Customer Reviews

Breathe: A Novel

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Nineteen year old Charlene Boher has been in prison for two years now for murder. Everyone seems to need to know whether she feels any remorse for killing, but Charlene feels nothing inside except the loneliness that has eaten at her for most of her life. With so much time, she decides to write an autobiography to explain why she feels no regret and there for must be inhuman.

Reflecting back to her lonely preadolescence Charlene remembers her room was her sunny castle until school when she met Vanessa, but that friendship ended when Vanessa's family moved; her room once again became the castle of Charlene the hermit. The fights between her parents when she was seven consequently led to the destruction of her family. Charlene feels all alone until as a teen she met Sarah, who shockingly befriended her. Four years later, they meet Maxime leading to an argument and homicide.

BREATHE is a fabulous work of fiction that enables the audience to observe the range of negative emotions that obsessed individuals emit. Charlene is an incredible character as she serves as the poster teen of what could go wrong when a family and a community fail a child. She gives no excuses or blame for her actions, as taking a life is ho hum. Charlene never received any positives until Sarah so a friendship obsession is no stretch. This terrific insightful tale will encourage readers to ponder what we are doing to the next generations.

Harriet Klausner

I do believe that Brasme's novel is very well written, she is very well versed for being 17 at the time it was published. i was rather disturbed at the abrupt ending and there were times that i felt the story lacked some substance. overall i felt it was a good read, i wouldnt recommend it to any teens under the age of 16-the story although not graphic, is rather depressing. Also, Charlene shows no emotion or remorse for her crime and anyone who reads this books and is feeling the same as she (charlene) may not see the danger in committing such a crime as murder. This book also brings to mind "Queen Bees and Wannabes"-that whole adolescent drama of the popular kids vs. the wannabes...good insight for anyone thinking that teens lack their own distinct personalities....

We know at the beginning of the book that Charlene has killed her best friend. What we don't know is why. In the beginning we meet Charlene in her prison cell. She admits what she has done and she doesn't seem to be remorseful. From there she begins the story of her life: from a shy child to a haunted adolescent. Sarah, an American French girl, comes into Charlene's life in high school and from then on Charlene's life is doomed.

This was an interesting novel. Short, but really long enough. What interested me was that the novel claimed to be about obsession and how that can take over one's life. However, it seemed to me that Charlene wasn't really obsessed; she was taken over by Sarah and as much as she tried, could not escape the hold that Sarah had on her. Sarah is not really an innocent in this story as you think at the start. She is pretty evil and knows it. She treats Charlene rottenly and finds it amusing. It's interesting. That's really the best word I can find to describe this story.