Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Last November I was in London and while visiting the Europe's largest bookstore I stumbled across Sarah Crossan's dystopian novel, Breathe. Breathe was published last October, so it's fairly new book, and I hadn't heard anything about it before. I took a leap of faith and I'm happy that I did.

Breathe is a future dystopian - nothing new or exciting these days when you can find different kind of dystopian novels everywhere. However, Breathe intrigued me; it has breathtakingly beautiful cover and interesting back cover text and very interesting choice of point of view. Also, Breathe is all about something everyone should pay attention to: global warming. Crossan plays with the idea that oxygen levels had plunged in a treeless world - humans destroyed all the trees and speed up global warming and the consequence of it is plunged oxygen levels. Humans can't breathe if there's not enough oxygen, so the pod's were created. However, because the space in the pod's is limited, the state lottery decided who get to live inside and the rest of humankind were left to slowly suffocate outside.

However, life in the pod isn't all about happiness years later when the society has taken a form inside the pod. The Society is divided into Premiums and Auxiliaries; Premiums are the rich ones who has enough money so they can afford all the oxygen they need to have a normal life. Auxiliaries don't have that luxory and they have to work hard pay for oxygen just to survive - they have can't afford most of things Premiums takes for granted like kissing their loved ones or exercising.

Breathe has three main characters: Alina, the auxiliary girl who belongs to the Resistance, a rebel group; Bea, the good auxiliary girl who wants to be part of the leadership programme; and Quinn, the premium boy whose father is important member and friends with the Pod Minister. There's different point of view in different chapters and Crossan had written the characters and chapters so well that you do not get messed up who is who. The characters itself are interesting and I could identify with them easily, especially with Alina. There's also many intriguing supporting characters. Crossan has really succeed of creating an amazing characters who you can identify.

I recommend Breathe for everyone. It might be an young adult book, but I think everyone should read it. Not only because of importance of global warming (which is a serious problem and Crossan has created a world where we didn't stop it, only made it worse), but because it's a good book with great characters. Crossan also has magic in her writing and I couldn't put the book down once I started to read it. This really is dystopian novel you have to read even if you're sick of all these future dystopian books out there. And if you're fed up of all there earth shattering romances? Then Breathe is absolutely for you! There is some romance on Breathe but it doesn't dominate everything else.

There's also one thing that I absolutely love about Breathe: it doesn't locate in the America like so many other future dystopian books. Breathe is located in the Great Britannia, but it also mentions other countries, too. It's nice and fresh!

I'm looking forward to read the sequel! It's coming next autumn.

- H