This made me so interested in the Weeki Wachee Mermaids!! Also just...I have a close young relative with hip dysplasia, so the second I heard about this book I gave her my copy and that's why it took me so long to read myself, and I just thought it was a wonderful book about disability, a wonderful book about Latina immigrant identity, a wonderful book about sports....love it.

"Breathe and Count Back from Ten" by Natalia Sylvester is a book that had me feeling a bit torn. It's got some good stuff, but it's not without its challenges.

The story is about a person dealing with some heavy stuff, and it does a good job of digging into their emotions and struggles. You'll find yourself thinking about the character's journey even after you put the book down.

The way the story jumps back and forth in time is interesting, but it can also be confusing at times. You might need to pay extra attention to keep track of what's happening when.

The writing itself is well done. Natalia Sylvester has a way with words that makes the book feel elegant and thoughtful.

However, some of the side characters could use more depth. They felt a bit like shadows in the background, and I wish we got to know them better.

In the end, "Breathe and Count Back from Ten" is a book worth checking out if you're into deep emotions and unique storytelling. Just be prepared for a bit of a puzzle as you piece together the story's timeline and keep in mind that some characters might stay a bit mysterious.

I heard about this book while I was researching professional mermaids and I knew I wanted to read it. Natalia Sylvester didn't disappoint and I know many of my students will relate to Verónica even if their specific circumstances are different.

Rating 3.5

Reading this book, I really enjoyed the setting and story. I liked the characters and thought that the light shining on hip dysplasia was shown well.
Verónica's feelings with her hip dysplasia, found to feel so real and raw, that you could really understand how it and people's reactions affected her. I admired her determination to not let things get her down and persevere. The storyline I quite enjoyed, the suffocating feeling of overprotection from her parents, whilst trying to still live her life her way.
I also liked the relationship between Alex and Verónica, the way they understood not to push each other and were just be patient and there for one another when they needed it.

"I'm glad you asked for help. It takes a lot of strength to do that."

This book is great for helping you realise your inner strengths and that your flaws are a part of you. No one can erase them without your permission. Be you, be strong and "be ready to explore a landscape of possibilities you didn't know could be yours!"

I have to say that I'm biased because I'm so in love with Natalia Sylvester. I loved Running and Everyone Knows You Go Home so freaking much. However, this story held magic for me. I read YA for my young self who didn't grow up with these stories. This story should come with a trigger warning that Latine children of immigrants will be triggered by the parents in this story because the catastrophizing was so relatable! Every single action can lead to our demise according to our parents and although as an adult I can tell that this comes from a place of fear and love, as a child it feels like being a tightrope where every step can lead to our fall! I loved following Veronica's search to find herself and to find her voice among dealing with her body autonomy as she deals with hip dysplasia (something I knew nothing about before this story). She's dealing with this along with dealing with immigration, her future prospects, love, a freaking sexual assault, and so much more. Honestly, she's a bad ass who is also so young. I loved this story and highly recommend it.

I read Sylvester’s debut Running in 2020. I fell for her words even then. I remember it was a big election year and I was recommending it to everyone so that they could see what it was and all the reasons why teens should do it. So when I saw that this was coming out, I immediately added this to my TBR.

I haven’t really read a book about someone with a physical disability this year, so when I heard this was being released, I ran to it. I placed a hold on it immediately once I had heard it was an own voices book too. And I mean own voices down to the scars that the main character has on the cover. I can’t speak on the rep, but obviously it’s based on the author’s experience so it’s 100% correct. Reading about Verónica taught me/made me realize a lot of different things. Like how terrible her parents were. I was so appalled that they were trying to keep all the things ABOUT HER FROM HER. It was terrible. Like I get that she wasn’t 18, but she should still be see her own x-rays and make her own decisions, not have someone make them for her. I really felt for her.

The romance in this was also very cute. I loved that they let it be organic and show them actually falling for each other as she navigated her parents and every one else. It was interesting to see them trying to get together with all the things trying to break them up. I also felt for them because they were teens trying to navigate all of these things. It was wild.

