Try Not to Breathe

A raw and powerful coming-of-age novel that illuminates the importance of human connection in overcoming the darkness within. “Haunting, hopeful and masterfully crafted.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Following in the footsteps of It’s Kind of a Funny Story and Thirteen Reasons Why, this novel sensitively tackles the topic of teen suicide.”—The Horn Book Every day, Ryan Turner must face the reality that everyone knows what he did. Ryan’s only solace comes from the local waterfall, where the violent crashing of the water clears his mind of everything. But then one day, a girl named Nicki Thornton throws herself into his solitary world. Nicki is direct about his past and determined to crash through the wall of glass that Ryan has put between himself and others. She seeks answers to questions that she knows only Ryan can understand. Nicki dives deeper into his life, opening his heart closer to the shameful secrets that he has tried to bury. Ryan knows he does not have all of the answers that she seeks, but he realizes that he may have found an answer to his own questions in her.