Numerous blurbs on the
back of Heather Gudenkauf’s latest, One
Breath Away, describe Gudenkauf as the next Jodi Picoult. Picoult has taken the idea of multiple
narrators and practically created an entirely new writing style. The payoff is immensely satisfying when it’s
done correctly, as it creates a truly completed puzzle. While not as successful as her debut novel, The Weight of Silence, Gudenkauf has written a worthwhile and
powerful read in One Breath Away.
Gudenkauf takes every
parent’s worst nightmare, an intruder in his/her child’s school, and creates a
riveting narrative (so, ironically, did Picoult in Nineteen Minutes). Each
narrator adds a slice of the pie to the horrible hours when the incident took
place. Augie, sent to live with her
grandfather after her mother’s accident; Will, Augie’s grandfather; Holly,
Augie’s mother; Meg, a police officer at the school whose daughter is
thankfully not there that day; and Mrs. Oliver, the third-grade teacher whose
classroom the intruder is holed up in.
Gudenkauf wisely writes
short chapters, which causes the “just one more” syndrome. At times, I couldn’t put it down and kept reading
long into the night. Gudenkauf builds
suspense with making the reader guess the intruder’s identity and hoping
against hope that everyone will get out safely.
However, the identity is easily guessed, so the reader shouldn’t expect
any big surprises there. That part
needed much more drama and felt a little too amateurish. The lead-up to the big reveal and the
afterword was wonderfully written. The actual reveal…not so much. However, don’t let that stop you from picking
up One Breath Away. The heroics of the key players and general
suspense keep you wanting more.
