Nocturnal Book Reviews: Early Review: Breathe by Sarah Crossan+INT giveaway!

Early Review: Breathe by Sarah Crossan+INT giveaway!

Thursday, September 27, 2012 | Posted by kara-karina@Nocturnal Book Reviews

Breathe by Sarah Crossan (Breathe #1)

ARC courtesy of Bloomsbury UK

Synopsis from Goodreads
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?

Release date: October 2nd 2012

Amazon US/UK(£4.54) | Amazon kindle US/UK(£4.25) | The Book Depository US/UK | Fishpond

8/10

* * *

It was a good, well written book, which I enjoyed. My problem is overabundance of YA dystopians with pretty similar concepts. Particularly, Under The Never Sky comes to mind as something slightly more inventive.

The ideas of Breathe feel important, but I would have loved more explanation as to what actually happened to reduce the saturation of oxygen in the atmosphere that much. I would even take a foreword like in Terminator - a description of bleak, futuristic world and how we came to this point, plus the ever persistent question - what of the rest of the world? For the love of all holy, give me some idea of the global picture, not just one city-state.

Quinn, Bea and Alina are pretty decent characters, but again all three lack that desperate edge which makes dystopian teens so awesome. Alina is supposed to be the toughest of the bunch, but it's sheltered, pampered Quinn who has the most drive.

I loved the world of The Resistance and really wanted to concentrate more on their developing an ability to breathe in 6% oxygen. The leader, I kid you not, reminded me of Tilda Swinton as Sal in The Beach.

She's got that slightly unhinged, ruthless personality which allows her to keep her people under control and relentlessly grow the trees, her babies.

Ironically, it's the secondary characters which shine in this book: the villainous alcoholic Pod Minister, half-crazy Savage pensioner and a revolutionary leader of The Resistance. They were fabulous, and felt more alive than generic Quinn, Bea and Alina.

Pardon the pun, it might not be a breathless read, but it's a very good book, despite me feeling neutral about it. Give it a chance especially if you are a teen.

Giveaway

I have a ARC which I want to give away. It doesn't have the cover but it's in a good state and only been read once.

Just tell me what was the last dystopian you read that blew you away?

Open to all.

Ends October 8th 2012.

+1 for comment, +1 for being a follower in any way, +1 for tweets.

Please leave me a way to contact you.

Good luck!

* * *

Неплохая книга "Дыши", хотя особого восторга не вызвала. Скорее всего, я начиталась подобных антиутопий, и хотелось бы чего-то более проработанного, детального и сильного драматически.

А то выходит, что главные персонажи - не рыба, ни мясо, и сияют как раз-таки второстепенные игроки - сумасшедшая Дикарь-пенсионерка, которая делится воспоминаниями о прошлом, гадливый и противный тиран и алкоголик - Министр города-государства и лидер Сопротивления, носящаяся со своими деревьями как с детьми и отказывающаяся их оставить умирать в одиночестве.

Есть в почерке Сары Кроссан хороший потенциал, но вот недожали редакторы, надо было её домучить и заставить всё переписывать до посинения, пока из книги не вышли бы новые Голодные Игры... А так, для среднестатистического подростка пойдёт, для всех остальных - довольно незрело.

Контест, если хотите книгу выиграть, описан выше. Удачи!

Tags: 8/10, dystopia, Sarah Crossan, YA, дистопия

46 comments:

M.A.D. said...: Omg, I just finished Outpost by Ann Aquirre and it rocked so hard I can't WAIT for the next book in this incredible series!!

And, thank you very much for the sweet giveaway!!I've been so hoping to read Breathe!! <3 :)

+1 comment
+1 GFC and email follower:
Mary DeBorde (M.A.D.)
zenrei57 (at) hotmail dot com; 27 September 2012 07:44
Kristia said...: wow thank you very much for the international giveaway! I'm really excite about this book :)
+1 for comment

+1 for being a follower in any way :
GfC follower : Miltiadou Kristia

+1 for tweets : https://twitter.com/MiltiadouK/status/251246287939309568

milkristia (at) hotmail (dot) com; 27 September 2012 10:09
Kristia said...: oups just realised there was a question:
Just tell me what was the last dystopian you read that blew you away?

erm I haven't read one that blew me away but my most recent dystopian/post apocalyptic was Angelfall by Susan Ee and it was really nice!; 27 September 2012 10:14
Evie said...: Legend by Marie Lu.
Thanks a lot for the INT giveaway!

+1 comment
+1 GFC follower: Evie
by.evie at yahoo dot com dot br; 27 September 2012 10:43
Cohlina said...: Divergent! \m/

+1 comment
+1 GFC follower: cohlina esguerra
+1 tweet: https://twitter.com/thing_16/status/251264826410684417; 27 September 2012 11:21
Yiota said...: Forsaken by Lisa Stasse! It's a debut novel :D

+1 comment
+1 follower (rss/twitter)

giota22@msn.com; 27 September 2012 12:02
Beth DeRenzis said...: I've read quite a few dystopians lately, but I think the only ones that really blew me away were Divergent/Insurgent.

