Reason to Breathe

All I can say is WOW! Reason to Breathe was an extremely emotional (The best and the very worst) story of Emma and this life she has been forced to live.
Contains Spoilers
Emma is a strong, smart, beautiful girl who throws herself into her school work and extra curricular activities to avoid going home and facing her true reality. She tries to stay distant from everyone but we quickly learn throughout the book that Emma is well liked even though she doesn't want to be. After losing her father and her mother dealing with alcoholism Emma is forced to live with her Aunt and Uncle.
The bad that Emma has to endure is Abuse. It's such tough subject to approach and as most people would say that Emma had options to bring it to end but she felt she really didn't. Carol, her aunt, is a downright sick and cruel woman towards Emma but Emma being the very strong and compassionate person she is (especially to her 2 young cousins) chose to deal with the wrath of her Aunt so her cousins wouldn't lose their mother and father. The horror of what Emma has to live through while her aunt verbally and physically abuses her while her uncle pretty much turned his head the other way was so hard to read and brought tears to my eyes and had my stomach in knots.
The good and let me say how sweet it was is the love and friendship Emma has on her side. Sara (Emma's best friend) is a sweetheart. Yes she really probably should have told someone, anyone about what Emma was facing but she couldn't because she understood the tight spot in which Emma felt trapped. Sara was there for Emma as a true friend always is and you could see the love between the two of them. Evan...sweet Evan! He is a sweet boy who has fallen unconditionally in love with Emma even though they are just friends at first. At one point he walks away from Emma because he wants her to trust him but she can't bring herself to tell him the truth about her home life. Of course he comes back and they proclaim their love for one another. Their love for each other is so sweet and innocent that you can't help but smile when they are together and find yourself hoping for their happily ever after!
While I may not be a fan of the cliffhanger ending I can only say that it's because I want to know what happens and I don't want to have to wait for the sequel to find out. I saw a lot of other comments about not knowing if Emma survived and I found myself rereading the last chapter along with the epilogue, slowly reading each word and coming to my own conclusion after reading that last word of the book. At least until the sequel comes out ;)
I have to give huge props to the Author Rebecca Donovan by her choices in her words while writing this book. I did find myself having to struggle to read through the encounters with Carol and as crazy as it might sound I have to say thank you Ms. Donovan. By writing this book you brought out the unfortunate reality of so many kids in the world and by reading it I have found myself realizing how big a problem this really is in our world. My hat is off to you Ms. Donovan for creating such and ugly situation to which you ultimately turned into something beautiful by giving Emma the love of both Evan and Sara. More importantly you have made me want to make a difference so one less beautiful child has to endure this kind of pain. I am anxiously awaiting the sequel to see if my personal gut conclusion is correct. Keep up the amazing writing skills as you have definitely found yourself a new and dedicated fan of your work! :)