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The Place Between Breaths
A story of a girl desperately determined to find a cure for the illness that swept her mother away, and could possibly destroy her own life as well.
Sixteen-year-old Grace is in a race against time—and in a race for her life—even if she doesn’t realize it yet…
She is smart, responsible, and contending with more than what most teens ever should. Her mother struggled with schizophrenia for years until, one day, she simply disappeared—fleeing in fear that she was going to hurt those she cared about most. Ever since, Grace’s father has worked as a recruiter at one of the leading labs dedicated to studying the disease, trying to lure the world’s top scientists to the faculty to find a cure, hoping against hope it can happen in time to help his wife if she is ever found. But this makes him distant. Consumed.
Grace, in turn, does her part, interning at the lab in the gene sequencing department daring to believe that one day they might make a breakthrough…and one day they do. Grace stumbles upon a string of code that could be the key. But something inside of Grace has started to unravel. Could her discovery just be a cruel side effect of the disease that might be taking hold of her? And can she even tell the difference?
Sixteen-year-old Grace is in a race against time—and in a race for her life—even if she doesn’t realize it yet…
She is smart, responsible, and contending with more than what most teens ever should. Her mother struggled with schizophrenia for years until, one day, she simply disappeared—fleeing in fear that she was going to hurt those she cared about most. Ever since, Grace’s father has worked as a recruiter at one of the leading labs dedicated to studying the disease, trying to lure the world’s top scientists to the faculty to find a cure, hoping against hope it can happen in time to help his wife if she is ever found. But this makes him distant. Consumed.
Grace, in turn, does her part, interning at the lab in the gene sequencing department daring to believe that one day they might make a breakthrough…and one day they do. Grace stumbles upon a string of code that could be the key. But something inside of Grace has started to unravel. Could her discovery just be a cruel side effect of the disease that might be taking hold of her? And can she even tell the difference?
208 pages, Paperback
First published March 6, 2018
41 people are currently reading
1840 people want to read
About the author
An Na
53 books151 followersAn Na was born in Korea and grew up in San Diego, California. A former middle school English and history teacher, she is currently at work on her third novel. She lives in Vermont.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 224 reviews
June 14, 2018
I’ll be honest. This was a very important book, the mental health rep was great, the cover is beautiful.
but i legit didn’t understand anything . like, nothing. i thought i would figure it out by the end but i’m just so confused. I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING. this is the most confusing book ever and i’m not pleased.
but i legit didn’t understand anything . like, nothing. i thought i would figure it out by the end but i’m just so confused. I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING. this is the most confusing book ever and i’m not pleased.
August 11, 2018
*see An Na’s response to my questions about the book below*
I have a doctorate in psychology and interned in a state psychiatric hospital with mostly schizophrenic patients. One of the hallmarks of the condition is disorganized thinking and THE PLACE BETWEEN BREATHS was certainly disorganized (in a purposeful manner). The timeline is at best confusing, at most incomprehensible. Other symptoms are hallucinations (sensing things that aren’t present), delusions (false beliefs like the TV sends personal messages, people being present which is why it may appear sufferers are talking to themselves), ideas of reference (belief in different identities. We had a few Jesuses, the Dali Lama and a George Washington in the hospital), paranoia.
An Na (coolest name ever) penned a gorgeous, personal story of mental illness, its impact on sufferers and their loved ones and the quest for answers and solutions. Na brilliantly portrayed disorganization, but in that brilliance lost me.
Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (schizophrenia with mood disorders) are the most heartbreaking and difficult psychiatric conditions to live with and to treat. Medications are rarely completely affective, usually have unbearable side effects and often stop working. Additionally, some sufferers have medication resistant conditions (at least to date).
I emailed Na for more insights because I want to understand the story. I might reread but I’m not sure since I don’t think I’ll have clarity without some help. I’d appreciate any comments and insights.
***An Na replies quickly to my email and I am going to reread with a better understanding. I have a feeling this will become a 5 Star review afterward.
**** An Na’s explanation which she gave me permission to share
Dear Amy,
I feel like I should give you a prize or something! You are the very first reader to reach out and ask me about that crazy confusing ending. In hindsight maybe I should have made it simpler, but I also didn’t know how to do that without compromising what I wanted to convey in the story. I wanted the various seasons to act like strands of DNA weaving together to give you a prismatic idea of someone suffering from schizophrenia.