+1 Follower: GFC - Beth DeRenzis
kyoto.now at gmail dot com; 27 September 2012 12:33
Imel Cullen said...: I've read Divergent and make me stuck on this series :D

Thanks for giveaway^^

1+ comment
1+ follower via Linky : Imel Cullen
1+ tweet giveaway : https://twitter.com/imellicious/status/251288978282643456

caramellicious03(at)gmail(dot)com; 27 September 2012 12:57
Mel - Thedailyprophecy. said...: Divergent! <3

1+ comment.
1+ follower email: thedailyprophecy@hotmail.com; 27 September 2012 13:40
Mel - Thedailyprophecy. said...: Totally forgot my comment on your review. Sometimes, I publish far too soon.

I can understand that you like more explanation. I love world-building and it's very important to me. Funny to see that the side characters were great. I kind of like that :)

Great review!; 27 September 2012 13:42
Suz said...: Thanks for this great giveaway - I would love to win!
- My all time favorite dystopian series is the Hunger Games. I have read others but this is still the best for me!
- follow by e-mail
- tweeted:https://twitter.com/SuzReads/status/251302142860722176

klaxon63350 (at) mypacks (dot) net; 27 September 2012 13:50
evrythngzen said...: Thank you so much for the giveaway!! I still think Hunger Games was the last one that blew me away. I loved Divergent but really Hunger games stayed with me.
I follow by linky-cody smith-candelaria
I tweeted here: https://twitter.com/evrythngzen/status/251331341709365249
cody(at)wilger(dot)com; 27 September 2012 15:45
Lisa Harwood said...: Thanks for the giveaway!!

Ummmm The Forsaken by Lisa M Stasse! Its amazing, a mix of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner books =)

+1 for comment
+1 follower: GFC Lisa Harwood
+1 for tweet: https://twitter.com/iluvkimi220/status/251393761450553345

iluvkimi_220@hotmail.co.uk; 27 September 2012 19:53
Blodeuedd said...: 1 follower
1 question
blodeuedd83 on twitter :)

That have to be The age of Miracles, ok so it did not blow me away because it was so..silent in itself. It was more that when I read it I thought wow. It silently blew me away; 27 September 2012 20:50
Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...: Oh this sounds interesting. Really. And YA Dystopia seems to be taking over lately as well. But sounds like a good one. :) Thank you!

Hmm, as blown away...hmm, that's a hard one. I've read a few I've enjoyed, but blown away is hard these days, at least in a dystopian world. Sorry.

1 Follow w/GFC
1 Tweeted ~ https://twitter.com/MelLHay/status/251470297620942848; 28 September 2012 00:59
Liss Martz said...: I read divergent, it was AMAZING!
+1 Comment
+1 gfc liss125
+1 tweet https://twitter.com/LzzMrtnz/status/251489145640341504
Thanks!! :); 28 September 2012 02:12
Christina said...: Reviews on this one have ranged from meh to solid fun, if nothing new. I'm glad you're on the higher end of the spectrum!

I have an ARC of this, so I'll be giving it a go at some point. BEA pile, you win. Haha.

Also, I love that the secondary characters are stellar. Too often they are ignored.; 28 September 2012 21:11
Birgit said...: I had to go through my Goodreads list as it's been a while since I read dystopian novels, but guess what? The last one I read was indeed amazing and its title is *drum roll* The Knife of Never Letting Go!

+1 GFC follower

danaan at gmx dot at; 30 September 2012 01:36
Zemira Djedović said...: I adore Angelfall. I think that is the last dystopian that impressed me a lot but I read it last year,so that doesn't say much about dystopian novels that came put this year.

GFC Zemira Djedović
Twitter Zemmy89

https://twitter.com/Zemmy89/status/252294280679419904; 30 September 2012 07:33
mckaykelly said...: Can't wait to read tihs book! Thanks for the giveaway!! :)

+1 GFC mckaykelly
+1 comment

kpoo18 at gmail dot com; 2 October 2012 01:04
sweety white said...: The last novel is Divergent

+1 comment
+1 follower---> GFC: sweety white
+1 tweet --->https://twitter.com/sweety_whit3/status/253021162882347008

sweety.white@ymail.com; 2 October 2012 07:39
Lea Krnjeta said...: The lsat one was Under the never sky, it was amazing :)

+1 follower GFC Lea Krnjeta
+1 comment
+1 tweet: https://twitter.com/Lena_Reve/status/253133862698377218; 2 October 2012 15:08
makix3 said...: Pandemonium! The end of the book blew my mind!! :D

+1 Comment
+1 GFC: Marijana Sitar
+1 tweet: https://twitter.com/MarijanaSitar/status/253134943423705088

Thank you so much for the giveaway!!
marijana.sitar@yahoo.com; 2 October 2012 15:12
Gisele said...: 1+ Divergent! It was my last dystopian and I still need to read Insurgent, I cant wait!
1+ GFC: Gisele Alvarado
1+ Tweeted: https://twitter.com/Gisselle_Alv/status/253231465003900929

ilepachequin(at)hotmail(dot)com; 2 October 2012 21:35
Tia Dalley said...: Divergent and The Hunger Games series

I follow on GFC as Tia; 3 October 2012 02:36
Tia Dalley said...: oops sorry my contact is
videoclimber(at)yahoo(dot)com; 3 October 2012 02:37
Chenise Jones said...: I really loved Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick!

