Book Review- Breathing Room By Marsha Hayles

Book Review-Breathing Room

Rating: 4/5

Are you looking for an inspiring and interesting novel? If you are, then Marsha Hayles’ book “Breathing Room” is for you. This is book is about Evvy Hoffmeister, a thirteen year old girl who gets Tuberculosis (a lung disease) in 1940.  Though she gets sent to a sanatorium (a place like a hospital) to get better, she isn’t sure about that. After all, she’s separated from her family and alone. But maybe not. She’s sharing a room with a few other girls with interesting personalities, and they will help her get through hard times. Slowly, Evvy starts to get stronger- both mentally and physically, and shows as a result how you can get through hard times. I encourage you to read this book if you like both inspiring and interesting stories.

First of all, the book is historically accurate. The back of the book shows this; in both her author’s note and acknowledgments she talks about the resources she used, people she met, and her own experiences that she used to make sure this book is correct. Another thing that I enjoyed with the book is the narration and plot- I liked how Evvy would reflect on life and how she saw her predicament as a way to get stronger. She would express her feelings about others, and be honest with herself. This also relates to the strong character development- Evvy went into the sanatorium scared and unsure, and during her time there she became a strong and a changed person.

However, to some people, this book may seem dull and boring as there is not much action- again; the book focuses more on the narration and characters. You may also feel like the author overdoes it with drama. There is a couple of deaths, and explanations of emotions.

This book held my interest because it was narrated by a girl with an interesting point of view. I also liked how the author was very descriptive because she talked about all the girls’ emotions and their personality. The author also balances lightheartedness (humor and sarcasm) and suspense (what will happen next?) well.

The book affected me because it shows how you can learn to cope with a loss or disappointment, such as how the girls coped with losing a friend. It also shows the importance of others who support you.

You can easily connect this book with other girls- such as ones with cancer or any other troubles, mainly because the girls had to cope with hardship themselves.

This book is historical fiction, and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about history and those who enjoy connecting with dynamic characters.

Reading this book will change your point of view on struggles and hardship.