Book: Don’t Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala

Book Info: Published by Harper Collins Publishers; 320 pages; purchased for my Nook

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Find Out More: Goodreads~Barnes And Noble~Amazon~Author Website

Goodreads.com Summary: 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.

I really, really liked Don’t Breathe A Word.

I liked the flashbacks, and slowly learn why Joy ran away from home to live on the streets.  The runaway element was really interesting, and I thought it worked well.  It’s sad to think that running away made Joy (and the other characters) feel safe, that it was their only option.  The idea that living on the streets is safer than living at home?  It makes me feel so sad for all the people who are actually living that life.

I really liked Joy, and I get why she felt so suffocated.  I could definitely relate to that.  She was very vivid, as were all the other characters.  I liked some characters (how could you not like Creed) and others I hated (Asher and Jesse anyone).  They didn’t feel fake or cliche.  In fact, I really liked that they were all so different, and yet some of the characters had a lot of similarities.

I give it a 4 out of 5.  The runaway aspect was interesting and unique, and I loved the characters.