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4,5 stars

“Breathless is, in many ways, even more personal for me than All the Bright Places. It’s the book I needed when I was sixteen, seventeen, eighteen; a frank take on sex and love, divorce, disappearing floors, finding yourself, and the importance of writing your story.”

Jennifer Niven’s introduction says it all.



I have read and loved All the Bright Places and was thrilled to get this ARC of Breathless.

I honestly savored this book. The author had a way of making nature and the island’s history with its ghosts and past feel like one of the main characters.

This is an October read but would be perfect as a summer read as you have days spend in the heat and humidity of a Georgian’s summer.

The characters are raw and messy. They try to figure out life while dealing with heartbreak caused by their families and at the dawn of a new page in their life.



Claudine is at a pivotal moment in her life.

She has finished high school, was due to go to college in Fall after the roadtrip of her life with her best friend. Only …the floor drops under her feet when her dad announces that he can’t “do” the family man anymore.

“The cat will go with us and the dog will stay with my dad. Even our pets are separating.”

Forget the roadtrip, she’ll go with her mother on an island off the coast of Georgia to regroup.

Jennifer Niven did a splendid job writing all the feelings of Claudine suddenly robbed of her life, of her family. Some pivotal scenes happened twice. Once as Claudine experienced them, imagined and dramatic then, a second time as it really happened still shocking but more nuanced. This writing trick had me really breathing Claudine’s anguish, anger and sadness.

“I am a person other people feel the need to keep things from, and all the things I thought were truths aren’t actually truths.”

I was also revolted by what her parents asked of her! To keep silent. That’s the worst thing you could ask from someone whose world has just been turned upside down!



When both mother and daughter arrive on the island, there is no wifi, no cars, nothing but an inn, campers, nature and some shops.

The island is special as it’s where Claudine’s ancestors have lived, loved and some died dramatically.

Needless to say that the first day, Claudine is nursing a broken heart, not understanding why her father can’t be her father any longer. She is angry, rebellious. All kind of emotions churning inside her head.



But soon she’ll cross path with Jeremiah or Miah.

He is a boy like none other. Shoeless, aloof, free. But he too is nursing some wounds. When Claudine decides that she wants to have sex with him, that’s meant to be just sex, not love…you can imagine how this will go.



This is a story of personal growth. A story of resilience too as having parents divorcing is a real drama. It’s also a time to discover who you want to be. Who you are.

There will be brash decisions and reckless behaviors. Some Claudine will come to regret but that rang so true and made the story even more relatable.

There will be confusion, fear and betrayal as Claudine does not understand what would make her suddenly un-loveable by her father, nor why her best friend kept some secrets from her and seems suddenly to forget Claudine.



I found this a very human tale, one I think any teenager will easily relate to but also, any adults as Claudine’s feelings are universal. The story was vibrant, alive and I wanted to walk on these beaches, looking for old turtles and shark teeth. Maybe one day I’ll go look for such island off the coast of Georgia, where the time seems to get suspended.



Here is one last parting quote, its’ the key to resilience when the floor is robbed under your feet.

“The thing you can count on is that at some point something bad will happen. Which makes things like blood moons and treasure hunting and you even more important.”

This book is beautiful. The characters are relatable and feel very real. I could connect with them and I expect many students will also connect with the personalities and struggles of the characters. I will likely buy this book as it was good and this author is already on student's radars.

Jennifer Niven is one of my must read authors. All the Bright Places is one of my favorite books of all time. It took me a little time to get into the book but once I did I loved it. At first Claude rewriting conversations in her head was confusing, but I eventually go used to that part of the book.

I thought the setting of this book was excellent. I loved the progression of Claude and Miah's relationship and their adventures. I thought the ending was not satisfying but necessary. I'd love to know what happens with Claude and Miah in the future.

