Just Breathe (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestselling author Wiggs (Snowfall at Willow Lake) keeps her romance reputation going with this feel-good story of a wronged woman who gets out on her own and gets going. Sarah Moon, a comic-strip writer, is happily married to Jack Daly—until she comes home to find him entwined and naked with a business associate he had badmouthed to her just hours earlier. After five years of marriage, including months of infertility treatments because of Jack's cancer, infidelity is the last straw, and Sarah pack ups and leaves Chicago for her hometown of Glenmuir, Calif. Sarah uses her comic strip, Just Breathe, to vent her frustration and relieve her stress. The character, Shirl, is undergoing fertility treatments, getting a divorce and moving back in with her mom. (Comic strips open each section of the novel). And in Glenmuir, lo and behold, Sarah's dreams come true. She finds out she's pregnant, and begins a friendship with her high school nemesis, Will Bonner, who's now the town fire captain and a single dad whose lonely daughter reminds Sarah of herself as a young girl. Wiggs takes serious situations and weaves them into an emotionally wrought story that will have readers reaching for the Kleenex one moment and snickering out loud the next. (Sept.)
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From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Cartoonist Sarah Moon is shocked and devastated when she stops by her husband's work site after her latest fertility treatment and finds him with another woman. When Jack refuses to acknowledge that he has done anything wrong and says he wants a divorce, Sarah trades his prized custom restored Pontiac GTO for a MINI Cooper and heads for Glenmuir, the small northern California town where she grew up. Somewhat to Sarah's surprise, the area and people she couldn't wait to leave have changed—or perhaps she has. Family and friends, including her high school crush Will Bonner, rally round, and Sarah starts to relax. That is until she realizes she's pregnant. This is a lovely, moving novel with an engaging heroine. Best-selling author Wiggs's (Table for Five) talent is reflected in her thoroughly believable characters as well as the way she recognizes the importance of family by blood or other ties. Readers who like Nora Roberts and Susan Elizabeth Phillips will enjoy Wiggs's latest. Highly recommended for all public libraries. [The finished book will include cartoons not reproduced in the advanced reading copy.—Ed.]—Elizabeth Mellett, P.L. of Brookline, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Mira (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778325776
• ISBN-13: 978-0778325772
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #449,755 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hilarious book about infidelity with a happy ending, September 2, 2008

By	RebeccasReads.com "Rebecca's Reads" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Gina Holland for RebeccasReads (8/08)


Susan Wiggs is already one of the most awesome authors around. I had no skepticism about reading "Just Breathe." Once I saw whom the novel was by, I knew it was going to be on fantastic one. Of course, I was correct in my assumption. Wiggs brought this novel to life.

Sarah Moon shows us how to tackle real life issues, no matter how hard they may be. She is married to Jack, a very wealthy and handsome husband. Sarah doesn't work outside the home, she writes very funny cartoons. Her character, Shirl, is hilarious. Sarah and Jack have gone through some rough times. Sarah stood by Jack as he battled cancer. The type of cancer that Jack had caused a problem that could hurt their chances of having children. Jack got through his cancer and was completely cured. The problem that the cancer caused for Jack was making things a little less comfortable for the couple. Let's just say it was a man thing. So Sarah and Jack decided to go with artificial insemination. They seemed to have a tough time getting pregnant as well. Even with all the problems, Sarah believes that their marriage is doing well. Until the day she walks in on her husband with another woman.

Sarah takes off on a wild adventure to her hometown, a place she hasn't visited in a long time. Her mom died when she was younger, but her dad still lives there. Sarah always wanted to be close to him. Now might be the chance. As Sarah tries to overcome the hurt and pain of her upcoming divorce, she encounters a man named Will Bonner, whom she went to school with. Sarah and Will were both different back then. Then Sarah gets some unexpected news regarding something she has wanted for a long time.

I totally recommend this novel for young adults and adults. I guarantee that you will enjoy every single page. This novel is a very thick one and I know that I read through it in two days. I laughed and I cried with Sarah. I have and will always enjoy Wiggs's novels. Her grammar and overall writing was absolutely excellent. Every word she writes makes sense and I never get lost within her pages. You would do well to buy this novel. I would love it if Wiggs came out with a second part to this story. The addition of the cartoons that Sarah wrote within the book was a great add as well. Great Job by this author!!!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wait for the paperback, December 17, 2008

By	Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Sarah Moon has supported her husband Jack through sickness and health; and after his recovery from cancer, they decided to start trying to have child, but after several costly treatments, they are still childless, and worse, she has just discovered that one reason his sex drive is nonexistent is because he has been sleeping with a client. For cartoonist Sarah, who lives vicariously through her character, Shirl, that is the last straw, and she high tails it to her hometown in northern California. Jack realizes his error when he discusses divorce with his lawyer and his attempts to reconcile fall on deaf ears. As Sarah starts to make new friends and reconcile with old frenemies that she lampooned in her underground high school comic, she discovers that she is pregnant. Torn over what to do, and on the verge of finding love again, she has some hefty decisions to mull over, and it isn't easy when she has the attentions of her high school heartthrob.

I wanted to like Wiggs' story, and for the most part I did, but there is just too much going on to the point that it reads like more of a soap opera than a novel. The arson investigation seemed originally like an integral part of the plot, then it was dropped, only to be resolved (in the past no less) at the end. I liked Sarah's transformation once she returned to her roots, the kindred spirit she felt with Will's daughter who was also on the verge of being an outcast like she was. But I had a hard time understanding how she ever fell for Jack since the only Jack the readers are introduced to is a bitter and not so nice one. I also had to side with her editors in that I did not think that her comic strip was all that funny (at least not the excerpts that were ultimately chosen).

© Tracy Vest, December 2008

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Breathe, November 5, 2008

By	M. Nix "Joyfully Reviewed" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sarah Moon is a cartoonist. She uses her own real life experiences in her comic strip "Just Breathe." Sarah's husband, Jack, works for his family owned construction company. Sarah and Jack have been married for five years, during which time Sarah has stood by and cared for Jack when he had cancer. She went through twelve months of fertility treatments in a desperate attempt to conceive a child to no avail. Then she found Jack with another woman. Sarah left Chicago and gone home to her family in California to lick her wounds and make a fresh start. As she plans her divorce from Jack she gets two unexpected surprises. She's pregnant with Twins.

Will Boon is the boy Sarah had a crush on in high school. He ignored her then. Will is now the town's Fire Captain and father to his thirteen-year-old stepdaughter Aurora. Will and Sarah begin an unlikely friendship that soon becomes more, but neither of them is in a position to start a relationship. That doesn't stop them from falling for each other though.

Just Breathe is a wonderful story bathed in vivid realism. Sarah's response to Jack's cheating, the birth of her babies, and her feelings for Will, are realistic and packed with emotion. I felt a real connection to Sarah. Either because I had a similar experience to one of hers or I felt I would have reacted the same way she did had I been in her shoes. Jack however handled things very badly. I lost respect for him quickly as he became bitter and selfish. His infidelity infuriated me. Will on the other hand is a knight in shining armor. He is compassionate, gorgeous, and honorable. He's the perfect man! Aurora is lovely. She's a typical teenager struggling to cope with some not so typical issues. Just Breathe is a realistic look at one woman's life as she faces loss and heartache, then love and joy. Just Breathe is my first Susan Wiggs novel but definitely not my last. She is a wonderful storyteller.

Nannette
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed