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A review by saltygalreads
Try Not to Breathe by David Bell
4.0
Summary: Anna Rogers feels a bit lost. After a couple of weeks of skipping classes, she is on the way to failing out of college. She nurses a number of resentments against her family – her father for being an overbearing retired police captain who micromanages her life, her older sister Avery for ignoring and abandoning her, and her mother Jane for allowing her father to always have the upper hand. The only sister she gets along with is Alisha, who frequently steps in to act as a parent to make up for the deficiencies of her actual parents. In an act of rebellion, Anna takes off for the weekend to visit her friend and attend a protest rally against police brutality. Her family, unable to reach her, believes she is missing and sends Avery after her with orders to bring her back home. But there are dark secrets in the Rogers family and old sins cast long shadows. Avery and Anna are unwittingly walking into deeper and deeper danger.
Thoughts: Like any David Bell novel, I was pulled into this one quickly by the interesting characters and lively pace. There were many concurrent themes in the novel – the complexities of second marriages and families; over-policing and police brutality; illegal immigrant labour and mistreatment; and sibling rivalry. Throughout the novel there was an undercurrent of toxic alpha-male energy in many of the characters, as seen in the retired Captain Rogers, the male police officers at the protest, and many of the men at the Coombs farm, a contrast to the kindness and generosity of characters like Charlie and Hank.
Needless to say, there was a lot happening in this novel and therefore a lot to process. However, the ending felt rather incomplete to me, as there were many loose ends for the reader to question and ponder. It occurred to me that this might have been Bell’s intention. I also found it interesting that when the novel began, all the focus was on Anna Rogers, whereas the remainder of the novel was focused on Avery Rogers. It felt as though I had started one novel and finished a different one, if that makes any sense at all. All that being said, I did enjoy the book, so thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House. A 3.5 rounded up to 4.
Thoughts: Like any David Bell novel, I was pulled into this one quickly by the interesting characters and lively pace. There were many concurrent themes in the novel – the complexities of second marriages and families; over-policing and police brutality; illegal immigrant labour and mistreatment; and sibling rivalry. Throughout the novel there was an undercurrent of toxic alpha-male energy in many of the characters, as seen in the retired Captain Rogers, the male police officers at the protest, and many of the men at the Coombs farm, a contrast to the kindness and generosity of characters like Charlie and Hank.
Needless to say, there was a lot happening in this novel and therefore a lot to process. However, the ending felt rather incomplete to me, as there were many loose ends for the reader to question and ponder. It occurred to me that this might have been Bell’s intention. I also found it interesting that when the novel began, all the focus was on Anna Rogers, whereas the remainder of the novel was focused on Avery Rogers. It felt as though I had started one novel and finished a different one, if that makes any sense at all. All that being said, I did enjoy the book, so thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House. A 3.5 rounded up to 4.