In the affluent town of Weslyn, Connecticut, where most people worry about what to be seen in and who to be seen with, Emma Thomas would rather not be seen at all. She’s more concerned with feigning perfection while pulling down her sleeves to conceal the bruises - not wanting anyone to know how far from perfect her life truly is. Without expecting it, she finds love. It challenges her to recognize her own worth - but at the risk of revealing the terrible secret she’s desperate to hide.
Emma is straight A student, editor of the school paper, plays soccer, basketball and runs track. She especially excels at soccer and is hoping for a scholarship. She appears a regular teen right and she acts the part too, but instead of being in a home filled with love and solace she is surrounded by hate and jealousy. Emma is such a strong and brave heroine, she is without a doubt one in a million. Her life is the stuff of a child’s worst nightmare, behind closed doors she suffers unthinkable pain from those who should love her. To this day I cannot wrap my head around how human beings can be so cruel, after the pain inflicted on poor Emma. My heart literally broke for her, I didn’t understand how she could keep it all bottled up I mean there’s only so much one person can take before they break, but not Emma. No Emma held on, she endured all in the hope of soon being free. Her thinking is very similar to Kate’s from ‘Heart on a Chain’ by Cindy C. Bennett, she too believed that it would be better to stay quiet because come graduation she’s free. I'm not going to lie to you, there were numerous times I wanted to shake the stupid out of her because I felt if she just told, just let someone in then everything would work out. The pain would end, physically of course because mentally it’s a whole other ball game.
My world was delicately balanced, but the scales never hung even. When something improved, something else had to crumble.
He leaned toward me and delicately grazed my lips with his. The tease left me breathless, burning for more.
“I keep having to remind myself that I can do that,” he smirked.
“I love that picture, he admitted softly. I think it's because I love the girl in that picture.”
The suspense, and romance of this book are woven together beautifully, the story flows naturally and at a pace that’s realistic. This book had me on a roller-coaster of emotions. Rebecca delivers a novel that will have you feeling every emotion there is to feel in Reason to Breathe, you will be up one moment and down the next but hey that is not a deterrent it’s a damn incentive. I mean if a book has the power to affect you in such a major way, that it actually makes you stop and think, because the issues in this book are very real and should not be taken lightly, then that my friends is the makings of a truly amazing author. I give this book 5 stars, and really, really, REALLY recommend you read it. You will not be disappointed.