Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Summary from Goodreads

When oxygen levels plunge in a treeless world, a state lottery decides which lucky few will live inside the Pod. Everyone else will slowly suffocate. Years after the Switch, life inside the Pod has moved on. A poor Auxiliary class cannot afford the oxygen tax which supplies extra air for running, dancing and sports. The rich Premiums, by contrast, are healthy and strong. Anyone who opposes the regime is labelled a terrorist and ejected from the Pod to die. Sixteen-year-old Alina is part of the secret resistance, but when a mission goes wrong she is forced to escape from the Pod. With only two days of oxygen in her tank, she too faces the terrifying prospect of death by suffocation. Her only hope is to find the mythical Grove, a small enclave of trees protected by a hardcore band of rebels. Does it even exist, and if so, what or who are they protecting the trees from? A dystopian thriller about courage and freedom, with a love story at its heart.

Paperback, 384 pages

Expected publication: October 11th 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing (first published October 2nd 2012) 
 

My Review 
 

I didn't really know what to expect when I first picked up Breathe, but after a couple of pages I was extremely excited and addicted to this book. I found the world building fantastic, realistic and really easy to understand and fall into. I genuinely believed in the world, the characters and each of their individual stories. The characters for me were good, not amazing and not bad, but it took me quite some time to actually care for them. The story is told from 3 POV's, Quinn, Alina and Bea, which in some books can be a bit much to take in, but I am so pleased to say everything in this case was easy and seamless. My favourite character would have to be Alina, she is kicks-butt, fearless and probably the leader of the three-some. Breathe is a plot driven book that is perfectly paced, chillingly realistic, action packed and full of little twists and turns. It is a fabulously written first instalment from Sarah Crossan and I'm very excited to read the next book!
 

In a treeless world breathing has become a luxury, oxygen is rationed, taxed and only the wealthy 'The Premiums' can afford huge quantities, to live comfortably. Life in the Pod's are tough for Auxiliaries who can't afford any luxuries. 3 teenagers are thrown together, Alina who is part of a rebel gang, Bea who is an Auxiliary and is best-friends with Quinn who is a Premium. The 3 of them manage to escape the Pod with only a limited supply of oxygen, Alina leads them to her rebels groups headquarters. Bea and Quinn get their eyes well and truly opened, trees are being grown in the headquarters and some rebels can breathe without any masks! 
 

Armed with all these shocking revelations and shaken to their cores, the pair need to pull together and try to get the word out there. But will they be-able to stay alive long enough to even breathe a word? 

What I would of liked was more information on The Switch, how it came about, who started it, other Pods, just a little bit more back info in general, so I hope we get a little of that in the next book!

 

The ending is brilliant, it had some shockers that I really wasn't expecting. I really do urge everyone to pick up Breathe for themselves as it really is a satisfyingly brilliant book that I thoroughly enjoyed!
 

*Special thanks to Bloomsbury for the review copy*

4/5 Stars
 

Carly :)