There are many ways to read the story. The Autumn scenes can first be read as the past-the story of Grace as a child in the kitchen with her mother, Hannah. The Summer scenes can be read as the future-what will become of Grace, but also what became of Hannah, her mother. The Spring scenes show the slow descent into madness for Grace in the present time frame. In the present time frame, Grace is suffering from schizophrenia and has halluncinated her father being alive and at the end, you find out that Hannah, “her friend” is really her mother as a young woman the way she remembers her mother last, and Grace is pregnant from Dave, a casual boyfriend from school. Will, who works with Grace at the hospital is the only true and real thing in her life. Like Grace’s father, Will does believe he can help Grace and that there is hope of battling this terrible disease. The winter scenes are the scenes that either Will or Joseph, Grace’s father, could be saying to either Grace or Hannah. Winter is the voice of love and hope and the anguish of watching someone you love slowly disappear.
By the end when all the seasons change, you realize that Grace has been hallucinating Hannah, her mother, and that Grace is pregnant and doesn’t go through with the act of suicide. In that moment, you can go back and reread the story from a different lens. The past becomes the future for Grace. She will heal and come to know her child, but she too could slip back into the disease and put her child at risk and therefore chooses to leave. This future is bittersweet in that Grace will have had time to love her child, but she never overcomes the disease just like her mother. The future which is now the present is of Grace sitting in a hospital struggling to find herself and to come back to a reality with the help of drugs and Will waiting for her. The present which is now the past is of what you just read which is that Grace fell to the disease of schizophrenia and needs to be hospitalized, but Will is waiting and fighting for her to come back. Whew. Does that make sense?
I wanted to play with time and our understanding of time which is cyclical and not linear. You can read the various scenes of the seasons from different character point’s of view like a kaleidoscope. Genetics is not something we can escape. Our genes hold the history or the past of us but also dictate our future. But somewhere in there, in our present, we have the agency to make changes, to discover, to hope and reach for scientific discoveries. There are many many people who continue to fight for change because a loved one suffers and I wanted to shed a light on all the people who believe despite incredible odds. But diseases like schizophrenia are not “curable” diseases, there is a lot of suffering and pain so I wanted it to also be realistic. My brother suffered from schizophrenia and it was tremendously hard on all of us and sadly we lost him to the disease, but I still have faith that we can find remedies to help those who suffer.
Anyway, this is a long way to say, I’m so sorry it was such a confusing story and yet, I think I also did what I wanted to do which is to engage you as a reader and to get you to puzzle through the story. If you reread all the Autumn scenes like they are the future of what happens to Grace and her child Hannah it is both sad and uplifting to a certain extent. Grace did have some time with her child. If you reread the Summer scenes you find them sad and hopeful in that Grace does start to come out of the fog with the help of medication. And then there is always the voice of hope. Time has past, present and future, but there are four seasons. I think of the fourth season as the fourth dimension, the unknown. Agency, hope, faith, religion, miracles, kismet, whatever it is that we cannot know about this life and the unquestionable spirit of the will to survive, nourish, persevere.
Thank you for reading my novel. Thank you for reaching out. I hope I was helpful and not more confusing for you.
Take care,
An Na
I have a doctorate in psychology and interned in a state psychiatric hospital with mostly schizophrenic patients. One of the hallmarks of the condition is disorganized thinking and THE PLACE BETWEEN BREATHS was certainly disorganized (in a purposeful manner). The timeline is at best confusing, at most incomprehensible. Other symptoms are hallucinations (sensing things that aren’t present), delusions (false beliefs like the TV sends personal messages, people being present which is why it may appear sufferers are talking to themselves), ideas of reference (belief in different identities. We had a few Jesuses, the Dali Lama and a George Washington in the hospital), paranoia.
An Na (coolest name ever) penned a gorgeous, personal story of mental illness, its impact on sufferers and their loved ones and the quest for answers and solutions. Na brilliantly portrayed disorganization, but in that brilliance lost me.
Schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (schizophrenia with mood disorders) are the most heartbreaking and difficult psychiatric conditions to live with and to treat. Medications are rarely completely affective, usually have unbearable side effects and often stop working. Additionally, some sufferers have medication resistant conditions (at least to date).
I emailed Na for more insights because I want to understand the story. I might reread but I’m not sure since I don’t think I’ll have clarity without some help. I’d appreciate any comments and insights.
***An Na replies quickly to my email and I am going to reread with a better understanding. I have a feeling this will become a 5 Star review afterward.
