the Deepest Breath by Meg Greehan

    In the book, the Deepest Breath, Meg Greehan started off the book by talking about the main character who is 11 years old.  Stevie sits at a table with 2 boys and another girl.  Stevie starts to notice that she is not very interested in the boys, but is very interested in the girl.  Chloe gets hurt at recess and Stevie is there for her.   Chloe holds Stevie's hand and Stevie got a feeling that she never got before.  Stevie is obsessed with the ocean and the creatures in the ocean.  Periodically throughout the book, she talks a lot about the ocean and a couple nightmares dealt with water.  Stevie has to deal with a lot of anxiety throughout the book and she seems to never catch up in life.  She has a really weird feeling on her chest and she does not want to make her mom worry even more about her because she worries all the time about Stevie.  

    Stevie starts to become very curious about her feelings about Chloe.  Stevie wants to know if this is normal and if it is socially acceptable.  She thinks of different ways to educate herself and thinks about going to the library.  She seeks a librarian for help and gets the help from the librarian that she needs.  She reads different books about girls loving the same gender.  She gains enough confidence to tell her mom her true feelings of what she has been hiding for awhile. 

    The Deepest Breath is a realistic fiction novel.  There are no illustrations in this novel.  I think that with the poetry style of writing, there were several places where illustrations could have been implemented.  I really enjoyed reading this book.  I think this book would be great for middle schoolers because they are going through some life changes and need a little guidance in their lives.  Middle school is a tough year and this book and help them get different perspectives on how people view others and what others are going through.  The one critique that I have is to include on how long Stevie has been feeling like this.  Has Stevie had this weird feeling on her chest this whole life or only when she laid her eyes on Chloe?

-Kole