Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

I'm going to say this once, and then we'll all forget it--I spent 90% of this book despising the main character, Nick Andreas. Now that it's out of the way, I can go on to say that I loved BREATHING UNDERWATER and even came, in some small way, to understand--if not actually like--Nick's character.

Nick is the kind of boy that you would look at and immediately say "man, that kid has it all." But you would be wrong. Because although he has a dad who makes a ton of money, and lives in a big, fancy house, and drives a shiny red sports car, Nick doesn't have a fairytale life. His father is abusive, both mentally and physically, and he can't even remember his mother. He has a best friend, Tom, who has the kind of family he wishes he had himself, and a pretty important A-list group of schoolkids that he hangs out with. His life isn't great, but he manages--until he meets Caitlin, falls in love, and things all fall apart.

BREATHING UNDERWATER starts out with Nick appearing in court in answer to a restraining order that his once girlfriend, Caitlin McCourt, has taken out against him. The judge doesn't fall for Nick's innocent "who me?" act, and sentences him to stay away from Caitlin, both on school grounds and off; to enroll in a six month counseling class dealing with family violence and anger management; and to keep a journal, at least five hundred words per week, detailing what happened to end up where he is, and why.

A lot of the book is told through Nick's journal, and it's through the words he writes that we come to know how abuse is a cycle--and how, many times, the abuser doesn't even realize that he's become like the person he most hates. This is Nick's story, the dawning realization that everything he hates about his father is manifested in his treatment of Caitlin. How did a boy who supposedly has it all end up beating his girlfriend senseless in a parking lot? How can love be so mixed up with the need to control that it leaves you breathless and shaking, angry at the person you love the most?

Alex Flinn has written a very important story, that of family violence and the toll it takes on everyone involved. This is the kind of cycle that needs to be broken, before more young people like Nick repeat the only thing they know. A truly informative book, BREATHING UNDERWATER is not to be missed. ( )

My introduction to Alex Flinn, who, as it turns out is a female author. I was halfway through this book (hardback library copy) when I opened the back cover to find information about the author... and discovered that it was a woman. Since the story itself is about an angry young man, and since I was seeing a lot of myself in the protagonist... unsurprisingly (but surprising me with its intensity) I became angry. "How dare a woman try to write about and understand how an angry young man feels" ...

Nonsense of course and I found that I learned some things about myself from the experience. Nice.

The book itself is strictly YA and not terrifically original, however Ms. Flinn, much like another favorite of mine, Chris Crutcher, is able to capture teenage angst and emotion in her images and dialogue. ( )

Excellent teen book about date rape. A must read. ( )

Effectiveness: 2 The book was somewhat effective for the Teen Problem Book project.
Entertainment: 4 The book was good. ( )

I really, really enjoyed this book. Not only was it easy to read and hard to put down, but the issues were perfectly expressed. You found yourself hating and sympathizing with the protagonist. It raises some great questions and it feels real, never forced or cheesy. A great teen book. ( )