**** An Na’s explanation which she gave me permission to share
Dear Amy,
I feel like I should give you a prize or something! You are the very first reader to reach out and ask me about that crazy confusing ending. In hindsight maybe I should have made it simpler, but I also didn’t know how to do that without compromising what I wanted to convey in the story. I wanted the various seasons to act like strands of DNA weaving together to give you a prismatic idea of someone suffering from schizophrenia.
There are many ways to read the story. The Autumn scenes can first be read as the past-the story of Grace as a child in the kitchen with her mother, Hannah. The Summer scenes can be read as the future-what will become of Grace, but also what became of Hannah, her mother. The Spring scenes show the slow descent into madness for Grace in the present time frame. In the present time frame, Grace is suffering from schizophrenia and has halluncinated her father being alive and at the end, you find out that Hannah, “her friend” is really her mother as a young woman the way she remembers her mother last, and Grace is pregnant from Dave, a casual boyfriend from school. Will, who works with Grace at the hospital is the only true and real thing in her life. Like Grace’s father, Will does believe he can help Grace and that there is hope of battling this terrible disease. The winter scenes are the scenes that either Will or Joseph, Grace’s father, could be saying to either Grace or Hannah. Winter is the voice of love and hope and the anguish of watching someone you love slowly disappear.
By the end when all the seasons change, you realize that Grace has been hallucinating Hannah, her mother, and that Grace is pregnant and doesn’t go through with the act of suicide. In that moment, you can go back and reread the story from a different lens. The past becomes the future for Grace. She will heal and come to know her child, but she too could slip back into the disease and put her child at risk and therefore chooses to leave. This future is bittersweet in that Grace will have had time to love her child, but she never overcomes the disease just like her mother. The future which is now the present is of Grace sitting in a hospital struggling to find herself and to come back to a reality with the help of drugs and Will waiting for her. The present which is now the past is of what you just read which is that Grace fell to the disease of schizophrenia and needs to be hospitalized, but Will is waiting and fighting for her to come back. Whew. Does that make sense?
I wanted to play with time and our understanding of time which is cyclical and not linear. You can read the various scenes of the seasons from different character point’s of view like a kaleidoscope. Genetics is not something we can escape. Our genes hold the history or the past of us but also dictate our future. But somewhere in there, in our present, we have the agency to make changes, to discover, to hope and reach for scientific discoveries. There are many many people who continue to fight for change because a loved one suffers and I wanted to shed a light on all the people who believe despite incredible odds. But diseases like schizophrenia are not “curable” diseases, there is a lot of suffering and pain so I wanted it to also be realistic. My brother suffered from schizophrenia and it was tremendously hard on all of us and sadly we lost him to the disease, but I still have faith that we can find remedies to help those who suffer.
Anyway, this is a long way to say, I’m so sorry it was such a confusing story and yet, I think I also did what I wanted to do which is to engage you as a reader and to get you to puzzle through the story. If you reread all the Autumn scenes like they are the future of what happens to Grace and her child Hannah it is both sad and uplifting to a certain extent. Grace did have some time with her child. If you reread the Summer scenes you find them sad and hopeful in that Grace does start to come out of the fog with the help of medication. And then there is always the voice of hope. Time has past, present and future, but there are four seasons. I think of the fourth season as the fourth dimension, the unknown. Agency, hope, faith, religion, miracles, kismet, whatever it is that we cannot know about this life and the unquestionable spirit of the will to survive, nourish, persevere.
Thank you for reading my novel. Thank you for reaching out. I hope I was helpful and not more confusing for you.
Take care,
An Na
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2019
There must be a better way of writing a novel about schizophrenia, without making it a guess-which-character-is-a-figment-of-my-imagination mystery. Describing this story as "full of twists and turns" felt offensive somehow. Are you really trying to entice readers by a mystery, when a book is about a mental illness?
I guess I could give some points for presenting a disordered mind, but overall I found this novel unnecessarily convoluted and relentlessly depressing. The only thing that did keep my attention was the medical research part.
I guess I could give some points for presenting a disordered mind, but overall I found this novel unnecessarily convoluted and relentlessly depressing. The only thing that did keep my attention was the medical research part.
June 22, 2018
3.5*
I mostly understood what happened, but I don't really know how to explain it. I liked the plot twist. The ending was depressing.
This whole story is a trip. The main character Grace has schizophrenia. Her mother has schizophrenia. Later on the story things happen so some events may or may not be real. There's no way to tell for sure what is real and not real for the reader because there isn't enough information given.
The science is questionable. There was a lot of half realistic science in here so really take it as fiction. The schizophrenia gene may or may not be real, but the gene they mentioned is definitely not real (SIC-5). Grace brings up abortion (it's works with something later in the story) and she goes "it's just a zygote" in 2 separate instances in the story when that person was already visibly pregnant. Yeah it's not a zygote at that point.
