Breathing Underwater (Alex Flinn)

Breathing Underwater is the first book I've read by Alex Flinn, and based on the experience, it won't be my last. This book was just what my brain needed: something with substance and drama. While I teach h.s. juniors and seniors, you'd think that I'd get enough drama, but apparently I don't. Luckily, our acting school library (who's actually certified for social studies and is in the process of becoming our full-time librarian) recommended Breathing Underwater, so I got my weekly dose of drama. The librarian recommended it simply stating that it was fabulous and it had to do with teen dating violence and family violence.

The premise of the book is this: Nick, a high school student, starts off the story with his account of meeting with a judge about a restraining order. We find out that Nick and his ex-girlfriend Caitlin had some sort of conflict or misunderstanding and at best the relationship is "complicated". Nick is mandated to attend family violence group therapy for 6 months and he must write in a journal on a weekly basis as a supplement to the therapy.

As the story progress, the reader can see the small signs of Nick's controlling behavior, despite his rationalizations for his actions and feelings. We are also able to see multiple families and their histories of abuse through the group therapy scenes. As the story progresses, it becomes more obvious that Nick not only has anger and relationship issues, but his father seems to have passed these traits on to his son.

What I find fabulous about this book is that it doesn't try to tie the package off with a neat bow- which is refreshing. There is hope, but there is the reality that individuals need to take responsibility for themselves. I particularly enjoyed the fact that I really found myself looking forward to the end of the book because it wasn't predictable and I could still relate to the characters, or at least to their emotions. My only criticism of the book was that there seemed to be a nonchalance about underage drinking- whereas this bothered me, even though this nonchalance & drinking had much to do with the protagonist's viewpoint. The notion that underage drinking is a negative action was very, very subtle- to the point where the average teen (and even I) might deem the drinking as endorsed. But, I think there is some good in focusing on one large issue at a time; it prevents the book from getting preachy- Flinn mastered teaching without being preachy by her use of characters and their emotions.

Overall, I was so impressed by this book, I've been seriously considering working it into my curriculum. I even recommended it (and offered to share the book while I was still reading it) to a male student who had indicated that he and his father have had some "rough patches," because I could tell that Flinn was a master at tackling the subject.