Monday, November 17, 2014

Breathless by Lurlene McDaniel - Book Review



















Title: Breathless
Author: Lurlene McDaniel 
Publication: May 12, 2009
Series: None. 
Format: Ebook 
My Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Summary: 

What is the toughest request anyone can be asked to fulfill?  

Travis Morrison is a champion diver and one of the most popular kids at school. On the first day of summer vacation, while boating on the lake with his friends, Travis attempts a silly stunt dive that goes wrong. He fears he has broken his leg. Instead, his trip to the hospital reveals he has a rare form of cancer, and to save him, the doctors tell his parents they must amputate. In an instant, Travis’s life and the lives of everyone around him are forever changed.

Travis is determined that he and only he should decide the course of his life. He has a plan, but he can’t carry it out alone. Will he convince one of his friends to fulfill his most important request?

Lurlene McDaniel tackles a controversial subject, probing the issues of personal choice and quality of life.

My Review:

 *Please note that what is written in this review are my opinions, please do not take offense to it. If you may be offended by what I am writing please stop reading, if you do not agree with me then please just do not say anything at all because these are my thoughts on the book and I simply won't care if you decide to comment hurtful things*

“Foreknowledge is a burden, a weight I can hardly bear. Maybe that’s why God keeps the future hidden from us. If I knew I would have a terrible accident, would I live my life trying to avoid it? Would I lock myself inside a room being safe? Or would I go outside and live day to day”  

Wow. I thought this was an incredible book. I thought that the multiple point of views were perfect for this story, and I thought there was so much in between the little amount of pages that I thought were great. When I was reading this book, the first chapter already hinted that I was going to be crying through this book. I did cry at a few scenes but it's wasn't a sob fest for me like I thought it would. Don't get me wrong, it was an emotional book but I wasn't really in the mood to cry and let a few tears fall and left it at that. This book wasn't what I was expecting it to turn out to. I felt that many things were left unsaid and I hated that.

- Travis
I thought that it was very serious what Travis was planning to do, but I knew it was right. I don't have a special thing to do when I grow up, (diving, baseball, basketball, music, etc..) but I honestly have no idea how I would react if I was not able to do it anymore. I thought there was sense into what Travis wanted to do but I did not like how he was planning it. It was a lot to ask but he never, not once, considered the guilt that would wash over his best friend. It was all I could think about.

I thought all the characters were unique and great in their own ways. I do wish there was more to said to them all. Ugh, I have so many question running through my head with all the things left unsaid. This book was unique and I thought there was a lot of creativeness written through this book.

Overall, I was shocked a lot of them didn't understand what he was asking. I know it would be very difficult to even consider what he was proposing but it is his life and he has to make his own decisions. I wouldn't want to continue living if I knew I was going to die either way. I wouldn't want to continue life strapped with cords and having tubes everywhere, it would be misery and I would simply not want to live anymore. If I knew there was a chance I would get better I would fight but knowing there is no chance wouldn't it be better if you were able to say goodbye to your loved ones and be able to die in a way you wanted to? This may not go for everyone but this is how I saw this. I thought this book was beautifully written, the only reason why this book is rated 4 stars instead of 5 is because I thought many things were left unsaid.

WARNING: DO NOT GO ON UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK! SPOILER!!



My suspect for the ending:
Emily. I thought it would have been Cooper at first but something about the way it was written had me thinking it was Emily. I'm not sure if I'm correct but I believe it was her. She knew that he was living in hell and I think that the author made it her because a lot of us probably suspected it was Cooper. Let me know who you thought it was!

(Scratched off so you don't by accidentally read it :)

2 comments:

  1. I like the sound of this book and might go check it out, dual narratives are usually a hit or miss for me so I hope I like it as much as you did! Great review :)

    http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/review-battle-of-labyrinth-percy.html

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! If you decide to give it a try, let me know what you thought of it! I hope you enjoy it :)

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