Breathing Underwater

Breathing Underwater, by Alex Flinn, is a book about a young teenager named Nick, who is under a restraining order from his ex-girlfriend. The book follows Nick as he looks back on his abusive relationship, and as he goes through Family Violence class. In the process he goes from wanting his girlfriend back, to accepting his mistakes and working to change them.

Breathing Underwater is most defiantly not suited for anyone under high school age. It deals with some more mature themes and subjects, ranging from abuse to violence. It does tell a good story though, and the mature parts do not get in the way of the great plot line. Alex Flinn crafted Nick to be a well rounded character, and the growth that he experiences from beginning to end of the novel is great. I think that the way that Alex Flinn portrays the conflicts between the characters brings a lot of life to the novel, as well as make the novel the much more personal.

Even though Breathing Underwater does have a lot of conflict and mature themes, the wonderful story gives these conflicts a much different light. Alex Flinn's novel Breathing Underwater is a great book for High School students and adults alike, and is a great quick read for those looking for a novel with a great story.