Bibliography: Warman, Jessica.  (2009). Breathless.  New York: Walker Books for Young Readers.  ISBN: 978-0802798497

Plot Summary:  Katie didn’t expect to like the boarding school, she didn’t want to be away from her older brother Will.  But it was great to be out of their little town, and nice to have a whole set off people, of teachers and classmates who don’t know Will’s past.  She can just be one of the girls, and focus on swimming and schoolwork.   So why then does she tell everyone he’s dead?  It is easier than talking about his schizophrenia and some of the things he has done.  But is it the same as wishing he were dead?  When she discovers her roomate has secrets of her own, they form an unbreakable bond, secrets that no one else knows.  But can it survive the unimaginable and unthinkable?

Critical Analysis:  Stunning and immediate, this debut novel sucks you into Katie, her world, emotions, doubts, fears, family, friends.  Semi-autobiographical with the first draft written as a teen, Warman makes Katie and her family, her situation, her friends, the boarding school come alive.  There have been many recent novels dealing with exclusive prep schools and boarding schools recently, but this one is the one that I will remember for its complex characters and situations.  Katie’s roommate is especially interesting.  (Warman is writing a book with some cross over characters, I can only hope Mazzie is one of those.)

In just a few short scenes together, the bond between Katie and Will is cemented and strong, which makes her later denial of him seem almost Shakespearean or even Biblical.  Katie doesn’t want to be how she sees her parents treating Will, but she can’t be the person Will wants her to be either.  Somehow she has to figure out how to be herself and how that fits with Will and her family.  I think the boarding school setting is perfect for this, the whole no parents but expectation of achievement leads to working hard and playing harder.  The images of water and swimming and trying to breath are also well done, as Will is the drowning man clutching Katie and pulling her under as she tries to save him and fails.  She can let him pull her under or leave him behind and try to save herself.  Another great portrait of mental illness in young adult literature that shows just how it effects everyone.

Readalikes:  For the boarding school vibe, try Looking for Alaska by John Green.  For a boarding school of a different sort (no less exclusive but much harder to leave) read The School for Dangerous Girls by Eliot Schrefer.  For another look at a sibling with mental illness, check out Sonya Sones’ Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. A much quieter look at a family effected by mental illness is Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta which shows how Francesca’s mother’s depression is slowly tearing their family apart.

Review Excerpt: “But Warman’s achingly realistic scenes and characters transcend cliché, and with rare, refreshing honesty and flashes of wry humor, she writes about the intimacy of boarding school, the anguish of family illness, finding a sense of self in sports and in life, and the small, mysterious, imperfect moments that add up to love in all its forms.”–Booklist, starred review

“The only place Katie can breathe easily in this debut, semi-autobiographical novel is the swimming pool. As she defines her friendships and her love-hate relationships with Will and herself, she begins to feel more at ease on land, too. Warman draws out Katie’s emotions and her complex life and family with immediacy.”–Kirkus Reviews

Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy.