, “Eveyone had secrets.” into “But the time for secrets are over.” in the end is so well-written.
One of my favorite parts of the book is how MacKenna randomly remembers her father’s opinion on things. Examples of these are:
"Dad on his old clothes: About time they were put to good use."
"Dad on staying late: Mission first, princess."
"Dad on free stuff: Nothing’s ever free, princess. Remember that."
It just shows how MacKenna thinks highly of what her dad might think of her actions. I like how MacKenna's father is not an absentee parent in MacKenna's life despite his depression/trauma.
Another nice touch in the book are the free verse poems on a journal written by MacKenna’s mother. It’s a brilliant way of giving us a glimpse of how MacKenna’s mother was.
I enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend it to readers of the young adult genre.
December 18, 2015
I don't believe in war. I don't want to be a soldier. Yet the reasons that people go to war are really well explained in this novel, and that doesn't stop me from caring about the characters. There's a lot more going on as well-- the swimming, the mommy issues, the boyfriend (though not much tension was there) Mackenna was an excellently written character and I really character about her high school dramas--she was easy to identify with. Either way, I was glad I read this and I really enjoyed the nuances of the character development and how that contributed to the story.
May 4, 2016
Great story!
This book made me laugh out loud, and embarrass myself by crying during lunch break! The characters are realistic, and she brought up so much that I have never considered about the family left behind...
This book made me laugh out loud, and embarrass myself by crying during lunch break! The characters are realistic, and she brought up so much that I have never considered about the family left behind...
July 25, 2016
Surprisingly good
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book when I downloaded it. But I was pleasantly surprised by the story. It took me longer than expected to finish reading but that had more to do with being absorbed in the story rather than being a slow reader.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book when I downloaded it. But I was pleasantly surprised by the story. It took me longer than expected to finish reading but that had more to do with being absorbed in the story rather than being a slow reader.
September 8, 2016
I really liked this book. It covers living with someone with a mental illness pretty good, the story is interesting, the charakters well formed.
I really would have like to read 400 pages more about these people.
I really would have like to read 400 pages more about these people.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews