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Breathtaking
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To the outside world, Cara’s life seems perfect. The only one who knows the dark secrets inside her home is her best friend and next-door neighbor, Adam. Cara’s only escape is by writing and sharing her stories with him through their facing bedroom windows late at night.
Just when everything seems to get better, Cara’s world shatters, causing her to spiral into a deep depr ...more
Just when everything seems to get better, Cara’s world shatters, causing her to spiral into a deep depr ...more
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Paperback, 310 pages
Published
September 1st 2020
by All the Everythings Publishing
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Start your review of Breathtaking
UPDATE: HAPPY PUB DAY TO THIS BEAUTIFUL BOOK!! I can't wait for everyone to meet Cara and Adam and Reid and everyone else! Ahhh I loved this book so much.
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UPDATE 2: I will be interviewing the the author, Courtney Turcotte Bond herself!! AH I'M SO EXCITED! I'll be posting the interview on my blog, so stay tuned for that!!
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Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC of Breathtaking in exchange for an honest review ...more
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UPDATE 2: I will be interviewing the the author, Courtney Turcotte Bond herself!! AH I'M SO EXCITED! I'll be posting the interview on my blog, so stay tuned for that!!
__________________________________
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC of Breathtaking in exchange for an honest review ...more
Breathtaking, Courtney's debut novel is a marvelous piece that is motivated by real-life youngsters (the real heroes), and I am so glad that I got to read this one.
Breathtaking is regarding the ties of friendship and affection.
This book not just motivates you but also commits itself to a very worthy cause.
This story not just made me chuckle but also made me weep.
For a detailed review, please click on the link below:
https://apoorvasreviewjournal.blogspo... ...more
Breathtaking is regarding the ties of friendship and affection.
This book not just motivates you but also commits itself to a very worthy cause.
This story not just made me chuckle but also made me weep.
For a detailed review, please click on the link below:
https://apoorvasreviewjournal.blogspo... ...more
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I would give this book one hundred stars if I could. We follow Cara at different periods of her life: age eight, the high school years, college, and beyond. We also get glimpses of her life with an alcoholic father and an OCD mother. Bond writes these strong family dynamics flawlessly.
Adam is Cara’s constant. He is there for her through the good and bad. The two friends even make a ...more
I would give this book one hundred stars if I could. We follow Cara at different periods of her life: age eight, the high school years, college, and beyond. We also get glimpses of her life with an alcoholic father and an OCD mother. Bond writes these strong family dynamics flawlessly.
Adam is Cara’s constant. He is there for her through the good and bad. The two friends even make a ...more
Okay! I want to confess that I adored this book so much & I am very sure that I can re-read it & cry the same amount of tears. It was a lovely, heartening story & is carved in my mind forever.
Breathtaking is a coming-of-age literary fiction that is said in 3 different times i.e. 1988, 1994 & 2000. It has pulled its inspiration from real-life people.
Cara the protagonist is a literature enthusiast & penning is her way to put her essence on pages. Her parents have a problem in their marriage & her ...more
Breathtaking is a coming-of-age literary fiction that is said in 3 different times i.e. 1988, 1994 & 2000. It has pulled its inspiration from real-life people.
Cara the protagonist is a literature enthusiast & penning is her way to put her essence on pages. Her parents have a problem in their marriage & her ...more
Breathtaking is a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story that left me absolutely gutted.
Cara Ecrivains and Adam Aether have been best friends nearly their whole lives. Caras family hides behind this perfect facade and the only person in the world who knows the truth and the depth of her pain is Adam. What happens when the one person who makes everything bad disapear, disapears themselves?
Breathtaking is a story of loss, death, grief, depression and finding the strength to live again. This book is ...more
Cara Ecrivains and Adam Aether have been best friends nearly their whole lives. Caras family hides behind this perfect facade and the only person in the world who knows the truth and the depth of her pain is Adam. What happens when the one person who makes everything bad disapear, disapears themselves?
Breathtaking is a story of loss, death, grief, depression and finding the strength to live again. This book is ...more
This book could not have been more appropriately titled. It is, quite simply, breathtaking.
Because of the scope of my occupation, the vast majority of the books in my life are of the non-fiction variety. That said, I could not be more grateful that I had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Breathtaking in exchange for an honest review. I can not remember the last time a book took ahold of me the way that Breathtaking did. I started reading it last night, read until I could no longer stay ...more
Because of the scope of my occupation, the vast majority of the books in my life are of the non-fiction variety. That said, I could not be more grateful that I had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Breathtaking in exchange for an honest review. I can not remember the last time a book took ahold of me the way that Breathtaking did. I started reading it last night, read until I could no longer stay ...more
Let me begin with I AM NOT an avid READER by any stretch of the imagination...I am, however, a “well ‘read’ listener”. So, to say that Courtney Turcotte Bond’s novel, BREATHTAKING, is a great weekend read is an justifiably earned compliment! At first, I found it so engaging I perceived it as somewhat simplistic. In the end, the simplicity of the complex is the intrigue of the read.
While coexisting with COVID19 I am repeatedly flailing through the stages of grief over losing life as I knew it. In ...more
While coexisting with COVID19 I am repeatedly flailing through the stages of grief over losing life as I knew it. In ...more
Wow. I just... wow. ALL THE STARS FOR THIS ONE! First of all, I am a sobbing mess, a puddle of emotion, an emotional wreck. This book grabbed my heart in its hand and ripped it out completely only to put it back together again. Honestly, the last time I've felt this many emotions while reading a book was with John Green's The Fault in Our Stars.
“We all have a story - our reason to breathe. We don't get to choose how it begins, the people who enter, or the pain that comes along the way.”
The ...more
“We all have a story - our reason to breathe. We don't get to choose how it begins, the people who enter, or the pain that comes along the way.”
The ...more
Aug 31, 2020
Georgi_Lvs_Books
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review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
cystic-fibrosis
I had picked this up as it talks about Cystic Fibrosis and being a sufferer of this disease I am always interested in reading books about it.
Breathtaking was a hard read! Very emotional and talks about many issues such as addiction, organ donation etc.
An amazing debut!
Breathtaking was a hard read! Very emotional and talks about many issues such as addiction, organ donation etc.
An amazing debut!
I didn’t have any idea as to what this book was going to entail and I really do think that’s the best way. You want to experience that raw emotion that will hit you as the story unfolds.
The book is split into three parts, the first we are introduced to Cara & Adam when they are around 8 years old as we begin the story of how these two best friends meet and communicate. Part 2 takes you on their next journey through life as they start school together and Part 3 are the years after school and bey ...more
The book is split into three parts, the first we are introduced to Cara & Adam when they are around 8 years old as we begin the story of how these two best friends meet and communicate. Part 2 takes you on their next journey through life as they start school together and Part 3 are the years after school and bey ...more
This book broke my heart in so many ways. Cara and Adam were such beautiful characters that I just wanted them to have their happy endings.
Cara Ecrivain has a seemingly perfect life - she lives in a big house and has parents who are perceived as doing well for themselves and that she has a privileged life. However behind closed doors Cara has a cold mother who never shows her love and a father who won't stop drinking. You really see Cara's relationship deteriorate with her father as she grows o ...more
Cara Ecrivain has a seemingly perfect life - she lives in a big house and has parents who are perceived as doing well for themselves and that she has a privileged life. However behind closed doors Cara has a cold mother who never shows her love and a father who won't stop drinking. You really see Cara's relationship deteriorate with her father as she grows o ...more
Oh! My Heart!
