Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally

     Reading this book brought back a lot of memories for me. Since I was a young girl I ran track. The difference was, I was a sprinter. Our workouts were different from Annie’s but just as grueling. With that being said. I really liked this book. The characters and realism kept me hooked to this book!

“A boy should fit into your life- not become it. High school is when you start to define yourself. Don’t define yourself as the girl who has a boyfriend and nothing else.”
16%

     Annie has never been a runner. Until the day she decides she has to become one. She feels guilty about her boyfriend dying, so in turn she decides to run the race he was going to run before his death. While training she meets super cute and super crazy Jeremiah and he is drawn to him. But after what she’s just been through, she’s not sure whether or not to take the chance.

“Guilt changes as you get older”
23%

     One of the best thing about this book was the characters. They seemed so real. Annie had real emotions that were expected after what she’d been through. She was scared of a new relationship, scared of new friends, upset about old relationships, and so many other things. This was what I missed the most about Kenneally’s writing style. She writes the most believable characters all the time. Annie was no different.

“If you weren’t scared, then I’d be worried.”
30%

     The only thing about this one was the plot pacing. It seemed to go so slow. Nothing seemed to be happening in the first half of the book. Annie was so closed off and refused to be around anyone and I hated that she was so alone. Finally during the second half of the book things started getting better. I sped through it. (No pun intended lol) With the beginning being so slow it took a while to trudge through. I felt a bit like Annie trying to start out running. Trudging through the beginning but blasting through in the end.

“You’re a beautiful girl Annie, and lots of boys will like you, but never depend on one. You should depend on yourself.”
42%

     As for the number one best thing about Kenneally’s books, that’s definitely the older characters from the Hundred Oaks series. It was so great to see them again. What I loved most was seeing what everyone was up to and seeing who is doing the jobs they love. I was especially happy to see Ty again! I don’t remember him being in any other book since Catching Jordan. Finishing a novel I loved always makes me wonder what the characters from that book are doing. Reading companions like the Hundred Oaks series always satisfies my need to know. Seeing them in someone else’s novel is always better than having a series drag out for 10 books. Or having four different series with almost all the same plot going on…..

“Maybe you don’t have to figure life out at all. Maybe it just is.”
65%

     This book was not what I expected, but it was still so good. Keneally’s normal lesson wasn’t really present in this one, but it didn’t do much to hurt the rest of the book. It still had her usual snark, great writing stlye, and amazing other characters.