Breathing by Cheryl Renee Herbsman

Breathing
by Cheryl Renée Herbsman

Published: 2009
Genre: Romance, YA
Hardback: 265 pages
Rating: 4

Description from the amazon:
Savannah would be happy to spend the summer in her coastal Carolina town working at the library and lying in a hammock reading her beloved romance novels. But then she meets Jackson. Once they lock eyes, she’s convinced he’s the one—her true love, her soul mate, a boy different from all the rest. And at first it looks like Savannah is right. Jackson abides by her mama’s strict rules, and stays by her side during a hospitalization for severe asthma, which Savannah becomes convinced is only improving because Jackson is there. But when he’s called away to help his family—and seems uncertain about returning—Savannah has to learn to breathe on her own, both literally and figuratively.

My two-bits:
In-a-word: romantical

This is a beautiful and gentle story of young love that incorporates issues of living with a chronic illness.

Long distance relationships and a bit of the psychic senses are explored a bit.

The dialogue is written with the Carolina accents which really contributes to the feel of the who and where of the book.

I enjoyed this feel good book and was left with a warm fuzzy feeling afterwards.


* Enter Princess V's Valentine's giveaway to win this book.

Author Reading: Cheryl Renee Herbsman

Debutant Ball Spring 2009 post event thoughts on:

Cheryl Renee Herbsman author of Breathing.

Cheryl's website

Check out event pictures from Cheryl's site.

Book trailer: The Compulsive Reader

Book cover meaning: Malinda Lo



Book reviews:

my review

And Another Book Read / The Book Girl Reviews / Em's Bookshelf

Hope's Bookshelf / Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf / Reading Keeps You Sane

The Story Siren

Author interviews:

Authors Now! / In Bed With Books / Want My YA

The Story Siren

Feel free to comment below with your review links.


Cheryl was beautiful with her lovely dangly chandelier earrings. She started off the debut author trio by reading a passage from her book where the two main characters meet for the second time. She read with a southern accent which helped draw the audience into the story. Later Cheryl mentioned that although she wrote her characters with southern dialect it does not necessarily mean that they were not educated.





Here is just a snippet of what Cheryl read (hardcover, page 19):

I turn to look and there he is, staring right at me from up by the snack shack. Some kind of crazy zingy feeling goes shooting right on up my chest. I should have brung my inhaler--all the sudden my breathing is clunky. Hell 'n' high water, he's headed this way. And he's got that big ol' smile plastered on his face like I'm his long-lost best friend. And I haven't a clue what his long-lost best friend would say. I drop my bike down in the sand beside me.

"Hey," he says, just like last time.

Ah, hell. "Hey," I reply, promising myself that no matter what happens I will not run off like a baby.

Afterwards during the Q&A session, it was interesting to learn that Cheryl's first writing efforts was with the fantasy genre.

Thanks for the reading, Cheryl!

Author reading: Debutant Ball, Spring 2009

Another one I'm attending this week!

Let me know if you'll be there as well.

So far, Tales of a Ravenous Reader and Marth Flynn will be there.

Here are the details from Books Inc:

Debutant Ball, Spring 2009

Date:
Thursday, 5/14/09 at 7pm



Location:
Books Inc. Opera Plaza
601 Van Ness
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: 415-776-1111

Not Your Mother's Book Club™ (NYMBC) will host the Debutante Ball, featuring three (3!) awesome new YA authors:

Cheryl Renee Herbsman, author of BREATHING

Sarah Quigley, author of TMI

C. Lee McKenzie, author of SLIDING ON THE EDGE

Post event thoughts:
Another great evening of debut author readings!

Again pictures of the event can be spotted at Martha's site. Cheryl got some good pics too.

Another beautiful and warm evening in San Francisco. Some people dressed in fancy garb for the occasion. Colorful tiara's were given away along with sweet treats. Jennifer from Not Your Mother's Book Club started the event and introduced the authors. The three authors sat up front and gave intros, read from their books, answered a few questions from the audience and then signed books.

Along with the author signing session, purchasers of any or all of the three books were treated to a free book giveaway, The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams!

My thoughts on the individual authors readings are here:

Cheryl Renee Herbsman

C. Lee McKenzie

Sarah Quigley

Thanks for a fun night Jennifer!

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updated: 5.17.09
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