There was another moment with a centrifuge machine.
“The cycle times,” I say awkwardly. “Sometimes it’s too short to leave and
come back, so you just end up hanging out.”
“It’s kind of a limbo place as you wonder what the results will be,” he says.
“Anything could happen.”
I shrug. “Or nothing at all.”
What...do they mean final results or something because they should know what they are getting out from the machine. You use that to then possibly get a result. You don't just get a result from seeing a change in the product because of the machine.
I mostly understood what happened, but I don't really know how to explain it. I liked the plot twist. The ending was depressing.
This whole story is a trip. The main character Grace has schizophrenia. Her mother has schizophrenia. Later on the story things happen so some events may or may not be real. There's no way to tell for sure what is real and not real for the reader because there isn't enough information given.
The science is questionable. There was a lot of half realistic science in here so really take it as fiction. The schizophrenia gene may or may not be real, but the gene they mentioned is definitely not real (SIC-5). Grace brings up abortion (it's works with something later in the story) and she goes "it's just a zygote" in 2 separate instances in the story when that person was already visibly pregnant. Yeah it's not a zygote at that point.
There was another moment with a centrifuge machine.
“The cycle times,” I say awkwardly. “Sometimes it’s too short to leave and
come back, so you just end up hanging out.”
“It’s kind of a limbo place as you wonder what the results will be,” he says.
“Anything could happen.”
I shrug. “Or nothing at all.”
What...do they mean final results or something because they should know what they are getting out from the machine. You use that to then possibly get a result. You don't just get a result from seeing a change in the product because of the machine.
February 9, 2018
Terrifying. This book is non-linear and confusing, and I'm not even sure what really happened in the end, but it immerses you in the dread and uncertainty of schizophrenia in a way that is chilling. I'm going to remember this book for a long time.
April 12, 2017
mind blowing / raw / brilliant / couldn't put down
September 23, 2018
This was a cover grab from the library and I went into it not having any idea what it was about because I mean who reads synopsizes....Anyway, it totally blew my mind during certain parts. The writing was beautiful. Even though I figured out what was going on before it was really revealed it still played as a good representation for schizophrenia, at least to this individual with no mental illness experiences. I did have an issue with the males being all protective and helpful towards the female main character. Although she definitely needs help, I would have preferred she found it on her own. I think this book illustrates mental illness in a really unique and creative way that I found insightful and inspirational.
never-reading
June 12, 2018I can't read this. I cannot. Honestly, the first 15 pages in and I'm already cringing. Nope. Just no. I can't stand this book.
June 19, 2018
2.5 stars
I enjoyed the story for the most part. I liked the language. But it was just really confusing. I think I get everything that happened, but I am not entirely sure.
I enjoyed the story for the most part. I liked the language. But it was just really confusing. I think I get everything that happened, but I am not entirely sure.
December 6, 2020
i couldn’t tell you one thing that happened in this novel. i am beyond confused. maybe this was a little too deep for me?
March 31, 2018
I received an ARC of The Place Between Breaths from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. You can read that review on Culturess.
To summarize my feelings on this book, I think it was fast-paced and intense. I liked that the reader could never be certain about what was happening due to the protagonist's delusions and hallucinations. The author also did a fabulous job including small details to signal that Grace was indeed seeing things that weren't there.
My main gripe with this novel lies in the representation of mental illness. For starters, I'm not even sure it is an accurate representation of schizophrenia (and I'd love to see some own voices reviews for this). But the novel also seems to perpetuate the ideas that mental illness is something that's a) inescapable if it's in your genes and b) impossible to live a satisfactory life with. There is a slightly uplifting bit at the end, but I'm not sure it's a great idea to have the protagonist of a YA novel declare such negative things about mental illness. And even if the protagonist does believe this, the author then needed to do more to challenge her beliefs. I don't know. It just didn't set well with me.
Problematic aspects aside, I did enjoy this book. I think you all should read it because I selfishly want to see other opinions. But it was by no means the best new release I've read this year, nor the greatest book centered on mental illness.
To summarize my feelings on this book, I think it was fast-paced and intense. I liked that the reader could never be certain about what was happening due to the protagonist's delusions and hallucinations. The author also did a fabulous job including small details to signal that Grace was indeed seeing things that weren't there.
