"Breath"

Breath

Written by Donna Jo Napoli

Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers in 2003

260 pages.

Genre: Supernatural, History

Summery: This is a retelling of The Pied Piper. Salz is a 12 year old boy with cystic fibrosis. His town is infected with a strange disease that nobody can cure. Strangely, Salz, the sickest of all, escapes infection. But because of his illness, he can't follow when the Piper leads all the other children away.

Response: Interesting book. Full of weird black magic and the medieval ages. The characters are fairly well written. Salz and his grandmother are great characters. The others could have used some more details and personality. I didn't understand how Salz's father and brothers could be such jerks, while Salz is kind and innocent. It was a little too morbid for me personally. I'm not a huge fan of supernatural, which is a key part of the book. So if you like supernatural books, read it.

Word of Caution: Black magic, sex, maybe a little language, drug usage.