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The moment I started the book Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn, I was immediately unable to put the book down at all. It is a realistic and emotional story that follows the life of a man who has anger issues. His girlfriend, Caitlyn, has filed a restraint order because he hit her out of rage. This story shows you behind Nick’s nice façade  and how it has fallen apart with time.

Nick is a 16 year old boy who has gained a restraining order for hitting his girlfriend, Caitlyn. He is assigned into an anger issues class with people that committed the same actions as him. As it goes on in the story, Nick reminisces on his past with Caitlyn and how it all winded down to his action. Meanwhile, in the present, Nick has lost many of his friends. Before he hit her, they had been unaware of how he truly was. Even his best friend is shocked that he would do such a thing. It seems that, as it continues, Nick realizes that his actions were wrong, just as the many other men in his anger issue class was. It’s almost as if his life has crumbled in his hands, and his only safe house is his good memories with Caitlyn that he destroyed

The best part about this book is that you can see from Nick’s point of view. You see how he does not regard his action as wrong and/or harmful. His denial becomes something that he slowly realizes, and it is another story about a character slowly developing. I enjoy this book for the sole fact that it gives you such insight. The denial makes it clear that Nick has an anger issue.

I would recommend this book to any reader who doesn’t mind disrespectful language and violence.