Breathless by Lurlene McDaniel is set in a small Alabama town in what seems to be the early 2000s. The book follows the lives of four teenagers, Travis Morrison, his sister Emily Morrison, best friend Cooper Kulani, and girlfriend Darla Gibson. The characters change and evolve based on how one event changed the course of their entire lives. When Travis, a champion diver, is diagnosed with osteosarcoma, the four friends must come to terms with this diagnosis and figure out how it will affect each of their lives.
Over the course of two years, Travis had his leg amputated, endured months of grueling chemo, and went into remission. Five months later, cancer was discovered in his lungs. Over the course of the novel, Travis got sicker and sicker. With no end in sight, he made a choice. This choice would end up being the sole focus of the book.
This choice changed everything. The book was no longer about a sick child but about trying to decide what was right and what was wrong. It’s impossible to read Breathless or any other book by McDaniel without really thinking about how you would react in the same situations and what decisions you would make.
I first read this book in middle school but didn’t fully grasp what everything actually meant. Rereading it this year helped me to understand so much more. I loved reading this book even though it was extremely sad because it made me think about so many different things. When I would finally understand how one character was feeling, the next point of view would make me think all over again. That is what I believe McDaniel wanted though. She wanted her readers to realize that there is no right and wrong choice, it’s just how you view it.
I would recommend Breathless to anyone looking for a quick read that still has a lot of depth.