This book! Oh! This book! I have spent the last few nights crying myself to sleep while reading the final chapters that give detail to the fate of Adam, Cara and Reid. The beginning, middle and end held my entire attention. The book starts with Adam and Cara as children. They are neighbors who develop a deep devotion to one another through their bedroom windows. At an early age, Cara develops the skills to be an excellent writer and Adam
always listens while she reads. He not only li ...more
This book! Oh! This book! I have spent the last few nights crying myself to sleep while reading the final chapters that give detail to the fate of Adam, Cara and Reid. The beginning, middle and end held my entire attention. The book starts with Adam and Cara as children. They are neighbors who develop a deep devotion to one another through their bedroom windows. At an early age, Cara develops the skills to be an excellent writer and Adam
always listens while she reads. He not only li ...more
"Lets not worry about each other's yesterdays or tomorrows. Lets get to know each others todays ."
Cara lives adjacent to her best friend Adam. They share stories every night through their windows.
Cara's house isn't the typical happy family it seems to look from outside. Her father is an alcoholic who passes out each night as soon as he reaches home. Her mother spends her complete life trying to make the family look perfect on the outside, so much that she forgets even the basic needs of her daug ...more
Cara lives adjacent to her best friend Adam. They share stories every night through their windows.
Cara's house isn't the typical happy family it seems to look from outside. Her father is an alcoholic who passes out each night as soon as he reaches home. Her mother spends her complete life trying to make the family look perfect on the outside, so much that she forgets even the basic needs of her daug ...more
There is nothing else to add to the previously written comments about this novel. It is perfect. Cara and Adam have been friends forever. Her perfect facade hides an imperfect family life. Adam kindly shares his family with Cara and they coax each other through the difficulties of high school. With each encouraging the other, Cara and Adam have the ability to reach their life goals. I appreciate having the opportunity to be an early reader. All these five-star reviews encouraged me to bump Breat
...more
“Breathtaking” truly was breathtaking! I couldn’t put it down. Every twist and turn made me want to read more and more. It brought back so many memories of my high school days. The author has an amazing way with words and helped me to visualize and feel like I was right there too. I laughed, cried and felt like I knew the characters. It was a quick, easy read that I completed in just two sittings because I just couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to read it again!
Half way through this book I was balling, I remember reading an article about this books release and I knew right away I was going to like it, but little did I know how emotional it was going to be for me. When I got to the half way point it the book I could NOT stop reading, this book was very inspirational for me, and reading why she wrote "Breathtaking" was very eye opening, I hope others feel the same. This book was exactly what it was titled.
...more
This book broke my heart 💔
This heartbreaking coming of age YA debut follows Cara, whose life appears picture perfect to the outside world. Perfect Father, Perfect Mother,Perfect home. But the truth is her life is far from perfect. The only person she’s ever told the truth to is her best friend and next door neighbor, Adam. Her escape is her writing and sharing it with Adam late at night (via their windows) is always the highlight of her day.
But as things start to look up, Cara’s world shatters, leading her into a spirall ...more
But as things start to look up, Cara’s world shatters, leading her into a spirall ...more
I was originally pulled in by the beautiful cover of this book. The pretty depiction of the lungs links perfectly with the title ‘Breathtaking’, the themes and the underlying messages of the story. Before I decided to read ‘Breathtaking’ I read the synopsis to get a better idea of what this book was about and it sounded like this would be an emotional rollercoaster. Boy, was that right!
The story dealt with various serious issues that are important to discuss and being to life. Courtney did this ...more
The story dealt with various serious issues that are important to discuss and being to life. Courtney did this ...more
“If your life were a sentence Cara,” he’d say, "this incident isn’t a period. It’s a dash or a comma. Make sure you finish the sentence.”
This book was a breathtakingly beautiful story about friendship, loss, grief, family and love. I simply couldn’t put it down and finished it in one day. I felt so emotionally connected and invested in the characters lives. It made me feel so many emotions. I cried tears of happiness and sadness, it broke my heart, then stitched it back together. And even thoug ...more
This book was a breathtakingly beautiful story about friendship, loss, grief, family and love. I simply couldn’t put it down and finished it in one day. I felt so emotionally connected and invested in the characters lives. It made me feel so many emotions. I cried tears of happiness and sadness, it broke my heart, then stitched it back together. And even thoug ...more
I am a student of Randall Bond, Courtney Turcotte Bonds’ husband. He recommended this book to me when I was bored I’m class one day. I’m so glad I got the chance to read it, I’m in love with the story and how it progresses. I got to read about Cara and how she grew up, and how everything that she went through affected her view of others, the world, writing, etc. Breathtaking is a beautiful and tragic story, one that is being shared for a good cause. Can’t wait to recommend it to everyone I know!