The plot of this was also really amazing. There’s mermaids involved and everything! It’s been a while since I’ve read a book about some real life mermaids, so I jumped to add it to my TBR as soon as I heard about it. And rightfully so. Because I definitely learned a lot. The breathing, the little caves and air pockets, and so much more. Reading the other real life mermaid books that I have have never actually said what they had to do, so when this was eye opening in a way.

This book is one I plan to be talking about for a long time now. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t learn anything from fiction or from YA, because I learned a lot from this book. I learned about mermaids, the way people are treated because of their disabilities, and so much more. I hope others will read and learn about these things as well.

This was such an incredible book! The angst, the romance, the profound depth of this book truly made this book a fantastic read!!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

This was such a wonderful book! I loved Running, Natalia Sylvester's previous YA novel, but this one felt more personal in the best of ways. It felt like one summer in a real teenager's life, and I loved the relationship Verónica had with her sister, as well as the new guy in her apartment complex. It also made me think about teenager's medical autonomy, especially regarding life impacting decisions. And there's mermaids! Overall, I highly recommend.

A beautifully written YA novel that puts a Peruvian-American teenage girl with hip-dysplasia at the forefront of its narrative. As someone with multiple disabilities (one similar to the main characters), I loved the representation in this novel, it was authentic and relatable.

This book was absolute perfection. Part of me wants to wrap this book up and keep it close to my chest just for myself, the other part of me wants to force this down everyone's throats because it's a book that deserves to be read.

This was an amazing novel! The main character is a 17 year old Peruvian immigrant with hip dysplasia who is trying to take control of her own life and body despite her parents believing that they know what’s best.

There is great representation, authentic characters, and the author does a great job at expressing the physical and emotional struggles the MC experiences. I especially adored Leslie, the BFF. She is fun, a true and loyal friend, and has spunk.

I loved this YA book and I definitely recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Clarion Books for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

I adored this, and I’m not typically a YA fiction reader - Sylvester manages to always craft stories equally rich in characterisation as they are in plot which makes a fantastic combination for me. I felt the writing really evocative of place, particularly the scenes underwater in the performance space - the chill and weightlessness and theatrical elements all so richly constructed, i enjoyed imagining the scene and costumes which all felt so vivid as I read.

Sylvester is an auto-read author for me, I’m so confident I’ll enjoy her writing now having loved the depth she deploys across all her fiction.

Okay first off, this is not the sort of book I would usually read but I honeslty really enjoyed it. I also liked the disabilty awareness in this story and how I'd never read a book before about hip dysplasia.
This was a really sweet, cute and instresting book to read.

This is the first book I've read by Natalia Sylverster and WOW! Just WOW!

Such a breathtaking novel, I really could not put it down. Seeing the disability and the struggles that Veronica goes through is so hard to read, I could not imagine how much pain she went through physically and mentally.

This one was a beautifully diverse young adult read. I got lost in the breathtaking words and descriptions. highly recommend this, everyone should read it!

Unfortunately this was a DNF.
I didn't DNF because I wasn't enjoying it, not by any means, but instead it just wasn't the right time for me to read it as I fell into a massive slump. However I'm definitely going to pick this back up again at some point in the future as I have so far enjoyed what I have read.

Breathe and Count Back from Ten was completely magical and breathtaking. It's always really interesting to dive into an own voice's novel. This book is a deeply profound love letter to the disabled community, and how beautifully written that letter is. Brilliant and profound in so many ways! I think everyone can gain something from this book.

Okay first off, I loved the hip dysplasia representation in this story, I've never read any story with this type of disability, so I loved getting to understand it better. I think we can also learn from the MC actually adressing the ableism she encounters. I saw other disabled readers commenting that they felt so safe when reading this, and I think the world needs more of these books.

I loved this book, and parts of it were SO nostalgic for me having grown up in Florida and having visited the mermaids at Weeki Wachee Springs many times. I was able to easily visualize the springs and the underwater theater because I've been there! I felt like the pacing was good and really appreciated the voice of the MC. It made sense that the author was speaking from a place of vulnerability and sharing her own experience. I am having a hard time articulating exactly what, but it felt like something was missing. This is definitely one of those books where you're rooting for the MC and they can never seem to catch a break.