Holly Cupala

Don't Breathe A Word is a bit like a car crash you can't look away from, but that's not meant to be an insult. Rather its a reflection on all the emotions you feel when you see one: Curiosity, Sadness, Disbelief, Hope. Mix all these things together and you have a sense of what it was like to read this gut wrenching, contemporary novel that was impossible to put down.

From the very first page of Don't Breathe A Word I wanted to help Joy so badly. Due to her asthma, she's spent most of her life show more in and out of hospitals, making her feel like a burden to her family. She's also become dependent on her verbally abusive boyfriend, but isn't sure how to change that. Feeling like her only solution is to runaway, she goes searching for a homeless boy named Creed. However, running away isn't quite the solution Joy thought it would be and soon living (as well as breathing) become difficult for her.

It's impossible not to care for Joy because she's such a broken person. She honestly believes all the bad things that have happened to her are somehow her fault. She's never had the chance to be independent either and is desperate to prove to herself that she can be. This causes her to make a lot of mistakes, but desperate as I was for Joy to change I was glad that author Holly Cupala didn't just magically make Joy self confidant and tough. Despite everything she's been through Joy is not weak or helpless and its great to see how she slowly begins to understand that about herself.

Joy's connection to Creed didn't play out quite the way I thought it would. That's not to say I didn't like how it ended up, just that I didn't always "get it". I felt that sometimes their was this amazing connection between them and then other times it didn't feel like there was any at all. I did like Creed though, he cares deeply for people and uses his music as an outlet for all his emotions. I also like how him being a musician played into the story.

I really loved the dynamic between Joy, Creed, May and Santos. All four may have very different reasons for living on the streets, but none of that matters when they end up sharing an abandon house and trying to keep each other safe. While its not always happy times, they bicker and fight just like any other family, they do care about each other.

Despite its heavy subject matter, the novel has a very quick pace which I found to be helpful in dealing with all the intense emotions. The ending is pretty good though not what I was expecting. Still its a hopeful one and I don't always need my novels to have perfect storybook "happy" endings if they're done in a thoughtful, realistic way.

If you're a fan of YA contemps that deal with serious subject matters then you should definitely read Don't Breathe A Word. I'll be looking forward to reading more from author Holly Cupala. show less

teen pregnancy. so many shows are glorifying and horrifying it.

This story doesn't glorify or horrify it...but that doesn't make it an easy read. It's like a band-aid. Open this story when you have lots of time - because it's so painful to read you should just rip it off quick and read it all at once.

and I did. although I appreciate that it's a cautionary tale - everything goes wrong...and wrong...and wrong. And it's so painful to read.

but that's the good part of the story. Because that show more makes it honest and true. This is the REALITY, or at least close to, having a child while still in highschool.... show less

You ever read a book and think that this is 'your' book? A book that you can connect with on so many levels it's like the author took it straight out of your head? That was this book for me. There are a few other contemporaries I feel this way about, Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert and I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder. These books are different from each other, but if they were smooshed together it would be my book. Perfectly.
There were so many things I connected with in show more this book. I 'got' the main character, Joy, and understood her actions and decisions. I've been in an abusive relationship, I had overprotective parents and I lived on the streets. My story is not really anything like Joy's. Not really. My abusive boyfriend was different, my parents were overprotective for religious reasons and I lived on the streets after I'd moved out and well, my situation was different. And my experience on the streets was different because it wasn't Seattle. But still, I connected, truly connected with everything in this book. I've spent lots of time in Seattle and some of it was with the homeless teens and in the areas they run. So the territory was familiar to me.
There was so much in this book I loved. I loved the characters, the setting, the story line and situations. The writing was phenomenal (of course!) and I thought everything was just beautiful. It was heart breaking, heart wrenching, painful and real. It was real. It was all so freaking real. I appreciate that in a book.
I loved Holly's first book, Tell Me a Secret, but I loved this one even more. Holly isn't afraid to get to the nitty gritty and keep the truth real. I mean honestly, she walks a line that some would be afraid of. The street life ain't pretty. The situations are tough and scary and the things those teens do for money isn't something that most any parent would want their child to do. But that's how it is, and kudo's to Holly for writing about it. I don't think I've read a book that really took place on the streets. Where we really see the life of a homeless teen. So this was something different and refreshing for me.
I couldn't recommend this book any more highly. Honestly, this is one of my most favorite contemporaries of the year. Either in first or second place, it's up at the top though. Seriously LOVED it. show less

Have you ever read a book that made you want to leap into its pages and throw cats at the characters? No, well I guarantee that Tell Me A Secret will change that. I can't remember the last time a book pissed me off so much. I don't mean this in a negative way. Sometimes it is good when a book pisses you off. I gave Tell Me a Secret 5 purrs because I cannot remember the last time I became so emotionally invested in a book. I experienced anger, sadness, and happiness at different periods show more throughout the book. I even found myself getting a little teary eyed a couple of times (actually cried like a baby shhh...).Miranda is such a well written character that you cannot help but react emotionally. The loss of her sister Xanda leads her to make some very stupid choices. One of which is ditching a long-time friend to become besties with the ultimate mean girl. Looking for a replacement for her sister, Miranda instead winds up pregnant and friendless. There were time when I wanted to throw a cat at Miranda for being so stupid, but alas I loved her too much to stay mad at her. Miranda was impossible for me now to like because she was so strong. I don't think I could have handled her situation as well as she did.It also doesn't help Miranda that her family is completely dysfunctional. Miranda basically has no one to help her through her pregnancy until she meets a new friend at work. I thought that the issue of teen pregnancy was handled rather well in Tell Me a Secret. Miranda considers her baby to be a replacement on sorts for his dead sister, but the author never shies away from the negatives of being a teen mom. Miranda's pregnancy is never romanticized nor glamorized.Miranda's relationship with her family is very complex. Her mother is a judgmental bitch and her father is emotionally distant. However, as Miranda's pregnancy progresses her relationship with her family changes drastically. By the end of the story they come to an understanding of sorts. Though I honestly don't know how Miranda could ever forgive her mother for some of the things she did.I could go on and on about how amazing this book was, but I don't want to bore you all. Tell Me a Secret was a real page turner. The pacing and format of it was perfect. I was never bored or confused by anything that was happening. I pretty much picked Tell Me a Secret up and didn't put it down again until I was finished. show less