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Book Review of Breathe: A Ghost Story

Breathe: A Ghost Story
Breathe: A Ghost Story
Author: Cliff McNish
Genre: Teen & Young Adult
Book Type: Paperback
frenchyberry avatar reviewed on + 29 more book reviews


I'm not even sure where to start in regards to this book. It was unique, very creative, in-depth, but not drawn out. It was an easy and quick read but it was also very well written. To say the least, it's not what I had expected at all when I picked this book up:

Obviously, it's a ghost story. That's in the title, it's in the summary, etc. And yes, the story itself is a ghost story but I don't know. I was expecting a haunting, some scaring, cliche story, you know? That wasn't this at all. Without giving too much away, the book is about a boy named Jack who has recently lost his father. This boy has special powers to sense and eventually communicate with and see the dead. Because of his powers, he ends up drawing in a ghost known as the Ghost Mother. She longs to replace her dead child and ultimately, replace his mother. The story goes on from there.

The background of the characters is deeply explained and brought wonderfully to life! There's views of the underworld, or Nightmare Passage, as called in this book. It gives such a unique view into the possible world's beyond.

I honestly didn't expect much from this book when I picked it up. I was really expecting a typical cliche ghost story like what you see on TV. I just grabbed it for a quick read and because I like ghost stories. It's now been sitting on my shelves for nearly a year with my showing little interest in it until a week ago. Rather randomly, i was drawn to it, threw it into my bag to read, and finally, 2 days ago I started reading it and I couldn't put it down. I got literally halfway through the book before going to bed and re-picked it up today to finish it. It was just such a fantastic and well written and thought out book and story. I highly, highly recommend it. The cover and summary of this book don't do it justice at all. I'm so glad that I picked this up on a whim because it was an amazing story!