Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala

Source: Publisher
Joy delamere is suffocating.
From asthma, from her parents, and from her boyfriend, Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out. She can take his cruel words, his tender words . . . until the night they go too far.
To escape, Joy sacrifices her suburban life to find the one who offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. He introduces her to a world of fierce loyalty, to its rules of survival, and to love--a world she won't easily let go.
Set against the backdrop of the streets of Seattle, Holly Cupala's power-ful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the secrets we keep, and the ways to redemption. But above all, it is an unflinching story about the extraordinary lengths one girl will go to discover her own strength.
I live on the very streets that this book takes place in. I have walked by many of the places that she walked by. I have also worked with the homeless in this area. So this book definitely hit close to home, but I loved it.  Joy has dealt with a lot and she makes a decision to change. She is smart, but not enough for the streets. Creed was a caring and sweet character that I loved. His love for music was amazing and I just loved how strong of a character he was. I liked that everyone had their own story and there was so much depth to it. Santos and May intrigued me and I found the family, that they all created in spite all that has happened, to be amazing. It was a very intense read, because it dealt with many issues. I love how Cupala dealt with it in a clever and smart way that didn't make it overbearingly depressing. Instead, I felt that this book was hopeful. The plot is packed full of action and interesting. I could not put this book down and I wanted more. This book is very original and I loved all of the details that this book had. Cupala is a great writer and I can't wait to see more from her in the future.  I would recommend this book to anyone that wants an intense and gripping read. If you like Cupala's previous book Tell Me a Secret, you must read this book and I would also recommend this book to fans of Jennifer Brown and Amanda Grace. Don't Breathe A Word has full of complex characters, a gripping plot, and amazing writing and if you enjoy those is a book, you should definitely read it.