My main gripe with this novel lies in the representation of mental illness. For starters, I'm not even sure it is an accurate representation of schizophrenia (and I'd love to see some own voices reviews for this). But the novel also seems to perpetuate the ideas that mental illness is something that's a) inescapable if it's in your genes and b) impossible to live a satisfactory life with. There is a slightly uplifting bit at the end, but I'm not sure it's a great idea to have the protagonist of a YA novel declare such negative things about mental illness. And even if the protagonist does believe this, the author then needed to do more to challenge her beliefs. I don't know. It just didn't set well with me.
Problematic aspects aside, I did enjoy this book. I think you all should read it because I selfishly want to see other opinions. But it was by no means the best new release I've read this year, nor the greatest book centered on mental illness.
October 21, 2019
This is an extraordinary book. It's a deeply personal, emotional, and lyrical story of mental illness. Grace's mother, suffering from schizophrenia, disappeared during her childhood. Her father has devoted his life to finding a cure, but now grace must battle with her descent into the illness herself. Warning: the structure and style make it complex and difficult, to the point where I was not sure what was going on, what was real and what was not, at times. This is done intentionally, as the author tries to mirror the blurring between fact and hallucination which is the frightening world that schizophrenics live in. Definitely a challenging text for young adult readers, due to the shifting sliding narrative points of view and plot structure, as well as metaphorical content. The author lost a brother due to schizophrenia, and this darkens even further the already grave subject matter. The writing carried me into a deeper understanding of the personal tragedies of victims of mental illness.
February 20, 2019
*2.5 stars
I enjoy the writing style but what the heck happened
I enjoy the writing style but what the heck happened
July 2, 2018
Big thanks to Rainbow Book Company for gifting me a complimentary copy of this book.
Review: 3.5 Be prepared to read this book at least twice. The first time you read the story you begin with the narrative of an 18 year old girl who lost her mother to schizophrenia and lives with her work obsessed father who is searching for a cure. Strange things happen. By the end of the novel the main character, Grace, winds up in the hospital. Instead of a journey into madness, the reader is forced to realize Grace was mad all along. Trust me when I say that you will want to go back and reread some important conversations.
I enjoyed the book but found the ending disappointing. It balances on a yin and yang idea of faith and hopelessness and while I understand that the reality for many mentally ill people is a struggle, I would have liked to see the scales tip in favor of a hopeful future.
Review: 3.5 Be prepared to read this book at least twice. The first time you read the story you begin with the narrative of an 18 year old girl who lost her mother to schizophrenia and lives with her work obsessed father who is searching for a cure. Strange things happen. By the end of the novel the main character, Grace, winds up in the hospital. Instead of a journey into madness, the reader is forced to realize Grace was mad all along. Trust me when I say that you will want to go back and reread some important conversations.
I enjoyed the book but found the ending disappointing. It balances on a yin and yang idea of faith and hopelessness and while I understand that the reality for many mentally ill people is a struggle, I would have liked to see the scales tip in favor of a hopeful future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2018
Grace King's story is told with an urgency reflected throughout the book in both pacing and form. The chapters are often short bursts of information and the sentences careen between short and clipped or long and rushed, drawing readers into Grace's spiraling state as she fears that she will be just like her mother with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. This style fits perfectly with the topic and character, focusing emotions onto the page and making readers invest in the story outcome.
However, the book's greatest strength of Grace's unreliable narration also becomes its greatest weakness. Na alternates views between chapters with a nonlinear structure to further disorient the reader as they learn about Grace's story and condition. This leads to a very abstract story and ending that is engaging, but also confusing; the style may leave many readers dissatisfied or unsure of the conclusion.
However, the book's greatest strength of Grace's unreliable narration also becomes its greatest weakness. Na alternates views between chapters with a nonlinear structure to further disorient the reader as they learn about Grace's story and condition. This leads to a very abstract story and ending that is engaging, but also confusing; the style may leave many readers dissatisfied or unsure of the conclusion.
May 4, 2018
Wow. This book is beautifully written. It is an exploration of schizophrenia that is quite dark, but leaves a sliver of hope. I feel like I need to reread it to make sense of the nonlinear plot, but I know that by doing that I would be missing the point. I have never experienced a book quite like this before.
June 28, 2018
I am so comforted to read the other reviews which said they didn’t understand anything in this book! No clue what just happened.
October 14, 2018
I have no clue what happened in this book.
May 6, 2025
The Place Between Breaths is an emotionally raw story about mental health and the ways that it can weigh heavily on our lives. Schizophrenia is difficult to treat because its causes are unknown and require lifelong treatment to keep symptoms under control. Story progression is difficult to pin down and there are a lot of questionable plot holes that won’t be wrapped up nicely, which was oddly fitting given the subject matter.