+1 GFC: Chenise Jones; 3 October 2012 04:09
Clarissa (Bookadicea) said...: Thank you so much for this fab giveaway!
GFC Follower - Clarissa (Bookadicea)

clarissa dot bulatao at yahoo dot com; 3 October 2012 14:50
Lis said...: OMG!! I'm dying to read this book!! I LOVE the summary!
My last dystopian was... Under the never sky. I think!
Thanks for the chance!!

+1 comment
+1 GFC: Lis
+1 tweet: https://twitter.com/liskrkmo/status/253542910048481280; 3 October 2012 18:22
Erika said...: The last dystopian book I read was Linger and it was very good! I love dystopian books! Thanks!
+1 comment
+1 GFC Erika
saltsnmore at yahoo dot com; 3 October 2012 18:31
Sarah Elizabeth said...: I'm reading ashes by ilsa bick and it is absolutely amazing!! I love dystopians and this is so so good! Can't wait to read breathe! I want it so bad!!!
GFC - SARAH ELIZABETH
i tweeted: https://twitter.com/bookworm_sarah/status/253553196553867264
Thank you!
sarah(dot)elizabeth(dot)bookworm(at)gmail(dot)com; 3 October 2012 18:54
Coreena McBurnie said...: I just read Insurgent and it was great.
Thanks for the great giveaway.
GFC Coreena McBurnie
coreenamcburnie at gmail dot com; 4 October 2012 02:10
Coreena McBurnie said...: I just read Insurgent and it was great.
Thanks for the great giveaway.
GFC Coreena McBurnie
coreenamcburnie at gmail dot com; 4 October 2012 02:10
VanillaOrchids said...: Cinder

GFC: VanillaOrchids
Tweet: https://twitter.com/VanillaOrchids/status/253672524192305155

Thank you.

Pam
vanillaorchids69(at)gmail(dot)com; 4 October 2012 02:48
Darlene said...: The last dystopian that I read that totally blew me away - and my favourite book of the year - is Battle Royale by Koushun Takami.

darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com

+1 Linky follower - Darlene's Book Nook

+1 for tweeting:

https://twitter.com/DarleneBookNook/status/253941550529257474; 4 October 2012 20:36
Reading mind said...: last one? Starters. I really liked that one!

GFC reading mind

aliasgirl at libero dot it; 4 October 2012 21:02
Dana said...: The last dystopian I read that blew me away was The Twenty by Claudia Carozza
GFC Danasquare
danasquare3@aol.com; 4 October 2012 21:58
Jolene and Family said...: The Forsaken. I bought it for my husband, thinking this would be something he liked and ended up skimming the pages and was hooked! I ended up loving it

GFC follower- Jolene and Family

tweeted- https://twitter.com/joleneallcock/status/254155029064339456

june111(at)att(dot)net; 5 October 2012 10:46
mamabunny13 said...: +1 I enjoyed Enclave, can't wait to read Outpost.
+1 gfc mamabunny13
+1 tweet https://twitter.com/mamabunny13/status/254262742968586240
mamabunny13 at gmail dot com; 5 October 2012 17:53
ZaraAlexis said...: My recent favourite dystopian: THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD by Margaret Atwood.

I follow you by email subscription: zgarcia(dot)alvarez(at)gmail(dot)com

I tweeted about the giveaway: https://twitter.com/ZaraAlexis/status/254397814531031040

Thanks for the great giveaway! I welcome ARCs!; 6 October 2012 02:50
Abby said...: +1 DIVERGENT! Enough said right? Now reading Insurgent and loving it too!

+1 GFC as Abby

Thanks!

reviewsbyabby at gmail dot com; 6 October 2012 11:03
Koll said...: That would probably be Enclave by Ann Aguirre :)
+ 1 comment
+ 1 GFC follower(Koll)

Thildeespensen(at)live(dot)dk; 6 October 2012 13:18
Georgia said...: I would say Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi :)
+ 1 comment
+ 1 GFC Georgia Blanch
Thanks for the giveaway!
little_georgia_b AT hotmail DOT com; 7 October 2012 01:00
Romi said...: Yay, international giveaway! Thank you so much!

My favourite dystopian is definitely The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.

+1 follower (GFC: Romi Foster)
+1 for comment.

(contact email: contact (.) romif (@) gmail (.) com); 7 October 2012 04:17
Nuzaifa said...: Blood Red Road by Moira Young was pretty awesome,so was Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi.
Thanks for making the giveaway International!
+1 Comment
+1 GFC Nuzaifa H
+1 Tweet @nbookaholic https://twitter.com/nbookaholic/status/255169109094973440

nbookaholic(at)gmail(dot)com; 8 October 2012 05:55
Spav said...: Enclave by Ann Aguirre.

+1 Comment
+1 GFC Blog follower
+1 Tweet: https://twitter.com/Sparima/status/255495041529831424

spav05(AT)gmail(DOT)com; 9 October 2012 03:29