Book Review: The Ever Breath by Julianna Baggott

The Ever Breath
by Julianna Baggott
Ever Breath Series

Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0-385-73761-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-73761-6
Publication Date: December, 2009
List Price: $16.99

Review: Funny, adventurous, and magical, these are all words that describe Julianna Baggott’s book- The Ever Breath. This is the first in the series the adventures of Camille and Truman, and it shows lots of promise.

We all live in the Fixed World, or the “normal” world (as we think of it). The Breath World is where creatures of our imagination live. This is because millions of years ago something split our worlds apart. Camille and her brother Truman are about to find out what holds our two worlds together, and what happens if they come apart. Keep in mind that Truman is allergic to everything in the fixed world, and Camille isn’t. That all changes in the Breath World though- it is the exact opposite. The Ever Breath is a stone that holds the two worlds together. If it is removed from its rightful spot both worlds will die. The Ever Breath is a stone with breath imbedded in it. No one knows the creator, but people call him a Being That Which Nothing Greater Can Be Conceived. Our world will die, because there will be no imagination, which means no dreams and no magical thinking. When the Ever Breath is stolen, Truman and Camille will have to find their father The King Of Jarkmen (who mysteriously disappeared), true Jarkmen (followers of Camille and Truman’s father the true king), and not to mention The Ever Breath itself.

I found The Ever Breath to be a good book. It is funny, and it keeps you wanting to read the next page. It kind of reminds me of The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter combined. I also love how vivid the descriptions are. For example, “He emptied tea cup after tea cup- orangey bitters, strong berry flavors, various mint mixes- and Camille did too.” Baggott portrays the Breath World as a world that formed our entire imagination. She is very consistent, and she wrote a complicated plot. Fortunately the plot isn’t too hard to follow. It has just the right amount of creativity and complication to make it extremely interesting, and exciting. While I love the book and the fantasy of the book, I don’t really like the ending. It was a cliffhanger that said, “Find out what happens next in The Ever Cure coming in fall 2010.” While it leaves you waiting for the next book to come out, it also isn’t very impressive. The whole book was leading to a climax that only partially happened. I think that this book is meant for 4th graders and up. I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

Review written by Kayley (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of The Ever Breath for this review.

Have you read The Ever Breath? How would you rate it?