I appreciated this book for the way that it attempts to open a discussion about mental illness. Severe depression and mental illness can be disorienting and it can affect anyone. It becomes clear pretty quickly that the main character is unstable, but to what extent is a mystery. I felt connected to Grace and felt just as confused and stressed as she did while reading, and for that, I have to appreciate the writing for the way that it was constructed.
The research and lab portion of the book had potential but it was left largely unexplored. Everything about Gnentium and the schizophrenia research was there mostly as a backstory for the main character’s father and to be a reminder of hope. Some of the science that happens in the novel is either made up or questionable, and I could have done without it.
Speaking of mental health, I’m not sure what to make of this book’s message about it. Is it difficult? This book was pretty bleak in its conclusions about the hope of recovery. The cycle with children and mental health issues and not having any hope for a decent life was just too dark, too depressing. I honestly found it a little unfair to the millions of people struggling out there that do try and carve out some semblance of a good life for themselves. An okay read overall but the book is definitely not without its faults.
I appreciated this book for the way that it attempts to open a discussion about mental illness. Severe depression and mental illness can be disorienting and it can affect anyone. It becomes clear pretty quickly that the main character is unstable, but to what extent is a mystery. I felt connected to Grace and felt just as confused and stressed as she did while reading, and for that, I have to appreciate the writing for the way that it was constructed.
The research and lab portion of the book had potential but it was left largely unexplored. Everything about Gnentium and the schizophrenia research was there mostly as a backstory for the main character’s father and to be a reminder of hope. Some of the science that happens in the novel is either made up or questionable, and I could have done without it.
Speaking of mental health, I’m not sure what to make of this book’s message about it. Is it difficult? This book was pretty bleak in its conclusions about the hope of recovery. The cycle with children and mental health issues and not having any hope for a decent life was just too dark, too depressing. I honestly found it a little unfair to the millions of people struggling out there that do try and carve out some semblance of a good life for themselves. An okay read overall but the book is definitely not without its faults.
February 17, 2018
I liked the story a lot. It took me longer than it should to figure out what was going on with the alternating chapters labeled as seasons. Some of the dream-like sections (to avoid spoilers) were confusing and overly long. The characters were interesting and I would have enjoyed more time with them.
There is a neat small side story where a character is trying to find a cure for a disease as a doctor and realizes that he will never be the one to find that cure. So he becomes an professional recruiter for the top research lab and brings in the best scientists, thinking that while he might not find the cure personally he might find the person who can find the cure and give them a lab where it can be done. As an HR professional I appreciated this thinking.
There is a neat small side story where a character is trying to find a cure for a disease as a doctor and realizes that he will never be the one to find that cure. So he becomes an professional recruiter for the top research lab and brings in the best scientists, thinking that while he might not find the cure personally he might find the person who can find the cure and give them a lab where it can be done. As an HR professional I appreciated this thinking.
March 20, 2018
This is a surreal exploration of schizophrenia--how it runs in families and what it can do to someone who feels themselves slipping away. There's denial that there is anything wrong and fear of even the smallest symptom. It's a powerful story, but one I was unprepared to embark on. I picked this book up sight unseen and just started reading it, without exploring the subject matter beforehand and having just slogged through The Astonishing Color of After, another powerful story that contains mental illness but is entirely too long, this one just exhausted me. I'm sure that others will appreciate it more that I did and An Na is a very talented writer. I just need to find a happy story for a change of pace.
April 27, 2018
Sixteen-year-old Grace's mother disappeared when she was young after waging a long battle with schizophrenia. Grace's dad, a doctor, spends every waking minute either recruiting brilliant researches who might find a cure for schizophrenia, or searching for his missing wife. Even Grace works in the lab as a high school intern in genetic research. They are all racing against time as Grace herself begins battling hallucinations.
Intense, vivid and emotional, The Place Between Breaths is told in alternating chapters, Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn and jumps back and forth in time. This format is original, yet sometimes disorienting and confusing (at least to me.) I feel like a second, careful reading is necessary to fully appreciate this complex, moving story.
Intense, vivid and emotional, The Place Between Breaths is told in alternating chapters, Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn and jumps back and forth in time. This format is original, yet sometimes disorienting and confusing (at least to me.) I feel like a second, careful reading is necessary to fully appreciate this complex, moving story.
September 5, 2018
Will mull over this one for awhile, already re-reading to see how it was done.
