Forbidden romances. Dystopian worlds. Unimaginable creatures. Dark nightmares. Beautiful dreams. All within the Realms of an Open Mind.
Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe . . .The world is dead. The survivors live under the protection of Breathe, the corporation that found a way to manufacture oxygen-rich air.
Alinahas been stealing for a long time. She's a little jittery, but not terrified. All she knows is that she's never been caught before. If she's careful, it'll be easy. If she's careful.
Quinnshould be worried about Alina and a bit afraid for himself, too, but even though this is dangerous, it's also the most interesting thing to happen to him in ages. It isn't every day that the girl of your dreams asks you to rescue her.
Beawants to tell him that none of this is fair; they'd planned a trip together, the two of them, and she'd hoped he'd discover her out here, not another girl.
And as they walk into the Outlands with two days' worth of oxygen in their tanks, everything they believe will be shattered. Will they be able to make it back? Will they want to?
I really had high hopes for Breathe, what with the concept of air being a rare commodity ~ it just sounds like the basis for an amazing story, right?... Unfortunately, although it hit the high notes in the beginning, the excitement and adrenaline fizzled out as we progressed through the story.
Crossan has the potential for a great story here. It's typical dystopian with an oppressive government and a group of rebels that defies it at every turn, but what fascinated me was the idea that oxygen was a privilege, not a right. If you can't afford the amount of air it would require to run a mile or dance or even walk at a brisk pace, then you simply remained stagnant.
However, even with this promising premise, there was really no world-building to speak of. What caused all the trees and plants to wither and die? Crossan dubs this event "The Switch," but while we see the results, we never have the opportunity to discover what caused this horrific event.
The characters really grabbed me at first, especially with all the differences and dynamics between them, but some of them had a hard time living up to the personalities that were laid out for them.
Bea is lower class, wicked intelligent, and in love with her best friend, Quinn. She's more than a little insecure and is completely illogical, despite her supposed super-smarts, when it comes to making tough decisions. I didn't really understand her whole obsession with Maude, especially because the old bag tried to kill them all, and while Maude and Alina came to respect Bea as a courageous asset to the rebels, I couldn't see the change in her that caused this shift in perspective from her peers.