Claude and her mom are spending the summer on an island off the coast of Georgia after her parents' sudden separation. Claude has just graduated high school, and feels like her world is turned upside down for multiple reasons. Her parents dissolved marriage, her best friend's new relationship, and thoughts of her impending future all cause Claude great stress. When she meets a mysterious boy on the island, Claude is sure that a summer fling will help her forget about everything that's bothering her.

Breathless is a story about growing up and moving forward. Claude's character learns a lot about herself throughout the story, and her relationship with her mom is important. Ultimately, though, Breathless is a romance. Claude spends the beginning of the book thinking about what it will be like to have sex for the first time, and then focuses on who that boy will be. Her relationship with Miah is described as love, but seems superficial. I didn't like Breathless as much as Niven's other works.

My first book by Jennifer Niven, but definitely not my last!

Breathless is the story of Claude, a girl who thought she had everything under control as she graduated from high school and turned toward college. Sure, her creative writing teacher found her writing to be a bit superficial ("You have to put it all out re so that we can feel what you feel. You always seem to be holding back, Claudine"), but she's got a plan. She's got a stellar summer trip planned with her bestie, a cute guy she likes, a college waiting for her in the fall, and a bright future after that as a writer. She's already working on her first novel!

(OK, so she does admit up front that the novel is probably "bad and overly long," but still...she's writing! First drafts are always crap, right? To paraphrase a dead white male author...)

But back to Claude :) Just when she thinks she knows who she is and where she's going, the rug--or the floor, as she puts it--is pulled out from under her. Her parents are separating; Claude, her mom, and their cat are going to Georgia for the summer while her dog and dad (the one who is asking for the separation) are staying in Ohio; and all of her immediate plans for the future are suddenly in shambles around her. Oh, and her parents ask her not to talk about any of this with anyone, effectively ruining her last few days at home. Even worse, her best friend has also been keeping something from her, and oh, by the way--the island which she and her mom are going to? Barely even has wi-fi or cell service. I mean, things could maybe be worse. Probably. But right then? Claude's definitely not feeling that way.

So it's a very angry, hurt, and lost Claude who shows up on the remote Georgia island for the summer, where she meets Jeremiah Crew, the boy who initially annoys her but eventually manages to see her like no one else has. And though she may or may not finally lose her virginity this summer (yes, it's definitely a big part of the story, but as someone else who was in some very similar shoes at that stage of life, it felt 100% realistic and was handled very well--I enjoyed reading this as an adult, and wouldn't hesitate it hand it to my daughter to read as well), she will definitely find a strength she didn't know she had.

The ending is a bit bittersweet (again, very realistic) but reading the acknowledgments at the end gave me all the happy feels. Do yourself a favor and don't skip them <3

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to start planning my future trip to a remote island off the coast of Georgia...

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I don't read a lot of "young adult" or "teen" books, but I loved Niven's previous novel All the Bright Places. I decided to give this one a chance in the hopes that I would love it as I did the last one... unfortunately it wasn't my favorite. Still a great addition to any teen collection.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A family in crisis during the summer before a young woman departs for college. Mistakes are made, people are forgiven, and life goes forward. This novel is both inspiring and heartwarming.

I love the characters. Thry are flawed and real.

I am such a huge fan of Niven's All the Bright Places, but this one just missed the mark for me. I did not find the romance to be all that believable, and Claude annoyed me as a protagonist. I understand that she was going through a lot of life changes during this book, but at the same time, she just rubbed me the wrong way. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope, which was prevalent in this book. Overall, I really wanted to love this because I was so excited to receive an e-arc, but it just wasn't the book for me.