Reviewed in the Sept/Oct 2018 issue of Horn Book.
Reviewed in the Sept/Oct 2018 issue of Horn Book.
July 8, 2018
The beginning was bad but it turned into one of the trippiest books ever. Still don’t know who is real and who is who. Majorly shook
August 22, 2018
I think I like 80% of this novel overall, but it was hard to get into and even harder to get out of. Even as I type I am uncertain how I feel about it. All I know is that my feelings are not ones of distaste. So I'm just going to write everything in my brain and I want you to know it as not a harsh defamation - these are my observations.
It started slowly. Flowery language. Protagonist: Grace, smart high school student. A single dad. Parent-child relationship feels backwards. Grace is biracial - Korean and something else maybe white. I remember liking that. I thought I would learn about her mom's culture. Mom has unknown disease. Medical sciencey research stuff I vaguely understand. American high school teenagery drama I am immediately bored with. Then it builds and builds and b u i l d s.
Grace has a prestigious internship and a desire to show everyone it was earned not given. I still don't care about the characters. Grace feels cold and rude. Why do I keep reading? Because Grace's mom has a disease and my family has a personal connection. I keep reading to know if Grace is okay. If Grace's mom is okay because then m a y b e I will be okay t o o.
EDIT
I was reading a couple reviews for this hoping someone understood more than I did and found one review by PinkAmy. She emailed An Na for help understanding and AN NA EMAILED HER BACK ! If you read this book already, I highly suggest you read this review to understand what An Na's goal was with The Place Between Breaths.
Click These Words to Read An Na's Explanation
END OF EDIT
___________________________
This is what I understand.
I am Grace. I am cold, callous and unfeeling because those who don't hope, don't hurt. Grace does not hurt. I am told significant things in not so easy to grasp figurative language, so I can detach myself from the narrative. An Na made me, the reader, a child listening to big adult words and situations I don't understand. I don't understand but I feel sadness, frustration, worry, anger, desperation, worry. When a child grows up they remember words adults said and understand the source of the strong emotions. At the end of the novel, An Na reveals something that makes the reader look back at all Grace's interactions and conversations with clarity - a new understanding. The reader is forced to grow up in a short amount of time, to rewire previous understandings, to look back at the past with what we can only know in the future.
When the plot becomes clear in the final few pages, I care. I am moved to hope. And then I am confused again. Towards the end the prose suffocates the plot. I do not understand the correlation between the seasons and Grace and mental illness.
Ultimately, I am perplexed. I am left with uncertainty and an emotional connection I cannot shake. Most authors carefully craft situations so that the reader feels how they want them to feel. My book has 181 pages. There is no perfect treatment but someone is looking for one. My book has 181 pages but every day there is no cure, pages are still being written for John Nash, for Eduard Einstein, for my mom, for Hannah, and for Grace [EDIT: and for An Na].
It started slowly. Flowery language. Protagonist: Grace, smart high school student. A single dad. Parent-child relationship feels backwards. Grace is biracial - Korean and something else maybe white. I remember liking that. I thought I would learn about her mom's culture. Mom has unknown disease. Medical sciencey research stuff I vaguely understand. American high school teenagery drama I am immediately bored with. Then it builds and builds and b u i l d s.
Grace has a prestigious internship and a desire to show everyone it was earned not given. I still don't care about the characters. Grace feels cold and rude. Why do I keep reading? Because Grace's mom has a disease and my family has a personal connection. I keep reading to know if Grace is okay. If Grace's mom is okay because then m a y b e I will be okay t o o.
EDIT
I was reading a couple reviews for this hoping someone understood more than I did and found one review by PinkAmy. She emailed An Na for help understanding and AN NA EMAILED HER BACK ! If you read this book already, I highly suggest you read this review to understand what An Na's goal was with The Place Between Breaths.
Click These Words to Read An Na's Explanation
END OF EDIT
___________________________
This is what I understand.
I am Grace. I am cold, callous and unfeeling because those who don't hope, don't hurt. Grace does not hurt. I am told significant things in not so easy to grasp figurative language, so I can detach myself from the narrative. An Na made me, the reader, a child listening to big adult words and situations I don't understand. I don't understand but I feel sadness, frustration, worry, anger, desperation, worry. When a child grows up they remember words adults said and understand the source of the strong emotions. At the end of the novel, An Na reveals something that makes the reader look back at all Grace's interactions and conversations with clarity - a new understanding. The reader is forced to grow up in a short amount of time, to rewire previous understandings, to look back at the past with what we can only know in the future.
