CW: Mother commits suicide

2.5 Stars ( )

[This is a review I wrote in 2007]

Coming after the magnificent Doomspell Trilogy, this ghost story left me feeling deflated. It's still an okay readable story, but it's really missing the energy and vitality of his earlier books. So, alright, it's a ghost story, and it's not supposed to be "real" but I really found this a lot more unbelievable than the far more far-fetched fantasy Doomspell books. I think the real problem with it for me is that it's half-grounded in a "real" world of normal everyday people and the "ghost" story just doesn't seem to fit with the story of a young boy and his mum coming to terms with the recent death of the boy's dad.

The story begins promisingly by introducing the ghosts - four children's spirits of different ages trapped in an old farmhouse and hoping that the next occupier of the house will bring with them a child to watch and maybe play with. There are two boys and two girls and the boys hopes are realised when they see 12 year old Jack approach the house with his mum. Jack's dad has recently died and his mum has brought him to the house because he loves old houses, and old things around him. As soon as he arrives he runs his hands around everything in the house and picks up vibes, feelings and images from the objects, about the people that have been in the house before them. He discovers abilities he never knew he had when he "senses" details about the old lady who died in the house before they moved in. Gradually, Jack begins to sense other spirits in the house; first an adult (the strongest feeling) and then slowly he senses impressions of children as well. But something is not quite right. There is animosity between the ghosts... and Jack isn't quite sure who to believe and trust. Can he work it out, and keep his severe asthma attacks under control as well?

I found the story starts to lack substance about half way through and then doesn't really pick up again after that. The plot gets a bit repetitive, and then picks up again slightly towards the end. It's readable, but not McNish at his best. ( )

Breathe by Cliff McNish is a children’s story dealing with a young asthmatic boy, Jack, and his mother who move to an old farmhouse after the death of his father. Instead of peace and quiet, they find they are living in a haunted house. There are four children’s spirits and one of a woman who is called the Ghost Mother. It turns out that the woman spirit is keeping the others as prisoners, she feeds on their souls in order to keep herself strong.

The Ghost Mother has plans for both Jack and his mother, but Jack is a special boy with the ability to communicate with those from the Other World. He soon realizes that he must be the one to save not only himself and his mother but the other spirits as well

Obviously the target audience for this book is much younger than I and so what I mostly found silly might appeal to younger children. With the lack of depth to the plot and the ending that felt too convenient and contrived Breathe: A Ghost Story appears to be more focused on offering life lessons than serving up the chills that I was looking for. ( )

I'm always on the lookout for a good ghost story--one full of atmosphere and creepyness, and that isn't stupid. Because well-written ghost stories are hard to find, Breathe: a Ghost Story was a pleasant surprise, especially since it's a novel written for children.

Jack and his mother Sarah arrive at an old farmhouse they've leased in the English countryside where they have come to grieve and regroup after the sudden death of Jack's father (side note: I guess because it's a kid's book we don't see Sarah's pain over the loss of her husband? Odd.) In the beginning of the book, Jack reminds me of the little boy in the movie the Sixth Sense because he sees dead people--well, ghosts, actually. And this farmhouse has five--four children who died at different points over a forty year time span, plus a woman from the Victorian era whose daughter died from consumption in the garden. At first the Ghost Mother (as they call her) seems nice, but you soon learn that she is a little on the obsessive crazy side, and terrorizes the other ghosts as a result. She soon begins to terrorize Jack and Sarah too.

There are a lot of things I liked about Breathe: a Ghost Story. First, although it is written for children, it read like a book for any age reader (trust me, this is a rare and wonderful thing). The story was unique from start to finish--I soon got to know Jack and stopped imagining him as Haley Joel Osment. There were several twists that I didn't expect, and it was never predictable. The ghosts weren't the creepiest, but the whole logic and worldbuilding around them was both solid and inventive. Also, Jack has severe asthma, and McNish incorporates that effectively into the story. Finally, the chapter headings had cool illustrations. Overall, this is a terrific book. ( )

Excitement, chills and the creeps is what you will experience while reading Breathe by Cliff McNish. A house that is run down, abandoned and haunted by four children and a ghost mother, gets 2 visitors. Sarah and her son, Jack, move into the house after Jacks father, William, died. They had no clue what they were getting themselves into. Jack hadn't known he had the power to see ghosts ( medium) until he moved there. Jack would tell Sarah the stories but she never believed him. He explained how the ghost mother would tell him not to interact with the four ghost children. Sarah would never under estimate Jack ever again. Her and the ghost mother had a every scary encountering with each other. Breathe was a terrific book. The plot was never boring I couldn't put the book down once I picked it up. Another good thing about the book was it focused on everyone's point of view. The transition transitions between chapters are good and not confusing. In some parts I would use more details but other than that I lived the book. I recommend this book to people who are looking for an easy read.