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: