Author: Miranda Kenneally
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire, 320 Pages (July 15th 2014)
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
From: the Publisher
Format: eARC
Add to: Goodreads
Order a copy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK, Kobo, iTunes
Synopsis: Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.
But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.
“Breathe, Annie, Breathe is an emotional, heartfelt, and beautiful story about finding yourself after loss and learning to love. It gave me so many feels. Her best book yet.” — Jennifer Armentrout, New York Times bestselling author of Wait for You.
Review: 4 Stars - Breathe, Anne, Breathe is the fifth book in author Miranda Kenneally’s Hundred Oaks series, which all can be read as standalones as each titles focus is on a different character(s) from the same area and high school.
This isn’t my first Miranda Kenneally title and it won’t be my last. She has amazing characters and a strong message with each book and this one was more of the same that I’ve come to love about her books.
Annie is an emotional character who’s trying to deal with and in the end heal after the loss of her boyfriend and first “everything” - Kyle. She’s filled with so much guilt and carries it with her everywhere she goes. This is how she found herself training to run for a marathon Kyle was gearing up to run. She’s doing this for him, to finish it for him and as someone who doesn’t like running or was never good at it she’s got a long road ahead of her.
With her loss comes the loss of huge pieces of herself and her family and friends as she used to know them. It’s changed her and she doesn’t know how to get back to who she used to be or even know if she wants to.
Through the training for the marathon she meets various people who challenge her, make her think and see life differently through her pain and loss. She also meets Jeremiah, her coach’s brother who makes her feel things she doesn’t think she deserves or is ready for.
The story is all about Annie’s challenges and trying to deal with her grief. It’s about her trying to overcome the love she loves and the guilt that’s tying her down. And watching Annie… or rather following her along her journey was a pleasure to read. I loved her as a character; she’s just one you find yourself wanting to give a hug to or to be there for extra support.
And then there’s Matt her coach who was a great secondary character and then I can’t leave out talking a bit about Jeremiah… WOW! He’s got his own issues he’s trying to deal with, but it’s very different than what other characters you might meet are dealing with. He’s funny and crazy and more than loveable and I loved each and every second we had a chance to spend time with him on the page.
In the end, Kenneally has done it again with a pretty amazing story about loss and love and healing and I seriously can’t get enough! I’m already jonesing for her next book and I’m sure I’m far from alone.
I highly recommend each and every one of her books to readers young and old. And while this is considered YA I’d suggest it for upper YA since the characters do swear and there is mention of sex. So, what’s next for Kenneally? The next book in the Hundred Oaks series of course! Set to release in 2015 and I can’t wait! Go read these books. Go get them and read, read, read!
About the Author:
Growing up in Tennessee, Miranda Kenneally dreamed of becoming an Atlanta Brave, a country singer (cliché!), or a UN interpreter. Instead she writes, and works for the State Department in Washington, D.C., where George W. Bush once used her shoulder as an armrest. Miranda loves Twitter, Star Trek and her husband.
Find Miranda Online:
Website | Twitter| Facebook | Goodreads
GIVEAWAY!!!
-2x 50$ B&N Gift Card
-3x Signed copy of Breathe, Annie, Breathe
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I am so behind on this series! Everyone seems to love them, and I definitely need to join in on the hype. Thanks for the great review! I'm happy to hear that this series continues to impress you.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Lisa! It sounds like another winner for this series - one of my fav series ever! I love how character driven each book is, and the side character are always just as lively and have as much personality than the MC. I can't wait to meet Annie and Jeremiah!!
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