It is just beautiful. I don't know what else to say the first book that has made me cry in a long time. I absolutely loved the first 2 parts I just wish we could have spent more time in part 3 and expand on that work a little. Despite that minor criticism I am giving it 5 stars it's just so lovely. It's the coming of age story about finding family and finding love. This is such a jumbled review but I stayed up way to late to finish this considering I have to be in class for 8 hours tomorrow.
I w ...more
I w ...more
I could not put this book down. There is something unexpected that ties everything together. So well written you feel emotionally connected to the characters. Follow Cara and Adam from early childhood through the tough times in high school in this well written emotional book!
Amazing Read
I loved this book and could barely put it down! It is so beautifully written and will have you feeling every emotion that the characters do.
I loved this book and could barely put it down! It is so beautifully written and will have you feeling every emotion that the characters do.
“Breathtaking” is like a perfectly imperfect story, with just the right amount of mess ups, because if Cara’s or Adam’s life would have been too perfect, who would have believed it?
And yet, this story has enough endearing and perfect bits in it, so that we can remember and recreate these perfect simple pleasures from our childhood and adolescence.
Every family and every relationship has dark spots and bright spots, and that’s ok, because sometimes all we need to know is that we are not alone. And ...more
And yet, this story has enough endearing and perfect bits in it, so that we can remember and recreate these perfect simple pleasures from our childhood and adolescence.
Every family and every relationship has dark spots and bright spots, and that’s ok, because sometimes all we need to know is that we are not alone. And ...more
Watch out world! This may be her first book, but the standard has been set and it's a high bar. Not only are all of the feelings displayed in the first few chapters, but the value of human interaction and relationships are consistent throughout the book. As one who loves love, this is a new favorite!
...more
This book is beautifully written. It touched me so much emotionally it is difficult to finds words todo it justice. It speaks to the heart about friendship, loss, love and family. Beautifully poetic. I highly recommend this book.
“Breathtaking” is an emotional journey that called for reconciliation with my childhood in a way I did not expect. The characters and their individual struggles are poignant, begging readers to consider what it means to build a home outside of ourselves, and how the fallout from that can impact our perception of the world.
Perhaps most importantly, this novel is accessible to readers of all ages and walks of life. What may seem a fairly quick read should not be confused with lack of depth. Conver ...more
Perhaps most importantly, this novel is accessible to readers of all ages and walks of life. What may seem a fairly quick read should not be confused with lack of depth. Conver ...more
I am not much a reader and haven’t read a novel since high school. That being said, I LOVED the book so much. It was raw and emotional and beautifully written. A true masterpiece.
This book was given to me before release for an honest review. At first, I was skeptical as this was the author’s first published work and I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy the book. Once I started reading, I honestly could not put it down. To be able to draw a reader immediately into the feelings of the main character was amazing! I caught myself constantly feeling the same feelings that were being described by the main characters. I laughed, I cried, I cheered, and I was angry. This book will cov
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Stuck Between the...: Moderator's Pick ~ Katie ~ September 2020 | 2 | 8 | Sep 04, 2020 09:15AM |
Readers also enjoyed
Courtney Turcotte Bond proudly grew up in both Lawrence, Kansas and Dayton, Ohio. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Integrated Language Arts Education, a master’s degree in Education, and has been a high school English teacher since 2004. She’s also a small business owner, freelance writer, poet, blogger, and public speaker. When she's not working or writing, you can find Courtney singing along to
...more
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“So much life had happened between those pictures. It was like the dash between the birth and death years on a tombstone. Even with their ups and downs, she couldn’t imagine a better friend to have by her side during the dash.”
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