The Deepest Breath
Summary:
This is a story about eleven-year-old Stevie, a girl who knows lots of facts. Knowing lots of information helps her to feel safe, but the thought of all the things she does not know makes her feel nervous and anxious. When Stevie begins to have confusing feelings about a girl in her school, she sets off on a fact-finding mission to the library.
Edited by: Dublin City University
Comment:
This novel in verse is an exploration of the realisation at a young age of an attraction that does not seem to fit into what is perceived as the norm. Set against the background of a family breakup, and an anxiety that Stevie tries to control through learning and retaining facts, the book poignantly opens with Stevie’s assertion that what she knows most about is herself. Throughout the text, the power of mother-daughter relationships, of being listened to, and of the child’s voice is explored. When Stevie’s feelings for another girl come to the surface, she finds she cannot speak to her mother first, and this is used as a way to explore the importance of LGBTQIA+ representation in books, through Stevie’s encounter with a kind librarian.