Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn Series: Breathing Underwater #1
Published by Harper Teen on May 24, 2001
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
Like father, like son.
Intelligent, popular, handsome, and wealthy, sixteen-year-old Nick Andreas is pretty much perfect on the outside, at least. What no one knows not even his best friend is the terror that Nick faces every time he is alone with his father. Then he and Caitlin fall in love, and Nick thinks his problems are over. Caitlin is the one person who he can confide in. But when things start to spiral out of control, Nick must face the fact that he's gotten more from his father than green eyes and money.
Rose’s Review:
I was excited to read this book. I thought it would be a gritty book about an abusive teenaged relationship. I have never read a book like that. I thought that it was interesting that this book was told from the abuser’s point of view. While I will give props to the author for making me feel sympathy toward the Nick, I was not as impressed with this book as I had hope to be. The book basically takes the reader through the experience of Nick being abused by his father and then becoming increasingly demanding and fussy towards his girlfriend until he finally explodes with anger toward her. Nick is forced to attend classes to deal with his issues and he has the predictable “ah-ha” moment, but we never get to see real change in Nick. The book ends basically where I felt the real story began. I get that his book had a message, but I wonder if teens would see right through it or find it poignant? Overall it was a decent read. It was not blown away and I was certainly never bored.
