Review: Try Not to Breathe

Try Not to Breathe
Jennifer R. Hubbard
Publisher: Viking
Release Date:  January 19, 2012
Pages: 272

Learning to live is more than just choosing not to die, as sixteen-year-old Ryan discovers in the year following his suicide attempt. Despite his mother's anxious hovering and the rumors at school, he's trying to forget the darkness from which he has escaped. But id doesn't help that he's still hiding guilty secrets, or that he longs for a girl who may not return his feelings. Then he befriends Nicki, who is using psychics to seek contact with her dead father. This unlikely friendship thaws Ryan to the point where he can face the worst in himself. He and Nicki confide in one another the things they never thought they'd tell anyone-but their confessions are trickier than they seem, and the fallout test the bounds of friendship and forgiveness.

I was so excited to read Try Not to Breathe. It sounded heartbreaking yet so good. Try Not to Breathe was different than I expected, but it was still good.

Try Not to Breathe wasn't as hard to read as I thought it would be. Considering the subject matter, it was surprisingly not hard to get through. It was still heartbreaking in its own way, but it wasn't super intense. I appreciated this a lot, because the subject of suicide can be a very difficult topic to tackle. 

I was expecting this book to be more romantic than it was. Not that this is a bad thing. It is more of a story about healing. Not just for the main character, Ryan, but for others such as Nicki herself, and Ryan's friends Val and Jake. 

I grew to like Jake. His own story and past wasn't very intense, but I still felt for him. And I think he really grew during this book. Nicki wasn't my favorite part of the book. She seemed immature at times, which put me off a bit. But I grew to feel for her and like her. I kind of wish we could have seen more of Val's and Jake's story, especially Jake. I would have liked to see a little more of Jake's healing process. 

Overall, Try Not to Breathe was a very heartbreaking novel. I loved seeing everyone's healing process.