ONLY A BREATH APART
by Katie McGarry
Publication Date: January 22, 2019
Published by Tor Teen
Pages: 368
Source: Publisher | InkSlingerPR
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Synopsis
They say your destiny is carved in stone. But some destinies are meant to be broken.
The only curse Jesse Lachlin believes in is his grandmother’s will: in order to inherit his family farm he must win the approval of his childhood best friend, the girl he froze out his freshman year.
A fortuneteller tells Scarlett she's psychic, but what is real is Scarlett’s father’s controlling attitude and the dark secrets at home. She may be able to escape, but only if she can rely on the one boy who broke her heart.
Each midnight meeting pushes Jesse and Scarlett to confront their secrets and their feelings, but as love blooms, the curse rears its ugly head…
My Thoughts
I believe that Katie McGarry writes some of the best books about friendships and what it's like to be a young adult. I'm drawn to her stories about resilient teenagers and Only A Breath Apart definitely one such story.
Books about childhood friends who find their way back to each other are without a doubt my absolute favorite, but Only A Breath Apart is more than reconciling friendships and romance. It's about family secrets and domestic abuse in its many forms and what it's like to grow up in a home where that occurs. Through Scarlett, we see that it takes courage to make the tough decisions, to accept the help and to also help herself.
What I loved:
Some Favorite Quotes:I believe that Katie McGarry writes some of the best books about friendships and what it's like to be a young adult. I'm drawn to her stories about resilient teenagers and Only A Breath Apart definitely one such story.
Books about childhood friends who find their way back to each other are without a doubt my absolute favorite, but Only A Breath Apart is more than reconciling friendships and romance. It's about family secrets and domestic abuse in its many forms and what it's like to grow up in a home where that occurs. Through Scarlett, we see that it takes courage to make the tough decisions, to accept the help and to also help herself.
What I loved:
- I loved the rural setting and the gorgeous descriptions of the land and Jesse and Scarlett's connection to it. It is their lifeline. It's where they feel most themselves. It's where they are most free.
- I loved reading scenes that included Jesse's cousin, Glory. She is definitely a favorite character. Is she a con? Is she intuitive? Does she see (or sense) dead people? Maybe, but I think yes to all. She reads people and understands what they need to hear. She gives them a small push. She's not all-knowing, but she knows enough.
My cheeks burn under his continued inspection. Jesse has done this a handful of times since our freshman year. Glance at me as if I’m someone worth looking at, someone worth laughing with a little too loud and smiling with a little too much. Then he remembers who I am and snaps his gaze to someone else. - This alludes to Scarlett and Jesse's history - what they once had and the possibility of what might still be there.
"You've been asleep for a very long time,” she whispers. “It’s time to wake up, Scarlett. There’s a whole world of possibility waiting for you.” - This is what Glory says when Scarlett goes to have her palm read.
There is so much beauty and hope in this story and I want readers to embrace it just as I have. Like Noah and Echo from Pushing the Limits, Beth and Ryan from Dare You To and Emily and Oz in Nowhere But Here, Scarlett and Jesse are characters that I will continue to hold in my heart and imagine their beautiful future together.
Disclaimer: I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any way other than the ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
About Katie McGarry:
Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.
Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.
Thank you so much for sharing! ~Jessica, InkSlinger PR
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