Breathing

I have been plowing through my never-ending to read pile this last week. After spending a lot of time on professional reading, it has been fun to escape away with some middle grades/YA lit. I was so glad to get swept up into Savannah's world in Cheryl Renée Herbsman's Breathing. I quickly warmed up to Savannah's southern dialect, but when Jackson broke out his, visions of Court Foster came rushing in. And who can resist a romance with someone like that?

When Savannah meets Jackson her summer takes a turn for the better. However, she also battles with asthma that gets especially worse when she gets too emotional, and she is geared up for a roller coaster summer - the excitement of starting a new relationship and the heartbreak of having him move away. Throughout the book Savannah teeters on losing herself and her dreams in order to hold on tight to Jackson. As the fly cover says, "Savannah has to learn to breathe on her own, both literally and figuratively." The book had a lot of fun surprises in store, and I would love to see another book with Savannah to see where her life's adventures take her after the ending.

As an educator, I noticed the book is full of teachable moments. I have also been noticing that a lot of authors have really fun websites lately, including Herbsman's.