[Review] Breath, Annie, Breath by Miranda Kenneally

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Title: Breath, Annie, Breath

Author: Miranda Kenneally [ Twitter | Website]

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Contemporary Romance

Release Date: July 15, 2014

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.

But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line. - via Goodreads

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"If you don't put yourself out there, if you don't take risks, you can't truly feel."

Annie has taken up running or rather picked up where Kyle left off. This emotional journey becomes multi-dimensional as Annie begins to untangle her guilt and goodbyes in order to re-kindle old friendships and begin new ones. Character growth is what fuels the plot forward and lucky for us the relationships are authentic with warts and all. Annie's relationship with her former best friend and her mom are some of the most touching scenes because you know you've been there. Annie's "well that escalated quickly" scene with Jeremiah (Jere) is one that will raise eyebrows but ultimately reveals the pain Annie feels over Kyle's loss. 

Jere's character is patient, kind, athletics... basically, he's perfect except for his addition. An addiction so extreme that his parent's have given him an ultimatum. While it may seem like Annie is able to become his cure, it's Jere who must come to terms with what is important as well. The parallels between Jere's healing and Annie's healing are very different but really they're just different strokes. 

It's the relationship moments and Annie's growth as she enters college that become full of laughs, awkward moments and swoons (lots of swoons!). With so many dark contemporaries on the shelves 'Breath, Annie, Breath' is an artful balance between growing up and moving on that you can cheer for. 

Why I'll be reading this again...

This is my first Miranda Kenneally novel... I know, I know, I haven't even read 'Catching Jordan'. But I'm hooked, so I'll be working in the rest of the Hundred Oaks novels.

My reasons for wanting to re-read 'Breath, Annie, Breath' tie back to my personal journey with running. I don't have a personal tragedy guiding me but it doesn't make the process of running any less emotional. Annie and I will be running together for a while.

And I may or may not want to put a Jere poster on my wall. If there were such a thing.

4 Stars