Review: Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala

Title: Don't Breathe A Word
Author: Holly Cupala
Source: Won
Genre: Young Adult
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
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Caution: May contain spoilers

...
Joy Delamere is suffocating...

From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.

Joy can take his words—tender words, cruel words—until the night they go too far.

Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe... if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.

Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength.

~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

I received this book in the mail at random… I don’t think I ever figured out its origin. Regardless, I felt it was necessary for me to read this one. It appealed to me in more ways than one. The fact that our protagonist has asthma and was being suffocated by her boyfriend, and then decides to run off and live on the streets? Interesting. And it was more than just interesting.

Joy, after having enough of her current life, chooses to leave it and pursue something else. There was no guarantee that it would be a great way of life but in her eyes, it would be safer. She renames herself Triste and tries to make her way to the guy she remembers, the guy playing the guitar and singing. And she finds him; his name is Creed. He takes her in with his other street friends, May and Santos. All of them have a reason for living on the street. All of them have a story, and these stories are painful to think about.

I was in a constant concern for Triste when it came to her asthma. Speaking as someone who suffers from it too, I can relate to the panic of running out of medication. I’d be freaking out at the thought, but considering the alternative Triste has, I can understand. I’ve never been controlled by a boyfriend but I empathize with those in that situation. I want nothing more than to see all abused women (and men) to be saved. Her journey to escape the abuse had some scary moments, but she was safer, and that’s just plain sad. Triste’s relationship with Creed was pretty amazing. He was a wonderful guy, and you could tell he cared for her deeply.

Don’t Breathe A Word was pretty amazing to me. It was a serious story, with a lot to it (a lot, more than I’ve let on above). You couldn’t help but feel drawn to the characters, even when they acted out and made you want to hate them. There were a lot of moments from the past intermixed but it didn’t take away from the story and melded in nicely. Holly Cupula has written something that I recommend all young adults need to read because everyone needs to know that there is a way out. They can have hope for a better tomorrow no matter how horrible today may be.

My Rating:

Exceptional: Stay up until at least 1 AM