Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala

Title: Don't Breathe a Word

Author: Holly Cupala

Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: January 3, 2012

Source: Gifted

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Joy Delamere is suffocating.

From asthma, from her parents, and from her boyfriend, Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out. She can take his cruel words, his tender words...until the night they go too far.

Joy escapes to the streets of nearby Seattle and accepts the help of a homeless boy called Creed. He introduces her to a world of fierce loyalty, the rules of survival, and to love--a world she won't easily let go.

Holly Cupala's powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the secrets we keep, and the extraordinary lengths one girl will go to discover her own strength.

When Holly Cupala's debut book Tell Me a Secret Came Out in 2010, I heard nothing but good things about her and her book but never really got around to reading it. So when I got the opportunity to read Don't Breathe a Word, I jumped at the chance. And of course I found out for myself just how great Holly Cupala is.

Though on the surface Joy appears to be living the perfect life in the suburbs with her family, when you scratch the surface a little everything isn't so idyllic. The truth is, Joy is suffocating in more ways than one. To escape the suffocation, Joy runs away to the streets of Seattle, hoping to find the boy who once said he would help her if she needed it. Now living as a homeless teen on the streets of Seattle, Joy finds running away may be more difficult than she originally thought. But with Creed's help, Joy just may be able to survive and escape her old life. But there are some parts of her life she just may not be able to leave behind.

Wow. Just wow. That was pretty much my initial reaction when I finished reading the book. Right from the start I found myself getting very invested in Joy's story. But soon that story grew to involve more and more people who lives I also found myself getting invested in. Everyone felt very real, an I couldn't help but want things to work out for the best for everyone. But aside from the characters and their lives, I loved just about everything about this book. I most especially loved how well it dealt with the subjects of teen homelessness and abuse. Nothing felt overdone, it was just perfect.

Like I've already said, right from the start of the book I found myself getting invested in Joy's life. But I also found myself loving her as a person right from the start. I could really feel her pain despite having never gone through what she has. But more than anything, Joy was just someone trying to find her place in the world in order to survive. And that's something I admired about her. She definitely had some good people looking out for her, the best probably being Creed. Right from the start, Creed seemed like someone you could count on despite the fact that he didn't even know Joy. And I'll admit that I even developed a bit of a crush on him. He was just so great with Hoy, always reading to jump in and defend and protect her, even when he barely knew her. And that's something that really made me respect him. 

Dont't Breathe a Word was absolutely amazing. The further I got into the book, the more I loved it. Definitely pick this book up if you get the chance, you might just be surprised by how much this book as to offer.