The Deepest Breath

by Meg Grehan Narrated by Heather O'Neill

Overview

Eleven-year-old Stevie is an avid reader and knows a lot of things about a lot of things. She knows how to send Morse code through her bedroom wall to her
mom. She knows the names of the constellations. And she knows that an octopus has three hearts and nine brains. Knowing things makes her feel safe, powerful, and in control should anything bad happen.
But there's one more thing Stevie doesn't know, one thing she wants to understand above everything else, and one thing she isn't quite ready to share
with her mom: the fizzy feeling she gets in her chest when she looks at her friend Chloe. What does it mean, and why isn't she ready to talk about it?
In this poetic exploration of identity and anxiety, Stevie must confront her fears to find inner freedom, all while discovering it is our connections with others that make us stronger.

Editorial Reviews

APRIL 2021 - AudioFile

This brief yet moving audiobook written in verse features Stevie, an 11-year-old Irish girl who keeps her anxiety at bay by trying to learn absolutely everything. The one thing she most wants to know, however, she can't learn from her caring mom and doesn't know how to find in a book: Why does she get such a fizzy feeling around her friend Chloe? Narrator Heather O'Neill's lilting brogue and thoughtful pacing preserve the flow of the verse without sacrificing the confessional tone of Stevie's voice. Moreover, O'Neill imbues Stevie's naïveté with such poignant urgency that even the most jaded tween listeners will be hard-pressed not to root for her. A sweet coming-out story, narrated with sensitivity and tenderness. R.A.H. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

12/14/2020

In spacious verse that mirrors a worried preteen’s breathlessness, Grehan (The Space Between) vibrantly captures the anxious inner landscape of 11-year-old Stevie, an Irish girl missing her estranged father and harboring a secret crush on her friend Chloe. “Knowing things/ Makes me safe,” she declares, a magical-thinking mantra that inspires her to read thick books on marine life. But just as often, she looks to her warm, wise mother for reassurance. Her mum’s words are usually a gift, but they scan as an empty box when she fails to see her daughter’s budding queerness (“She just gave me/ Wrapping paper/ With tape and ribbon and a bow/ But nothing/ Inside”). Though a comforting librarian offers hope to the girl, Grehan effectively depicts the loneliness of growing up in a world where heterocentrism is the default. Small in scope and big in heart and feeling, this novel is a tender portrait of gay early adolescence and a strong mother-daughter attachment. Ages 8–12. Agent: Karyn Fischer, Book Stop Literary. (Feb.)

From the Publisher

★ "A heartwarming and tear-provoking coming-of-age novel, brimming with empathy and a child’s imagination."—Booklist, STARRED review ★ "Wholesome, powerful and essential."—Shelf Awareness, STARRED review "[A] sweet and lovely sapphic novel-in-verse." —Buzzfeed "Grehan offers an encouragingly smooth coming-out story....Filling a needed niche for younger queer and questioning kids, this is a gentle, hopeful read with a kid-friendly romance and a protagonist whom readers will want to befriend."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "[Its] impact could make a difference to a child struggling with anxiety or coming out to a parent....An endearing LGBTQ+ novel perfect for middle graders."—Kirkus "In spacious verse that mirrors a worried preteen’s breathlessness, Grehan (The Space Between) vibrantly captures the anxious inner landscape of 11-year-old Stevie, an Irish girl missing her estranged father and harboring a secret crush on her friend Chloe....Small in scope and big in heart and feeling, this novel is a tender portrait of gay early adolescence and a strong mother-daughter attachment."—Publishers Weekly —

APRIL 2021 - AudioFile

This brief yet moving audiobook written in verse features Stevie, an 11-year-old Irish girl who keeps her anxiety at bay by trying to learn absolutely everything. The one thing she most wants to know, however, she can't learn from her caring mom and doesn't know how to find in a book: Why does she get such a fizzy feeling around her friend Chloe? Narrator Heather O'Neill's lilting brogue and thoughtful pacing preserve the flow of the verse without sacrificing the confessional tone of Stevie's voice. Moreover, O'Neill imbues Stevie's naïveté with such poignant urgency that even the most jaded tween listeners will be hard-pressed not to root for her. A sweet coming-out story, narrated with sensitivity and tenderness. R.A.H. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2020-12-15
An Irish import offers a glimpse into the life of an anxious preteen who learns to accept herself and all the things she doesn’t know.

Stevie, 11, knows a lot of things. She knows how old whales live to be, she knows that her dad lives far away (but it’s OK), and she knows Morse code is good for getting rid of nightmares. She likes knowing things; it makes her feel safe and in control. But there is one thing that Stevie doesn’t know: Why does she get this funny feeling, all “warm and squishy,” in her chest when she looks at her friend Chloe? Stevie is worried about these feelings and what her mum will think if she talks to her about them. So Stevie takes matters into her own hands to figure out what these feelings are and, maybe, how to make them a little less scary. This free-verse novel captures Stevie’s feelings of worry with its precise use of language and repetition, which allows readers to empathize with her: “Usually when I ask my mum / Questions / Big or small or silly or smart / She gives me / Answers / Big or small or silly or smart / She wraps them up and hands them over / Like little presents / … / But this time / I think she forgot / To put the words in.” Stevie’s crush on Chloe is very naïve and sweet, making this coming-out tale one that is suitable for and accessible to middle-grade readers. Though this book is short, its impact could make a difference to a child struggling with anxiety or coming out to a parent. Characters assume a White default.

An endearing LGBTQ+ novel perfect for middle graders. (Verse fiction. 8-10)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172734885
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	02/16/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

one

      I know a lot of things
      About a lot of things
      But the thing I know the most about
      Is me
      Stevie

      I know that I am eleven years and two months old
      And that my hair is brown
      And my eyes are green
      And I’m allergic to peanuts

      I know I have a mum
      Whose room is right next to mine
      And that sometimes we tap and scratch on the wall at night
      Morse code is good for scaring nightmares away
      I know that

      I know I have a dad
      And I know that he lives far away
      And I know that’s not my fault
      And I know that that’s
      OK

      I know that I have a funny name
      Because the doctors said my mum was going to have a baby boy
      But then I popped out
      A slimy wriggly baby girl
      And she liked the name too much by then
      So Stevie it was
      And Stevie I am

      I know I like the color purple
      And things that sparkle
      And science and books
      And cats and stars and space

      I know that I broke my pinkie finger once
      And that now
      It sticks out funny

      I know I’m afraid of zombies and clowns
      And not much else
      I know I can be brave
      But that sometimes it’s hard

      I know a lot
      About me

      There’s only one thing
      In the whole of me
      That I don’t know

      It’s something funny
      It’s in my chest
      And sometimes my tummy
      And always my head
      It’s a fizzy feeling
      Warm and squishy
      And it makes me blush
      And it only happens
      When I look at my friend
      Chloe

      And I don’t know what it is
      Exactly

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