82 pages • 2 hours read
Alex FlinnBreathing Underwater
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2001A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction
Breathing Underwater
- Genre: Fiction; young adult realistic
- Originally Published: 2001
- Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 510L; grades 9-12
- Structure/Length: 31 chapters; approx. 272 pages; approx. 5 hours, 10 minutes on audio
- Protagonist and Central Conflict: Sixteen-year-old Nick seems to have it all—wealth, good looks, popularity—but he hides the fact that his father beats him. After he hits his girlfriend, Caitlin, and she takes out a restraining order against him, Nick must attend a family violence class, where he eventually confronts his trauma and his own behavior.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Domestic violence; death by suicide; suicidal ideation
Alex Flinn, Author
- Bio: Born in 1966 in Long Island, New York; grew up in New York and Florida; earned a degree in vocal performance from the University of Miami and then a law degree; practiced law for 10 years before turning to writing full-time; often writes books that are modern retellings of fairy tales
- Other Works: Breaking Point (2002); Nothing to Lose (2004); Beastly (Book 1 of Kendra Chronicles; 2007); Cloaked (2011); Towering (2013); Girls of July (2019)
- Awards: ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2002); ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers (2002); New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age (2002); Black Eyed Susan Award (2003)
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