BREATHLESS by Jennifer Niven (All the Bright Places) is a very personal story of an 18-year-old girl, Claudine (Claude) Henry learning to deal with some life challenges. She writes at the very beginning of this novel, "You were my first. Not just sex, although that was part of it, but the first to look past everything else into me. ... I don't want to forget what I went through, what I thought, what I felt, who I was. I don't want to forget you. But most of all, I don't want to forget me." This coming of age novel reflects the teen's self-absorption – after all, it begins about a week before her high school graduation in Ohio when she is already thinking about the transition to college and planning a celebratory road trip with her best friend. That is all up-ended when her father announces that he and her mom are separating. Claude ends up spending the summer on an island (no wi-fi) near Georgia with her Mom as they try to come to terms with the new family structure. There, Claude meets Jeremiah (Miah). He is a kid with a troubled past, but he helps her to cope and truly cares for her (similar to the rebellious daughter's boyfriend in Netflix's Away with Hilary Swank). Throughout, Niven deftly conveys Claude's range of emotions (confusion, heartbreak, anger, caring) as she struggles (sabotaging and nurturing) in relationships with her best friend (Saz), with her parents, and with Miah. BREATHLESS received a starred review from School Library Journal.

This was a coming of age story about dealing with rearranging who your parents are, discovering your roots and falling in love. I really liked this book.

When all you have known is a stable family unit and one day it is just gone? How can you trust again? How can you risk love again when you know the odds are that you could lose everything? Claude has one summer to figure out whether it is worth the risk to love again. Jennifer Niven wins again. I love all of her books.

you might recognize jennifer niven because she’s the author of all the bright places (netflix movie). I liked this much better than that

breathless (YA romance): ★★★★

what a beautiful coming of age novel. this book had so many beautiful quotable lines about first love that I tested up at certain points. it’s so dang relatable that it hurts.

claude is about to enter that dreadful yet exciting period that is the summer after senior year of college, where you’re looking forward to everything the future holds while mourning letting go of everything familiar. it doesn’t help that her parents decide to separate, which means that instead of going on a road trip with her best friend, she has to go to a tiny island in georgia with her mom.

except, on this island, she meets a boy. and the boy changes everything. and she feels all the feels of first love while knowing there’s an approaching deadline at the end of the summer that will separate them forever. and it’s achingly beautiful.

niven knocked it out of the park with this one (although I do think it would be more enjoyable as a summer read)

I love Jennifer Niven! Her previous books All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe were wonderful, so I had high expectations. I think Breathless met and even surpassed those expectations. This book could have been just an ordinary book about a teen and the anxiety she feels over her parents' separation, her best friend's new relationship, and the loss of her virginity, but it is anything but ordinary.

The first chapter could be a bit off-putting for some. There is some very frank talk about teen sex (all the characters are seniors in high school) and a pretty graphic sex scene. This chapter, however, is very important for setting the stage for what comes after. Claude (Claudine) is looking forward to graduation with some trepidation. While she is excited about graduating, she & her best friend are going to different colleges and she's still a virgin. Although she and her steady boyfriend have done "other things", sexual intercourse is still a mystery and Claude isn't sure she wants to "lose" her virginity to him. (BTW: there's a hilarious & very insightful conversation among Claude & her friends about phrases like "lose her virginity" and what they mean about being female in today's society.) When her parents announce their separation, Claude & her mother take off for an island in Georgia for the summer where Claude meets Jeremiah. And so it begins!

I was so impressed with this story and the beautiful language Niven uses to create a sense of time and place, and the way Niven puts the reader into Claude's mind revealing her thoughts and feelings with emotion and heart but without melodrama. Although I'm sure some will quibble with Claude's mature look at life and her ability to express herself thoughtfully and with insight, but she is an only child, an aspiring writer and the daughter of a professor and a writer, so it made perfect sense to me.

I'm an older woman, far away from my teen years and first love, but I can still remember how it all felt. Niven captures those feelings -- the good and the bad -- in a way we don't see very often in YA fiction. I would compare it to Judy Blume's Forever -- first love, first sex, first loss can pull the floor out from under you. Niven uses this analogy several times, and it is very apropos. This is NOT a sappy teen romance, nor is the love/sex treated as a throw-away moment. This is a close look at first love, and Niven hits a homerun! This is a wonderful book!!!

