Breathe Deep & Swim

**Actually a 3.5-rating**

Nearly a year has passed from Covid, and we are now in the throes of global vaccine inoculations... and I find it odd that I have yet to come across an honest, raw and sometimes macabre insight into what this Covid-19 scenario feels like when it is displayed in book form.

Typically, I read Romance genre, so they utilize the safety of "The Lockdown" in such a way of fulfilling the good tropey awesomeness of "forced proximity", meshing our love interest couple to quarantine together and somehow find love.

Yeah, this is not that book... with a cutesy, good-hearted feeling of:: "We are gonna make it out of this...together".

I did not realize how Covid-19 deaths at home with no formal, professional healthcare... especially from mask deniers and Trump supporters would have this... odd Zombie Apocalypse-sensation that just bleeds right onto the page.

This is not a sweet, tenderhearted book, by any means. It really punches you right in the gut right away. Though it is short, in novella form, this can maybe be a good thing because of the content's topic.

What a harrowing real-to-life moment, displayed in under 200pages, of two brothers trying to safely make it through their world after their father passes at home from Covid complications that he thought were "just the flu/cold". Their father denied his own failings, thereby bringing on and advancing his own demise. No one to blame but himself. Though his boys...his own biological sons, whom he never felt were quite like "HIS BOYS" when he was alive... take it upon themselves to simply gather what they can pack in one single backpack for each and walk away.

We have two boys... Van Gogh Vincent Thomas, who is an artist and does not live at home; he actually left home prior to the book's opening. And then there is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Thomas, who really lives his life by the framework of a classic literature novel; so, he is a bookworm nerd, throwing Classic Lit knowledge every which way.

Their father wanted "man-ly" men for his sons... not these kind of sensitized, feminine-light boys. And this seemed very sad and painful, especially as this man lays in the throes of his own death and cannot seems to grasp he is about to be swept off this mortal coil.

Their fears? If they had called emergency officials, actually had had the police arrive to take care of the situation, right away they knew that they would have been fostered into the system and possibly split up. Van, or Van Gogh, the older brother at 16 has the common sense and wherewithal to do everything possible to keep them together.

Their new construct of a mission? Find their mother, who left them for mysterious reasons years ago. By any means necessary, they would find her at any cost.

By no means is this an easy story even without the heightened risk of Covid-19 in the midst. If their father had passed from a heart attack, the same situation would have occurred--The boys running away to escape a scary unknowable outcome. You have it barreled into the COVID-19 pandemic and...you almost understand why the boys bolted toward an unwanted road-trip to family members they only "knew of" on the periphery. Family they had no idea if they would or would not be there; they really can only try and locate them, however possible.

Since this is a shorter novella form, Jenna Marcus packs tiny minute gut-punches that keep you knowing full well these boys have some kind of gumption to not only stay as family but to make it out alive... amidst Covid fears building around the country. It never feels like too much or too little; sometimes I think it hits right-on-the-money, but because this is genuinely my very first Covid-19 enriched story... man, this feels kind of the way it might simply have to be.

Those first outliers are gonna feel weird, because every life journey... every personal account... every medical experience inside of a hospital or care system is going to be different. Not just inside of a country but inside of a WORLD WIDE global moment. Covid stories from the United States, over the next 10-15yrs are going to feel... out-of-this-world impossible, but you know what? I learned through this simple novella that I am kind of here for a reckoning where we have to face our fears and those oh-so-scary moments we never imagined we survive.

Jenna Marcus has a soft, gentle touch to her brothers which I loved. Though sometimes their moments felt right out of a Hollywood movie script... there is a gas station robbery that switches the game for the brothers almost instantly... but yet, it puts THEM leaving their father in a certain context of morality.

Sure, they left their father's dead body alone at the house only to be found by their father's employees at the construction sight who were worried the Boss had not shown up. But placed inside of a nutshell... of COVID fears, foster-care system fears, being ripped apart fears, making sure they still had family fears... and then Van becomes THE HERO of the moment and not just saves the gas station attendant life, Wolfgang's life, but also... stopped a serial robber/thief??...it changes the narrative once thought.

I kind of like that idea. That in one moment of morality... you bail on a dead father, but in light of a single moment of heroism...you save, like, 3 lives... have confiscated stolen money [and etc.] returned from prior robberies that day and then you stop this thief from pursuing more criminal activities. Talk about seeing dichotomies in a character.

