Series: Breathe
Author: Sarah Crossan
# of Books: 2 (Breathe, Resist)
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Survival, Adventure, Romance
Heat Rating: cool
Point of View: First Person, Multiple
Thoughts:
Breathe was a random read I found in my library’s eBook collection. The cover is what drew me to it but it was the concept that made me read it. I’ve never thought about what it would be like not to have air or have it controlled in such a way and I was also on a dystopian fiction kick so it seemed like a good choice.
Breathe was an interesting read. I didn’t particularly love it but I didn’t hate it either. It occupied my time and I enjoyed reading it but it wasn’t my favourite book ever. It moves really slow–same with its sequel, Resist– but once it gets going its pretty easy to read. Again, it’s the concept of the book that fascinated me the most and it was interesting to see how science fiction element of Breathe was carried out and then continued in Resist. I would say Breathe is more dystopian-survival-esque while Resist is more science fiction based which made each book interesting in their own ways. I’m glad that there are only the two books because I’m not sure how you would make this into a trilogy without dragging everything out.
I think the main reason I didn’t love this series outright is because of the characters. Given the odds that there are 3 main characters (and a fourth in Resist) the odds that I would like someone should be pretty high. Unfortunately, I just didn’t connect with any of them. I would say that Alina was my favourite for a long time but then she became a little annoying to me and I started to like Bea better because her story got more interesting. But in the end, I was pretty indifferent to both of them and Quinn. I’m not sure exactly what it was about them that made me feel that way but I just didn’t really care for them and that dampened my reading experience.
Conclusion:
The books are well written and they are thought-provoking as you read them. They aren’t the greatest reads ever but if you want to read about a world where oxygen levels are controlled by the government, they might be worth your while.
Rating: 3/5
Similar Reads: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky Trilogy #1); Mystic City by Theo Lawrence (Mystic City #1) and Delirium by Lauren Oliver (Delirium Trilogy #1)
Synopsis for Breathe (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?
