Breathless by Lurlene McDaniel

Breathless
Lurlene McDaniel
ISBN 978-0-385-73459-2
165 pages
Delacorte Press, 2009

Genre: Issue Novel, Controversial

Reader's Annotation: Diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, high school student Travis asks his best friend, girlfriend, and sister to help him commit suicide.

Plot Summary: Travis--high school junior, diving champion, and self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie--breaks his leg jumping off a rock. While being treated, the doctors discover he has advanced bone cancer. They amputate his leg and start him on chemotherapy. Now unable to dive and also too sick to go to school, his best friend Cooper, his girlfriend Darla, and his sister Emily all form a circle of support for him and try to prevent him from getting too depressed.

When it becomes clear to Travis that he isn't going to beat the cancer, he decides he wants to die on his terms. When his parents deny his request to put a DNR on his chart, he turns to his best friend Cooper for help committing suicide. Cooper is torn by Travis' request, as are Darla and Emily when they learn of it.  They struggle with the act's religious and ethical implications and their desire to honor their friend's wishes.

Critical Summary:
Lurlene McDaniel tells this story by alternating narrators: Emily, Travis, Cooper, and Darla alternate chapters, telling the story from their first person view.  Though this should be a moving story, McDaniel seems too determined to rush the plot along in this extremely short novel. Indeed, in the span of a page, the story progresses a year and Travis moves from being fairly healthy to terminal.  There's simply not enough time for her to develop the deep characterizations that would make the reader really empathize with Travis' wish not to suffer and the other teens' struggle with the decision's moral ambiguity.

However, despite the fact that there's not even enough space in this novel to explore its main topic, McDaniel chooses to have the mother of one character be an alcoholic prostitute and the father of one character be physically and mentally abusive, presenting the reader even more emotional territory that can only be very briefly addressed.  Several of the characters have strong religious beliefs--the teens live in a very religious community--and yet the issue of how their beliefs might conflict with assisted suicide is only vaguely explored.  Strange, too, is the manner in which Travis wants to die: drowning in the middle of a lake. It's a dramatic and complicated last act that would cause his loved ones severe emotional distress by having to watch him struggle and suffer.  As a final insult, the answer of who eventually performs the act of euthanasia is never revealed. In a more masterful work, this open-ended finale might challenge the reader, but here it just seems frustrating and unresolved.

About the Author
Lurlene McDaniel is the queen of the "crying girl" novel.  Her publisher describes her books as "inspirational novels about teenagers facing life-altering situations." Most of her books feature teens who have a terminal illness, though some do feature teens healthy teens dealing with their grief after a loved one dies. McDaniel has been quite prolific since the 1980s. Her previous release before Breathless did not involve death, but rather followed a teenage boy being seduced by a female teacher.

Curriculum Ties
Because it is so short, the novel could be used in a health class or similar to prompt discussion about the issue of assisted suicide. However, the resulting discussion would probably be much more nuanced than the book itself.

Booktalking Ideas
1. Tell the story from the point of view of Travis--why he wants to die on his terms.
2. Tell the story from the point of view of Cooper--if your best friend wanted you to help him kill himself, would you?
3. Tell the story from the point of view of Emily--should she respect the wishes of her parents or her brother?

Reading Interest/Level
Though the reading level is 7th or 8th grade, the novel's subject matter makes it more appropriate for high-schoolers.

Challenge Issues
Since assisted suicide is such a controversial topic, the book could attract challenges.  The librarian might deal with the challenges by pointing out that McDaniel doesn't ever take a stand on the issue and that the arguments for both sides are presented. The reader is allowed to make up his or her own mind at the end as to whether or not the unnamed teen made the right choice.

If it were still challenged, the librarian should have a clear selection policy in place and be able to defend that selection policy to the challengee.  The librarian could also point to the positive review the book received in SLJ.

Selection Criteria
I saw this book on the new release shelves of my library's YA section and thought it was an intriguing topic.