Reviews:

    I give the book Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed reading this book not that the context was necessarily happy themes. They just kept me interested, and to want to read on. This book makes me realize some teenagers have to go through with some of these similar issues. Such as family/ relationship abuse along with stress. The way Alex Flinn describes the struggles of the main characters Nick and Caitlyn makes you feel as if you were there. All of the drama and scenes makes you curious to what could possibly happen next. Even though this books themes are hard to picture yourself in you begin to feel the characters pain and sadness in the situations. I loved how throughout the book the author made it clear that there are other people out there have same experiences.  I was only disappointed that the ending turned out differently then what I was hoping. I also believe some parts of the book should have been described to increase the drama and action to the story. But I still do feel the overall message of the book is a good way to look at how talking to people about your issues can turn out to help you in the long run. I was glad I chose the book Breathing Underwater it has helped open my eyes to what some people struggle with on a day to day basis.

Madison W.

    Breathing Underwater, by Alex Flinn, is one of the greatest books I’ve read, I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. One thing I liked about the book was the characters. Nick, the main character, is a teenager who struggles with abuse from his father, also from his peers after he hits his girlfriend, Catlin. Although Nick hit Catlin, you still are connected to him and feel sorry for him because you learn how much he loved her. Plus, it is interesting to see what Nick really feels when he is saying something completely opposite. The book was written in a appealing way too. Half the book is him writing in his journal about the past, and the other half is real time. It is so interesting because the two parts are polar opposites of another because in one he has the love of his life, Catlin, and in the other he has basically no one, including Catlin. As the book progresses you also see the characters progress and learn who they really are. Also, it is fascinating to read about the abuse from Nick’s father, and the abuse from Nick himself, since they both are realistic issues in society today. The only thing I did not like about the book was the ending. I found it very unrealistic and not very exciting. In conclusion, this book will make you laugh and cry, and care about all the different characters. I 100% recommend this book.

Mary L.

             Breathing Underwater was a great book because it always made you want to read on.  Sometimes there were some slow parts but for most of the novel there were interesting sections.  Breathing Underwater is also a great novel because it showed flashbacks that Nick had when he would write in his journal.  It also shows how Nick has changed his perspective on why Caitlin broke up with him.  The author of Breathing Underwater uses real life experiences that some people might be going threw in their lives.  She also uses very good descriptions of characters and what has happened in the novel.  I personally liked this book because it made me in some sections of the novel it made me feel bad for the characters.  Also in some sections it made me mad at some characters as if they were real people.  I would recommend this book for girls from ages fourteen to seventeen because it is a novel about a sixteen year old boy and a sixteen year old girl.  I would rank Breathing Underwater four stars out of five.

Emily K.