Book Review: Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Rating:

Genre: Young Adult > Dystopia

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?

*****

It was not that bad, but it was not that good, either. I guess, I was just indifferent? Breathe is a quick read, no doubt about that. And the plot was interesting… at first. I couldn’t care less about Alina, Quinn, and Bea in the end.

Bea loves Quinn, who fantasizes about Alina, who grieves over a dead boy. Bea‘s compassionate, but for a dystopian setting where survival is key, I found her compassion very, very irritating. Quinn is a Premium, meaning he lives a sheltered and priveleged life. I’m not sure he has the skills to survive. I was surprised he managed to stay alive in the Outlands, twice.

I like Alina the Rebel at the start but… it seems she’s just another silly girl who’s caught in a war she doesn’t fully understand. I thought she was trained, so how come a feeble, sickly old woman disarmed and almost killed her? So she was only skilled in stealing? Huh.

The science behind Crossan’s dystopian world sounds plausible enough. I didn’t bother to research it; like I said, I couldn’t care less anymore.

I have no strong emotions against Breathe. It’s overall dullness doesn’t merit any reaction at all.

Publisher: HarperCollins

Imprint: Greenwillow

Pub Date: 10/02/2012

Thank you Edelweiss and HarperCollins for granting my galley request.

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