When the plot becomes clear in the final few pages, I care. I am moved to hope. And then I am confused again. Towards the end the prose suffocates the plot. I do not understand the correlation between the seasons and Grace and mental illness.
Ultimately, I am perplexed. I am left with uncertainty and an emotional connection I cannot shake. Most authors carefully craft situations so that the reader feels how they want them to feel. My book has 181 pages. There is no perfect treatment but someone is looking for one. My book has 181 pages but every day there is no cure, pages are still being written for John Nash, for Eduard Einstein, for my mom, for Hannah, and for Grace [EDIT: and for An Na].
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November 2, 2018The Place Between Breaths By An Na
I really enjoyed this book. It kept me on my toes throughout the whole book. Grace was an interesting character because she searched throughout the book for the one person in her life that she couldn't live without. This was her mom who had disappeared out of no where due to her illness of schizophrenia. This took a major toll on Grace and her dad, as they fought to cure this illness and many other illnesses in a prestigious lab that her dad worked in, which was the same lab that Grace interned at. Although Grace new about her mom having this illness she was unaware of the chance that she could have the same thing. It was a race against time for her which is why I enjoyed this book so much. I would recommend this book to people who like a chase and like surprises.
I really enjoyed this book. It kept me on my toes throughout the whole book. Grace was an interesting character because she searched throughout the book for the one person in her life that she couldn't live without. This was her mom who had disappeared out of no where due to her illness of schizophrenia. This took a major toll on Grace and her dad, as they fought to cure this illness and many other illnesses in a prestigious lab that her dad worked in, which was the same lab that Grace interned at. Although Grace new about her mom having this illness she was unaware of the chance that she could have the same thing. It was a race against time for her which is why I enjoyed this book so much. I would recommend this book to people who like a chase and like surprises.
February 1, 2019
I really en joyed this book. When Grace's mother left her and her father became distant. He wasn't the same when her mother was around. Her mother had a disease and she left because she was scared she might hurt them. A few years have past and they are still looking for her. Grace's father is a scientist and he is trying to find a cure to help his wife. He is scared that Grace might/will get the same disease. She is trying to doing anything she can to help. Due to the fact that the her father is always working and her mother is missing it caused them to be distant. when ever they see each other it is always awkward because the both life in fear that they wont be able to cure the disease.
March 29, 2019
3.5 stars
A very interesting book. It has a very "non-Western" writer feel, just so you don't come to it expecting it to be a style it isn't.
It is "weird" in that it very much displays how a person with schizophrenia may see things, and it tries to confuse you. One of the things I found lovely was that the "seaons" in each chapter portrayed different "seasons" of Grace/Hannah and Will/Joseph.
If you are extremely confused there's a review under this book where An Na responded explaining it all and it helped me figure out better that ending and piece the last few things together I had missed.
A very interesting book. It has a very "non-Western" writer feel, just so you don't come to it expecting it to be a style it isn't.
It is "weird" in that it very much displays how a person with schizophrenia may see things, and it tries to confuse you. One of the things I found lovely was that the "seaons" in each chapter portrayed different "seasons" of Grace/Hannah and Will/Joseph.
If you are extremely confused there's a review under this book where An Na responded explaining it all and it helped me figure out better that ending and piece the last few things together I had missed.
December 29, 2019
This is the story of a young woman with a mental illness, inherited from her mother. The story progresses as a straightforward story at times, then meanders back to the past or maybe to the future, maybe memories or truths or alternate realities. I knew not to expect normal but I didn't quite expect this.
This story definitely got me thinking, but I'm still unsure how to put the threads together and I think that was the plan.
This story definitely got me thinking, but I'm still unsure how to put the threads together and I think that was the plan.
October 8, 2020
It wasn't too bad. I understand some parts. But at the back i was starting to get really confused. I thought it was going smoothly from the time the girls Grace and Hannah were about to eat together but suddenly it seemed Grace's dad came back to life and Hannah was her mom?! I was hoping Will comes to help or Hannah asking Grace to calm down or something. And then suddenly Grace is in the mental hospital and then has a baby which most probably Will is the dad. It keeps jumping. Even before that it jumps the perspective from the main character to other characters and i keep getting caught off guard, past to present, present to past. I enjoyed the sciency parts when Grace was in the lab, but i was surprised when the book ended with "Faith" and that was it. No explanation, no nothing. And then 2 blank pages, was the printing missing? I was hoping for a happy ending since they did say Grace was improving and was eating lesser pills i guess. But overall it was good i guess, at least we learn to treasure our life from the book ?😅😐
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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