Breathing Underwater

I'd recommend for all teens to read to raise awareness about the topic of domestic abuse.

Reader reviewed by dori

This is a teen book with a classic storyline: Caitlin was in love with Nick, and Nick was in love with Caitlin. Was. Their relationship ended officially with a restraining order placed against Nick, in addition to an order of anger management classes Nick was obligated to attend. This story is about Nick's controlling and abusive nature, and how Nick begins to understand himself. Alex Finn mixes the story up by writing the book in the abuser's point of view, not the POV of obvious victim. However, she shows how the abuser is a victim as well. The author teaches teens how to deal with difficult situations. Although the book is very captivating, I found that the way Nick patches up his relationship with his dad very unrealistic, and some of the characters are unconvincing as well.

Reader reviewed by Grace

Seventeen-year-old Nick seemed to have it all, but underneath the surface was an ugly truth. He had hit his girlfriend, Caitlin. Now, Caitlin and her family have brought him to court and the judge sentences him to a violence class, a restraining order, and to write in a notebook. As Nick writes in his notebook, recounting the times he spent with Caitlin and how his own father abused him, he realizes the truth of what he did to Caitlin and makes an effort to change.

Breathing Underwater is a realistic book that looks at an abusive relationship from the violent person's point of view. Even though I didn't like Nick because of the way he was toward Caitlin, I still sympathized with him as he discovered how much he had really hurt Caitlin. I was kind of annoyed at him not even realizing he was hurting Caitlin, but I guess he was blinded by his love and protection of her.

Reader reviewed by LJK

There were times when I wanted to stop reading this book. I didn't want to read about Cailin, who gives into her boyfriend when he's cruel to her, or about Nick, who spends the early part of the book trying to justify his behavior. Half of the story is told in flashbacks, so as we follow Nick's life after Caitlin gets a restraining order and his friends dessert him, we are also reading Nick's entries in his court-mandated journal. The more I read, the less I wanted to get to the moment when Nick's world falls apart (at his own doing). It was also hard to read about the cruelty of his classmates, who pretend to help Caitlin by torturing Nick.

This is a very well-written book, which asks many questions about domestic violence amongst teenagers. No one emerges unscathed, and at the same time all of the characters are painted with empathy. This is an important book that teachers and students should read.