Read: August, 11, 2011 Rating: 5 sighs
Series: Yes. Sea Breeze
Breathe Book 1
Because of Low Book 2 (to be read)
Summary first, review later.
Sadie is a girl who has had a rough life. Her mother is vain and selfish, and thanks to it she is very pregnant. The first day of summer before her senior year of high school, her mother pulls out her usual tricks saying she is too tired and hot to work in the sweltering Southern Alabama coastal heat and tells Sadie that she needs to go to work for her in her place as a domestic servant on the posh island community in town. Ever the adult in the relationship she goes and wows the rest of the staff with her maturity and dedication to work despite the fact that she is a teen- mostly because if she doesn't work there will be no food on the table or money to pay the bills. While cleaning the bedrooms comes across an unexpected twist, it's the summer home of teen idol Jax Stone! She is moved by the boyhood pictures and sports memorabilia adorning his walls and pays little mind to autographed guitars displayed and notices a very worn one center stage. She quickly cleans and is interrupted when she is made aware of the fact that the family is coming, she needs to leave. And then she drops her cleaning bottle. After quickly picking it up, she notices none other than Jax himself smiling down at her- and she melts.
Jax instantly falls for the beauty before him but tries his hardest to resist her. He stares and her while she serves him dinner and wonders not only why she isn't asking for his autograph but how she managed to get past security. The beach house was his get away from the rigors of stardom. But she is unswayed by his fame and he finds her all the more appealing. One day after work he overhears Marcus, one of the guys she works with, insisting she shouldn't ride her bike home in the dark- especially if she will have a grocery bag with her. Jax intercepts and says he will take her. He tries to disguise himself but a young girl recognizes him and he gives her a kiss and tickets to his next show. The mother thanks him saying that it has been difficult especially since her father just died in Iraq. This moves Sadie to tears. He tries his best to stay away from her but at a party he's throwing it's too much when one of his brother's friends tries to manhandle her.
They begin dating in earnest and despite her misgivings, Sadie falls deeply in love with Jax. She is invited to a local party and agrees to go, but would rather spend her limited summer with Jax- as both are certain this will end when he has to go back to his "real world". Jax agrees instead to go to the party with her and finally show off his girlfriend. It's apparent he loves her and even refers to her as his "air" because without her he cannot breathe.
Several weeks later, pictures from the party of them together surface and Sadie is accused of being a gold digger and others accuse Jax of slumming it with the help. Devastated that she is being treated this way, Jax and his family leave. He does so because he feels guilty for bringing this all on her despite his better judgement.
Jax's departure breaks Sadie and she is nearly catatonic for several days. When Marcus finally is able to help pull her out of her funk, she attempts to return to normal starting up her senior year of high school a few weeks later. The pain is still fresh but not nearly as sharp. It all comes crashing around her when her mother goes into early labor. While she is recovering, Marcus and his friends take her to get some dinner and Marcus informs her that Jax has released a new song- is it about her? Frantic, she listens to it and recognizes the melody from a piece he was working on while she worked. This instant hit plays over and over, making her pain all the more fresh.
Her mother and brother return home and postpartum depression his hard. Her little brother is not only now hers to care for, he has his days and nights reversed. Sadie is exhausted. School, work, a baby, no sleep and no help take a viscous toll and she collapses while riding her bike to school and hits her head. She is in a fog but keeps hearing Jax singing to her and seeing his face and feeling his warmth in her mind. She wakes to find that she has been "unconscious" for a week and Jax has been singing to her in the hospital non-stop. He vows to never leave her again but insists she must live out a normal life for now- for both of them. He has sent her mother to get help for her depression. He swears some how he will make it work, visiting monthly and calling frequently.
As part of her agreement for a normal high school experience, she agrees to attend the homecoming game and dance. She is unimpressed but promised she would stay for a moment. Then the song he wrote for her starts to play and all the happy couples start slow dancing. Then she hears a familiar voice and turns to see Jax standing behind her. He confesses he couldn't let her be at the dance alone and that he couldn't breathe very well without his "air". They wander outside and start to discuss her plans for after high school. She always wanted to go to college, but is willing to forgo it in order to be with him. He promises to move mountains for her and get her into a school closer to him in California.
And they lived happily ever after... :-)
Review:
This is a bit of a tragic story about a mother who is too irresponsible to be a parent and a child who is shoved into responsibility too soon. Jax is a prime example of how we need to remember that celebrities are people too. Despite their public personae, a very different person may exist behind closed doors. Sadie is expressed at very attractive, but still very much your everyday girl. Jax is every girl's dream on stage and a perfect gentleman in private.
I found myself relating to Sadie and her heartbreak when Jax left. I've been the girl to not eat or drink or move because of a broken heart. Abbi Glines' portrayal of this is far more realistic than the heartbreak portrayed in another YA book that focuses on glittery vampires. Jax is slightly less relateable, but is definitely dreamy. He never pushes Sadie, he wants the world to know that she is his, but doesn't want to crush her with the reality of his celebrity world. I confess I don't know if I liked the song he wrote for her. I originally thought it would be a love song about her being his air and light and lovely, but it wasn't. It was a song about him breaking her heart and her crying, but he loved her so much he had to do it. It was very deep and moving. I confess I wish there were a melody to accompany the lyrics to the songs that are in the book.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book. It was perfect in my eyes and Jax and Sadie have an enviable relationship. I would love to see a sequel with Sadie off in California and Jax introducing her to his world, or her on tour with him. Something of that nature. A girl can dream...
