Mundie Moms

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Book Review: Breathe by Sarah Crossan


Published by: Harper Teen
Released on: October 2nd, 2012 - TODAY!
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4 stars: I Really Enjoyed It
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Inhale. Exhale. 
Breathe. 
Breathe. 
Breathe . . .
The world is dead. 
The survivors live under the protection of Breathe, the corporation that found a way to manufacture oxygen-rich air.

Alina
has been stealing for a long time. She's a little jittery, but not terrified. All she knows is that she's never been caught before. If she's careful, it'll be easy. If she's careful.

Quinn
should be worried about Alina and a bit afraid for himself, too, but even though this is dangerous, it's also the most interesting thing to happen to him in ages. It isn't every day that the girl of your dreams asks you to rescue her.

Bea
wants to tell him that none of this is fair; they'd planned a trip together, the two of them, and she'd hoped he'd discover her out here, not another girl.

And as they walk into the Outlands with two days' worth of oxygen in their tanks, everything they believe will be shattered. Will they be able to make it back? Will they want to? - quoted from Goodreads

An addicting dystopian that was hard for me to put down. Sarah Crossan's BREATHE has this  storyline that surprisingly hooked me. I've not always been a huge fan of dystopians, but the last few ones I've read I have enjoyed. With BREATHE there was just something about this book that made it hard for me to put down, and I ended up reading it in on sitting. The world building was good, the storyline was engaging and I found myself intrigued with BREATHE's characters. I liked that this story was told from three different points of views. I felt it gave the story more depth and allowed me to get to know the protagonists better, as well as see the story from three different angles. It helped that each chapter was headed with the character who's talking.

Character wise, each of their voices is great and for the most part pretty distinct. There were a few times had I not have the names at the beginning of the chapters that I would have been a little confused as to who was starting off the new chapter. Bea and Quinn live within the pods, and have somewhat normal lives. Bea is the brains, and Quinn is the more laid back one. I mean, they're both smart, but Bea would rather study while Quinn likes to have a little fun. I liked their relationship. They've best friend and mixed into that they have this "are they or aren't going to hook up" feeling. Well, it's mainly from Bea. I can't blame the girl for having a crush on Quinn. I couldn't blame him for not really seeing Quinn in that manner. I found that aspect of their relationship to be relatable. I enjoyed seeing how these two came to the relatization of how they felt about each other, and the way it was drawn out and done was in a fitting manner giving all that's going on around them. I liked Alina's mix Bea and Quinn's lives. Her point of view came more from the resistance side and I liked how her story crosses over into Quinn and Bea's. 

I was really hooked with the storyline more than anything. The story is set in a time when the world's been wiped clean of trees and people are forced to live in oxygen fueled pods. The oxygen is controlled, which in turn controls the activity of the people who live within the pods. You know when you have a controlling civilization you get resistance and this book had plenty of that. I loved what transpires with the resistance role in the book and the secrets that unravel with this part of the story. There was plenty of action, and some great plot twists that made reading BREATE a fast paced page turner. Added to that mix is a romance that's more on the back burner, some heartbreaking moments, and some defiant moments that leave me anxiously awaiting to get my hands on the next book in this series. I'm looking forward to finding out what's in store for Bea, Quinn and Alina. That ending wrapped up the story nicely, but also leaves it open for what's to come. If you're looking for a thrilling, fast paced read I'd recommend picking this one up!

Banned Books Week: The 3 Reasons Why Books Usually Get Banned


You know what I love about Banned Books Week, the fact that so many readers and organizations come together in support of books. What is book banning? Book Banning is when a person or a group of people challenge a book, and successful get it BANNED/removed from a school, library or any public place. The result, now no one else can read that book. While I get people have a right to ban a book, I also have that same right to read whatever the heck I want to read. Not only do I not support the right to have someone tell me what I can and can't read, I do not support that this is even allowed. 

I learned something new this week. Per Epic Reads's Banned Books Week feature, they mentioned that the practice of banning books has been around since 387 B.C. I had no idea! Today in all 50 states they are cases of books being censored, banned, challenged or altered in one way or another (quoted from Epic Reads). You know what I love, that Harper Teen/Epic Reads has this really cool Banned Books Week post over on their site to help raise awareness on this subject. Not only do they have these fabulous Banned Books Week buttons like this image one:


and the one that's in the right hand side bar, (you can see a lot more  of them here), but they also have a list of their banned books, a link to a teaching guide, and an open discussion happening in their forums about Banned Books Week. They also feature a video Sophie has posted before on the blog:




I saw this yesterday on their Tumblr, and totally had to share it here.  Aw, poor book! I wonder what this book contained to get himself/herself banned. 




Did you know that there's usually three reasons why a book gets banned:

  1. The books is unsuited for the age group
  2. It's too sexually explicit
  3. It's full of offensive language
There's also religious reasons, and the reason of narrowmindedness. Okay I included that last one myself. I am extremely passionate about this cause. I've said it so many times on the blog before, just because a book doesn't fall under your personal values, religious beliefs etc, does not mean you have the right to tell someone else they can not read it. I understand parents not wanting their children to read books for the three reasons listed above. I'm a parent and there are some books I will not let my kids read at this moment, but I would never threaten to have the school remove that book. You know what, some kid that's been sexual abused at home may find the voice they needed to speak up in reading a book that I or someone else deem as sexually explicit. If you don't think books have the power to change a child's life, I'd urge you to ask Ellen Hopkins how many letters she gets from kids saying how her books changed their lives. After she read a few of those letters a couple years ago at the Austin Teen Book Festival, I swear there wasn't a dry in that auditorium and you could hear a pin drop. Again, I don't want to be responsible for banning a book that could have changed someone's life, all because I didn't personally agree with the book's context. 

No one has the right to take your right away from reading a book. 

Join in the festivities this week. Read banned books, spread the word about them, join in the Twitter fun using #BannedBooksWeek, post about it, talk about it, donate banned books, or hold giveaways. There's no right or wrong way to celebrate Banned Books Week, well that is unless your actively trying to get a book banned.

Twitter Tuesday - Becca Fitzpatrick

Becca holding the manuscript of Black Ice.
 
Becca Fitzpatrick tweeted yesterday that she's sold a story, Black Ice, and here's the synopsis:


BLACK ICE is a riveting stand-alone psychological thriller that takes place against the treacherous backdrop of the mountains of Wyoming. Seventeen-year-old Britt Pfeiffer has been training to backpack the crest of the Teton Range, but she isn't prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two occupants—who then take her hostage. In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off into the storm, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. But the task isn't as straightforward as it seems. Finding one chilling piece of evidence after another, Britt uncovers the truth about a series of murders that have taken place in the region…and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target.

Okay, that sounds sooooooo chilling and makes me want to find out what happened next. Becca promises more details soon, but in the mean time go to her blog and wish her congratulations! We're excited to read this suspensful story. Congratulations Becca!

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