There is a sub-plot involving learning about the boys' absent mother... that I found this kind of mirrors them in this present time--especially when you learn the real reason for their mother leaving them. Also, that sub-plot gets a little lost for a minute or two but, it kind of shows us... when the pandemic hit, WE ALL checked in with each other... probably reaching out to touchstones we had not spoken to in years. This is a fraction of what has happened in real life, but it could happen.

Having their mother's precious Keepsake box with them, as one of those important "things" they grabbed when leaving home? This helps them unravel the mystery behind their mother...but also helps them in their future prospects come the end of the book. Those moments were especially sentimental and fascinating to read.

There is some rushed attempts at the end of this book, but yeah... because of it being centered around Covid, you really do not want to choose to be here [in this space] for too long. We are still in its clutches, so, yeah...still "fresh" on our minds. Maybe if this were written 5yrs from now, it could be fleshed out. But for what it is in this moment...it's right where it needs to be.

If I go into too much detailed bits about the ending I would give much of the story away...but this is a heartfelt, deeply moving exploration of snapshot moments in a pandemic, so, at times it is not easy to swallow...but, at some point in the next generation, we are going to have to face what scared us most...and yeah, that means our own mortality.

I would want to assume Jenna Marcus wants us to focus more on how beautiful this brotherhood relationship is. There are some very minute but profound focuses on how close they are and how each uplifts and tries to "take care of" the other so that they don't fall or fail or become weaker.

I like that powerful message...I think the lockdown and the pandemic taught us just how small our circles of friends and family are. It caused us to think about our pasts - those who left and were forgotten... and try to think of our futures, if we even fathomed we would have one.

This is a sliver of life book, during a deadly pandemic but it stays truer to the want of keeping those you care about closer than ever. If Covid gave any of us, anything important... it forced us to learn or relearn what true genuine "family" means to us all.

I received this e-Arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It turned out to be quite emotional for me. This naturally happens when I read about broken families and neglectful parents.

I feel so bad and protective towards the teen characters who just became orphans at the beginning of the story.

They do not know the reason why their mother left them. They have no emotions towards their problematic father.

Wolfgang and his older brother, Van Gogh, try to run away before the authorities discover their dad's dead body for the fear of getting separated and put in foster homes. They are trying to find their mum as the last chance of being together.

And the run continues.

This story made me quite anxious and uncomfortable regarding the way things turned out leaving the vulnerable teens in various life-threatening conditions. Especially because the teens took matters into their own hands endangering their own lives.

Regarding the writing, it's thoroughly engaging. The characters are developed well and good. They act thier age but then the adult characters seem to be merely present throughout whatsoever.

The plot needed to be more convincing for me. It involves some mystery to solve in two books left behind by their mother. This part becomes really interesting as the story goes on.

I really like the fact that Wolfgang is an avid reader already. I love how he love his books and look forward to reading than do anything else.

I really enjoyed reading this one. I was praying for the safety of the characters. They are so adorable.

The ending is so sad. But it ended on a hopeful note.

Trigger warnings for loss of family members.

Looking forward to more books by the author.

Thank you author and the publisher for the advance reading copy.

This book has lots of good things going for it. The brother relationship, relevant to kids' lives, current, a bit of a mystery. I think that the target age group will find this book to be really engaging.

However, I found the dialogue to be unrealistic for the ages of the characters and the references to literary fiction will be completely over the heads of most young people reading this book. I think these two issues really narrows who will hold interest in the story.

That being said, I think this is a book worth introducing to young people. My rating is a 3.75, rounded up to 4.

Two brothers , Van Gogh (16) and Wolfgang (14), find their father dead from Covid. Having no one else near them and fearing being separated in foster care, they set off for NYC to find their mother. The brothers must keep a low profile in fear of being found and put into the system.
Opinion
I think this book is very symbolic of current times. It shows how we all currently live and in future years, I’m sure people will read it and wonder what we actually went through.
This book will be a great addition to school and classroom libraries.
Many thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for an eARC of this book.

This was a solid read, I greatly enjoyed it! It's very interesting to see COVID-19 in books as well. Breathe Deep & Swim left me heartbroken, but it also made me optimistic. This novel taught me that sometimes all you need to do is go with the flow. Overall, this was a sweet book with a lovely message!

at first i thought this book was really confusing but then i realised it is set in the current world in a pandemic so after that i really enjoyed

Thank you to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, and Jenna Marcus for the opportunity to read Breathe Deep & Swim in exchange for an honest review.

