Blog Tour: Breathe, Annie, Breathe

Breathe, Annie, Breathe (Hundred Oaks #5) by Miranda Kenneally
Release Date ~ July 15, 2014
Sourcebooks Fire
ISBN13: 9781402284793
e-ARC received from Raincoast Books for blog tour

Goodreads Synopsis:
Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.

But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.

I was excited to have an opportunity to join this blog tour for Breathe, Annie, Breathe since I've read many of Miranda Kenneally's other books in the Hundred Oaks series and enjoyed them. But Annie was one that stood out to me since it was about a girl learning to run - a hobby I've dabbled in for the past year.

This latest book from Miranda is one of my favourites because it is a sentimental story both in how it shows Annie as she deals with her grief and as she moves forward in her life.

1. Annie is a complex, engaging main character:
   
   Annie is engaging because of how real she seemed to me - flaws and all. She's brave for opting to run a marathon in memory of her deceased boyfriend, but her journey isn't a smooth one. Annie has to devote herself to her training, and proves herself to be one of the most hard-working and dedicated characters I have ever read.
2. Spirited romance:
   
   I cannot explain in one little review how much I adore Jeremiah! He's a very different type of person from Annie, and from many of the other Hundred Oaks love interests. But he is easily my new favourite! He's a tad reckless, but he's fairly well-balanced with his thoughtful personality and (somewhat reluctant) maturity. He's clearly caught in this young adult phase of his life where he's really starting to grow up and take on more responsibility, yet he still has this more youthful facet with cheesy jokes and impulsive decisions. The two of them, together, have crackling chemistry that lifts right off the pages.
3. Annie's grueling marathon training:
   
   I love that Miranda included all the dirty details on marathon training - it definitely isn't pretty at times. As an occasional runner myself, I found myself either readily relating to some of Annie's experiences or reading in fascination of what I could expect should I ever decide to run a marathon (which is unlikely right now). The story is rich for this reason alone, with the added benefit of characters with their own stories to share. 

The only part that I felt could have used a bit more (or perhaps stronger) development was Jeremiah's revelation about his past choices and current situation. It seemed that there were hints of more going on than we were first told, but it was left open-ended. This could have more to do with my interpretation of the dialogue and writing, rather than any writing error.

Breathe, Annie, Breathe is a beautiful story of one girl desperately trying to come to terms with the death of someone who was very close to her. Annie has to come to terms with her own guilt and future, and I loved that this took place with her marathon training as a tool.

Miranda kindly took the time to answer some questions for this blog tour (provided through Raincoast Books) and I'm sharing some of my favourites with you today!

1. Q: Your main character, Annie, is training to run for a marathon.  You also provided a great deal of detail about how hard it is on your body to train for a marathon.  Did you do any background research for this?
   
   A: Yes! In the past I ran a marathon and a half-marathon, so I used experiences from training for those races to write BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE. I also consulted "Runner's World" magazine and interviewed trainers at my gym. I also spoke to a few former pro-athletes.
2. Q: When you work out, what music is on your playlist?
   
   A: Most of the time I forget to charge my iPod before I go to the gym, but when I remember it, I listen to lots of upbeat pop music like David Guetta, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Ke$ha, and Calvin Harris.
3. Q: Running the marathon for Kyle was Annie’s way of coping with her stress and grief.  What advice would you give others in similar situations of grief or stress?
   
   A: I would say give yourself time to heal. Recognize that everyone's healing process is different. Don't beat yourself up if you don't feel better in a certain amount of time; everyone heals in different ways. If you need to, talk to good friends, your guidance counselor, or a therapist. 
4. Q: You tend to write strong characters who are also athletic. Were you considered a jock in high school?
   
   A: Not at all! If anything, I was a chorus geek. I played soccer, but I wasn't very good at it. I also managed the boys soccer team, but that was really just an excuse to hang around hot guys after school.

And now, last but not least, I'm also going to recommend some of my favourite things to listen to while I'm running.

First of all, I love listening to audiobooks! They're great because the narration is such that it allows me to run at my own pace - this is particularly important for my longer runs when I have to be careful not to set a pace that's too fast for me to maintain over the entire distance.

As for music, some of my favourite songs for running include:

• Titanium (feat. Sia) by David Guetta
• Eye On It by tobyMac
• Don't Stop Me Now by Queen
• Bad Reputation by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts 
• One In a Million by Down With Webster

If you haven't already, stop by Maji Bookshelf for Juhina's post on the Breathe, Annie, Breathe blog tour!

Tomorrow you can visit Mostly YA Lit for Tiff's thoughts.