Breathing Books

 **SPOILER FREE**

This is a stand alone, which is nice because I don't read to many stand alone novels. Everything seems to be a trilogy or some dragged out series.

I loved this book because it was nothing like anything I have read before. It is categorized as Y/A fantasy. It takes place mostly in a mute Chinese village centering around Chinese folklore. That in itself was enough to intrigue me. Our main lead is Fei, she lives in a mining village on top of a mountain. They are starving and going blind. The village relies on a zipline at the bottom for all of their food. When the metal they are mining becomes less and less, so does the food. All Fei, has is her sister Zhang Jing, she looks out, and acts like a mother to her. One night Fei, is awoken by a loud noise. Suddenly, sound is her weapon. She sets out on a journey with a miner, who brings the possibility of romance to discover what is happening to her and her village. 

I definitely thought this book did not need a sequel. However, because it was only about 260 pages I felt that some parts of the story were rushed. Big scenes felt like they needed more time to explain. Their journey down the mountain only took about three pages. I felt like that should have been written more as an exciting, nerve wracking scene. I would have also liked to know a time period that this story takes place in. I know they have lost track of the Kings from the town that sends them food, but that's all we know. I also think that the world building could have been done better. We don't know much about the location, history or the township that that brings them the food. I guess a fantasy novel can be hard to write in a stand alone that only has 260 pages. 

I loved that this book centered around a mute community. I have never read from that point of view before. I also have never read anything about Chinese folklore. I did love the writing style used, it makes you feel sad and a need to figure out what is going on with this village. I loved the relationship between Fei and her sister. You could tell that Fei would do anything for Zhang Jing. I think overall, the book concluded nicely and didn't leave me guessing about anything.