This book was definitely personal and a coming of age novel. The characters of Miah and Claude were likeable and well developed. I’m concerned about the sex portrayed in the book. It is more graphic than most of the YA books currently in my HS library. Although I haven’t read every book in the collection so I may be surprised. Enjoyed the story!

I love this story of Claude and how she handles so many heartbreaking things in her 18th year of life. After her loving parents inform her that they are splitting up, she is whisked away to an island to stay with her mom for the summer. Away from her best friend, away from her possible new love interest, to a place of strangers and new beginnings. The story is heartbreaking but also so very beautiful. It is the story of first love and friendship, family and forgiveness. It's my favorite Jennifer Niven book yet. I love that it's based loosely on what happened to Jennifer Niven when she was 18 and that she also met her own Jeremiah Crew when she went to the island to research and write this book. How wonderful.

3.5 stars.
I loved All the Bright Places so I was eager to read this novel. As I began reading, I found myself getting annoyed by Claude's character - she is so self-absorbed - and I was irritated by some of her behaviors! The more I read however, the novel (and Claude) grew on me and I did enjoy it in the end. I think teenagers (she seems quite young for 18) are self-absorbed by nature and often see the world only through their own eyes, so Jennifer Niven's Claude is quite realistic. As the relationships are explored and described in more detail, I appreciated the way Niven shows Claude's connections to both of her parents. The romance was also handled in a realistic and modern way. The frank dialogue between Claude and Miah is refreshing. I think a lot of young teenagers who are curious about love and sex would enjoy reading this. I can't say that I loved this novel, but it was well crafted and handles a lot of issues that face adolescents.

This book just wasn't for me. Maybe it was the wrong time, maybe the wrong reader... I had a hard time investing in the story and I have learned that I need to like the characters in order to be moved by the story. That being said, I feel like I can review this book in a way that lets readers know that it is a coming of age story that talks about real teen troubles and deals with authentic teen angst. Sex and virginity are topics at the book's forefront.

Breathless by Jennifer Niven is a wonderful novel to pass along to any teen or pre-teen. Claudine, the main character, is your basic teenager, trying to navigate a rocky world full of emotions and desires. Her mother, while trying to protect her by moving them to a remote area for a fresh start challenges Claudine to grow into her own person and learn some important love lessons faster than expected.

I would absolutely recommend this novel to high school book groups, or library clubs!

While all of the components of a good coming of age story are present in this novel, from plot arc, to character, to writing style, this book never completely won me over. I felt the main character's voice was off. It vacillated between feeling too young and too removed, as if told in a flashback. The setting had potential to be a character of its own, but never truly achieved that level. I think this would have worked better if it was told through Miah's perspective because he was the more interesting character.

That's the thing about a Jennifer Niven book . . . as much as you unpack from first reading, there are more souvenirs to display after a second read. And the third. And then you'll probably read it again after that, looking through for your favorite parts like you scroll back to those vacation photos in an album. The first read is for the primal; the absolute thrill of a life unfolding. But then you hit that next layer and realize Breathless is offering up all the tropes of female companionship, the digging deep to find yourself, the moments that guide us to who we want to become. From a mother's love for her daughter, to friendship, to the women we look up to as we flip through the pages of time, to the first person who makes you want to go further than you've been before . . . these are the relationships that coax us from one path to the next, reminding us that life has no roadmap, no guarantees.

As Claude prepares to graduate from high school, she's looking forward to the freedom of summer with her best friend, Saz, before they go their separate ways for college. But there's no planning in life as it will find a way to leave you speechless. But first comes the breakup of her parents marriage. And then a trip with her mom who is struggling to deal with loving a man who is leaving. them. And then the people you meet along the way . . . like Jeremiah Crew. And then . . . yup. But don't let that distract you from what's really going on here. This is Claude's story. And it is a good one.