Sadie is a girl who has had a rough life. Her mother is vain and selfish, and thanks to it she is very pregnant. The first day of summer before her senior year of high school, her mother pulls out her usual tricks saying she is too tired and hot to work in the sweltering Southern Alabama coastal heat and tells Sadie that she needs to go to work for her in her place as a domestic servant on the posh island community in town. Ever the adult in the relationship she goes and wows the rest of the staff with her maturity and dedication to work despite the fact that she is a teen- mostly because if she doesn't work there will be no food on the table or money to pay the bills. While cleaning the bedrooms comes across an unexpected twist, it's the summer home of teen idol Jax Stone! She is moved by the boyhood pictures and sports memorabilia adorning his walls and pays little mind to autographed guitars displayed and notices a very worn one center stage. She quickly cleans and is interrupted when she is made aware of the fact that the family is coming, she needs to leave. And then she drops her cleaning bottle. After quickly picking it up, she notices none other than Jax himself smiling down at her- and she melts.
Jax instantly falls for the beauty before him but tries his hardest to resist her. He stares and her while she serves him dinner and wonders not only why she isn't asking for his autograph but how she managed to get past security. The beach house was his get away from the rigors of stardom. But she is unswayed by his fame and he finds her all the more appealing. One day after work he overhears Marcus, one of the guys she works with, insisting she shouldn't ride her bike home in the dark- especially if she will have a grocery bag with her. Jax intercepts and says he will take her. He tries to disguise himself but a young girl recognizes him and he gives her a kiss and tickets to his next show. The mother thanks him saying that it has been difficult especially since her father just died in Iraq. This moves Sadie to tears. He tries his best to stay away from her but at a party he's throwing it's too much when one of his brother's friends tries to manhandle her.
They begin dating in earnest and despite her misgivings, Sadie falls deeply in love with Jax. She is invited to a local party and agrees to go, but would rather spend her limited summer with Jax- as both are certain this will end when he has to go back to his "real world". Jax agrees instead to go to the party with her and finally show off his girlfriend. It's apparent he loves her and even refers to her as his "air" because without her he cannot breathe.
Several weeks later, pictures from the party of them together surface and Sadie is accused of being a gold digger and others accuse Jax of slumming it with the help. Devastated that she is being treated this way, Jax and his family leave. He does so because he feels guilty for bringing this all on her despite his better judgement.
Jax's departure breaks Sadie and she is nearly catatonic for several days. When Marcus finally is able to help pull her out of her funk, she attempts to return to normal starting up her senior year of high school a few weeks later. The pain is still fresh but not nearly as sharp. It all comes crashing around her when her mother goes into early labor. While she is recovering, Marcus and his friends take her to get some dinner and Marcus informs her that Jax has released a new song- is it about her? Frantic, she listens to it and recognizes the melody from a piece he was working on while she worked. This instant hit plays over and over, making her pain all the more fresh.
Her mother and brother return home and postpartum depression his hard. Her little brother is not only now hers to care for, he has his days and nights reversed. Sadie is exhausted. School, work, a baby, no sleep and no help take a viscous toll and she collapses while riding her bike to school and hits her head. She is in a fog but keeps hearing Jax singing to her and seeing his face and feeling his warmth in her mind. She wakes to find that she has been "unconscious" for a week and Jax has been singing to her in the hospital non-stop. He vows to never leave her again but insists she must live out a normal life for now- for both of them. He has sent her mother to get help for her depression. He swears some how he will make it work, visiting monthly and calling frequently.
As part of her agreement for a normal high school experience, she agrees to attend the homecoming game and dance. She is unimpressed but promised she would stay for a moment. Then the song he wrote for her starts to play and all the happy couples start slow dancing. Then she hears a familiar voice and turns to see Jax standing behind her. He confesses he couldn't let her be at the dance alone and that he couldn't breathe very well without his "air". They wander outside and start to discuss her plans for after high school. She always wanted to go to college, but is willing to forgo it in order to be with him. He promises to move mountains for her and get her into a school closer to him in California.
And they lived happily ever after... :-)
Review:
This is a bit of a tragic story about a mother who is too irresponsible to be a parent and a child who is shoved into responsibility too soon. Jax is a prime example of how we need to remember that celebrities are people too. Despite their public personae, a very different person may exist behind closed doors. Sadie is expressed at very attractive, but still very much your everyday girl. Jax is every girl's dream on stage and a perfect gentleman in private.
I found myself relating to Sadie and her heartbreak when Jax left. I've been the girl to not eat or drink or move because of a broken heart. Abbi Glines' portrayal of this is far more realistic than the heartbreak portrayed in another YA book that focuses on glittery vampires. Jax is slightly less relateable, but is definitely dreamy. He never pushes Sadie, he wants the world to know that she is his, but doesn't want to crush her with the reality of his celebrity world. I confess I don't know if I liked the song he wrote for her. I originally thought it would be a love song about her being his air and light and lovely, but it wasn't. It was a song about him breaking her heart and her crying, but he loved her so much he had to do it. It was very deep and moving. I confess I wish there were a melody to accompany the lyrics to the songs that are in the book.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book. It was perfect in my eyes and Jax and Sadie have an enviable relationship. I would love to see a sequel with Sadie off in California and Jax introducing her to his world, or her on tour with him. Something of that nature. A girl can dream...
On a side note, I created this review prior to the release of the sequel, Because of Low.