It was only a matter of time before novels about (and taking place during) the COVID-19 pandemic would come to light. There were plenty of nonfiction books that came out early in the pandemic, but finding a young adult fiction novel was a bit harder. When I read that this novel takes place during the pandemic, I was eager to see where it went and how it would be executed. The pandemic has affected all people, and this is just one possibility that people have had to work through in their own COVID-19 experience.

Van Gogh and Wolfgang are brothers. When they find their dad has died, they know it was due to COVID-19, only to later have it verified by the news. Their mom left when Wolf was a very young age, and it's been eleven years since the brothers have heard anything from her. Not wanting to be wards of the state with a fate of ending up in the foster system, Wolf and Van make their way from Florida, leaving their dead father behind, taking his car and Money, and make their way to New York in hopes of finding their mom.

Along the way, their faces become known on the news when their father's boss finds the dead body. The goal: to make it to New York before anyone recognizes them, ruining their chance of finding their mother. It sure doesn't help when Van uses his father's gun to stop a robbery at a gas station, which goes viral...

As they make their way to New York, things seem promising...until Van starts showing COVID symptoms. This novel really emphasizes how masks must be worn and how people judge anyone who coughs. It also shows the hidden side of people just trying to go through their daily lives and achieve what they need to do, even if that means hiding their symptoms and putting others at risk.

I found this to be a very quick read and quite resonating with the pandemic. While it is contemporary fiction now, it will soon fall under historical fiction, as hopefully one day soon, the COVID-19 pandemic will be another blip in the history books. Some of the events in the novel seemed a bit too coincidental, such as the gas station robbery which just happened to be the first stop they made, or the friendliness and acceptance of the people when the boys pay in cash for things like a hotel--don't you have to be a certain age for that? The way they got through their journey just seemed too perfect with no problems. Regardless, I really enjoyed the characters ads the reader gets to know more about their past and as they learn about their own family history. The end was kind of what I expected, with a minimal twist that was close to my prediction. It was a great ending, perfect for this stand-alone young adult novel.

I can’t.
I liked it. It was like me in a personal experience. Recommend this.
I have to BREATHE DEEP & READ.

I really enjoyed this book. ‘Breathe deep & swim’ follows two brothers who, in light of their father’s recent passing due to COVID-19, try to travel across America in search for their mum. It’s an emotional and heartfelt story that deals with identity, family, and grief but somehow leaves you feeling optimistic to fight your own battles that the pandemic throws at you.

I think that both the plot and the characters were well developed and I particularly loved the brothers’ relationship. The story was very easy to follow; I actually read it in one sitting.

The only thing I didn’t like was the ignorant views that both the brothers and their dad had towards COVID-19. But that is no criticism to the author or the book as it’s sadly just a representation of how many people in society think, so my annoyance was purely at the characters themselves.

But overall I really enjoyed this, and I think it’s a story that has made a permanent impression on my heart.

Wow! This book touched many difficult topics, but it did it very well. It was a great example of what life has been like recently, but it was tastefully done. This is a book that could be analyzed through its' layers and would be great for discussions.

Grappling with a traumatic situation is never easy.

But as Breathe Deep & Swim from Jenna Marcus explores with quiet intensity and a real sense of belonging, there is a power that comes from going through something so challenging with someone you love solidly and unswervingly by your side.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Thomas is a 14-year-old teenager in Florida whose trauma has long, shared roots.

Abandoned by his mother when he was only a few years old, and living with a father who seems to regard parenthood, especially of two artistically talented sons, to be a burden in his wholly blue collar world, Wolfgang or Wolf as he is often called (he prefers the former), has a lot on his young plate.

He finds considerable salvation in reading, his starkly empty bedroom’s main adornment being a cluttered bookcase full of the many paperback books he has acquired over the years, the most important ones annotated with his insights which he has written in over many years. (Breathe Deep & Swim functions, in part, as a love letter to books and the majesty and transformative power of storytelling in literature.)

But his emotional mainstay, without any question, is his older, 16-year-old brother, Van Gogh, who, apart from always being there for his sibling, exhibits a fearlessness and a plunge-in-and-see-what-happens attitude to life that Wolfgang demonstrably lacks.

