Simply Kelina

Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I went into this knowing it was going to deal with abuse and that it was heartbreaking, and it was. This deals with abuse (physical and emotional). Your heart will break for Emma as you know things with her Aunt were just going to get worse and worse.

I do think this was a little longer than it needed to be. All though this deals with Emma facing the challenges of living with her Aunt and Uncle, it was also about a high school romance. There were other high school issues as well. The love story took up more of the story than the issues with Emma and her family. If you like reading a story that deals with these issues but also focuses on other things you would love this.

I do feel this story brings the opportunity to discuss abuse with teenagers (school aged children) and the importance of this topic when someone knows abuse is occurring. Emma puts her best friend and boyfriend in a complicated situation to keep her secret about the abuse occurring from her Aunt. They do not want to betray Emma’s trust, so they do not say anything. I think it is important topic to cover with our teens/kids around what to do if they know a friend who is being abused.

Overall, this was pretty good. I own the bind-up of book one and two so I will be continuing with book two in the series.


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