Search - Breathless

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Cancer is terrible, but when it strikes a young, active body, it seems especially horrific. That's the case with high school student Travis Morrison. One minute he's a vibrant, healthy teen, and the next he's struck down by the devastating disease.

One sunny afternoon at the lake, Travis, two friends, Cooper and Darla, and sister Emily are enjoying a picnic and a swim. Travis tears up a rocky path beside the lake, thinking he'll show off a bit by making a high dive from a nearby cliff. Since he's a champion platform diver, it should be a breeze.

Just short of the edge he is struck by a sharp pain in his upper thigh, but he's not about to let that stop him. His friends watch as he begins his dive. When he hits the water, he hears his leg crack, and the pain he feels is incredible. Cooper shouts for the girls to call the hospital and bring the car as he carries Travis from the lake.

How does a healthy, in-shape champion diver break his leg doing a simple dive in the local lake? Multiple examinations and medical tests later, doctors announce that Travis has bone cancer, and a tumor in his upper thigh weakened the bone, causing the break.

That announcement changes life for everyone.

Lurlene McDaniel tackles the subject of euthanasia in her latest novel BREATHLESS. Using Travis, his best friend Cooper, girlfriend Darla, and his sister Emily, McDaniel explores the emotional and ethical issues of this sensitive subject from a variety of view points.

To say this novel is a real page-turner is an understatement. I truly could not put it down, and it has been on my mind ever since I finished the final page.