Together, these brothers somehow manage to find a way to get through life in a world that doesn’t much seem to care if they are there or not, with a father who openly mocks Wolfgang’s proclivity for reading wherever and whenever he can (Wolf isn’t even remotely musical like his namesake) and Van Gogh’s talent for painting (he, at least, is proof of some form of nominative determinism).

If all of that lingering, longstanding trauma isn’t enough, Wolfgang discovers his dad dead from coronavirus one day in the small green house they share, yet another victim of a pandemic that, in the United States alone, saw at least 600,000 people fatally succumb to this virulent disease.

While neither boy is gripped by immense sadness for their dad’s passing – sadly, there was just too much trauma attached to a man who seemed to resent their existence on a daily basis – it soon dawns on Van Gogh that if they are found in the house with their dad, they’ll be forced into state care and not have any opportunity to try and find their mother who left the family years earlier and might have returned home to The Bronx, New York City.

As the first novel this reviewer has read set in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic which has come to define the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century, Marcus does an exemplary job of referencing the omnipresence of the disease without being defined by it.

She is also savvy enough to address some issues that may come from the boys taking flight from a home in which someone has died from COVID and potentially spreading it to people around them.

Wolfgang, being more timid and careful and in need of clearly defined reassurance than his brother, is hesitant to go rushing from the home as Van Gogh is demanding they do but acquiesces when his brother explains that they must go or their lives may be forever altered by being split apart by a system that won’t recognise how pivotal they are to each other’s lives.

Their willingness, masks firmly in place and social distancing clearly observed, to head out in a world full of the virus from a home rife with it, is driven by trauma and the need to escape it and forge a better future – Van Gogh reasons their mother will be more likely to take them in if they appear on her doorstep – and Breathe Deep & Swim draws on their desperate impelling need to explain why they undertake so perilous a journey at a time when breathing itself seems to be an act of danger and defiance all by itself.

It’s this willingness to hit the road and hope for the best, admittedly more of a Van Gogh imperative than something Wolfgang happily embraces, that informs the enduring theme of the book which is about the power of tenacity to hold you aloft when everything around you seems to want to sink you.

In less capable hands, Breathe Deep & Swim might have seemed like a twee exercise in inspirationally pushing forward but Marcus draws the boys richly and fully and sculpts a narrative that gives their desperate act a muscularity and an intense necessity that underscores how for some people, learning to hang in there is something they must do, no other options provided, simply to survive.

Wolfgang doesn’t want to rush out of the house but he does. He doesn’t want to go on the road without the certainty of an assured outcome but he does. He only really does it because Van Gogh says it will be fine, and he trusts his brother implicitly – the bond between the brothers is heartwarming and one of the main emotional drivers of an already emotionally powerfully YA novel – but partly because his mother’s catchphrase (“Breathe deep and swim”), one of the few things he remembers about her, gives him enough strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

As Van and Wolf, as people including their dad liked to refer to them, forge an obstacle-strewn path to New York City, Wolfgang comes to understand learns salient lessons about what it is to be tenacious, driven home by a number of cards and photos they discover in a combination-locked box which go someway to documenting who their mother was, though they leave as many questions unaddressed as they actually answer.

Breathe Deep & Swim is one of those immersively rich novels which takes a hard and sustained look at trauma, both lifelong and immediate, and asks how anyone can possibly survive all that.

The answer, and there is nothing simplistic about Marcus’s nuanced and layered storytelling and rich, affecting charactaerisation, is that while hanging in there has a great deal to do with it, driven by a hope that is less Disney-esque than robustly able to withstand all kinds of assaults, it is the people who stand in the corner with you who make all the difference.

While Wolfgang is definitely the centre of the story in Breathe Deep & Swim, it is his enduring bond with his brother, one forged in trauma and expressed through love, care and mutual support, both at home and on the road, that defines this sweet but intensely moving novel.

No one wants to ever be in a place where their lives are wholly on the line and in the hands of someone else, but if you are, and Marcus acknowledges it won’t be easy or pretty, then there is nothing you need more than someone special by your side, and a recurring mantra than urges you on, all evidence to the contrary.

Really sweet, slightly heart in mouth, story about two brothers with ridiculous names, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Van Gogh Vincent, who run away from home in order to find their long lost mother after their father dies from Covid. They have quite the adventure with some heart stopping moments all seen through Wolfgang's POV, I enjoyed the way that he engaged with the world, especially as he reads so many books. A brave reflection of current times.

With thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.