Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala

Goodreads Synopsis
Joy Delamere is suffocating...

From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.

Joy can take his words—tender words, cruel words—until the night they go too far.

Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe... if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.

Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength.

By Holly Cupala
Paperback, 299 pages

Published January 3rd 2012 by HarperTeen

4.5 out of 5 stars

Genre: YA Contemporary

What I really wanted was not to be a burden to anyone. To be really and truly free.

Don't Breathe a Word was an incredibly touching and captivating read. It's one of those books that leaves me wondering and thinking long after I've finished it.

We have Joy Delamere, a girl who suffers from severe asthma and is in an unstable relationship with her boyfriend, Asher. She feels her family and Asher are suffocating her, not allowing her the freedom she wishes she could have in life. So, after a night in which Asher went too far in damaging Joy, she escapes into the streets of Seattle, where a homeless boy had offered her protection would she ever need it. She sets out to find him, hoping she could be saved from the suffocating life she had been living.

This book was such a breath of fresh air. It's raw and real, and the issues and problems explored in this book were dealt in a tender manner. Joy learns that living on the street isn't as freeing as she thought it would be. She suffers from drug dealers, rapists, thieves, and abusers. She lives in a ratty old shack, with the boy, Creed, and his gang, May and Santos. Together, they pitch in to bring in money somehow, bring in food from the garbage, protect each other from the street thugs out there. Their world is truly heartbreaking. Each teenager is running away from something, each with their own morbid history. We learn slowly why each one escaped their other lives and how they ended up homeless in the streets of Seattle. I loved Creed! He was protective (not overbearingly, though!), caring, understanding, determined. He had a dream to become a musician, and Joy was there to encourage him forward. I thought they were a perfectly complemented pairing. 

Holly Cupala really wove this story into a beautiful one, and I was able to connect with Joy on some levels, in her pain and her imprisonment she feels. My only problem was that in the beginning, Joy appears to be a girl who doesn't know how to stand up for herself. She depends on other people to help her--like Asher, then later on Creed. But I got to watch her develop into a fierce and brave girl throughout the book, and I admired the strength she has towards the end.

So, overall, I loved it. Joy's voice was real, honest, and Holly Cupala doesn't sugarcoat the horrors of run-away life. I'll definitely be looking into her other books as well!