Life at home for Joy is suffocating. Her mother is constantly keeping track of Joy's medications, her older brother, Jesse, has been Joy's keeper up until recently, and Asher, her boyfriend, is abusive. Unable to breathe, Joy runs away from her home, taking refuge in the streets of Seattle. Once there, she meets Creed, a runaway, who lives on the streets and with his help, she'll regain her freedom and the ability to breathe. 
 I swear that my summary of Don't Breathe A Word looks extremely short, but without giving anything serious away, that's all I can tell you. Also, let's face it, I would've never had the courage to do what Joy did. Run away from home? Maybe. Live on the streets? I'm a wimp, so definitely not. Bleach my hair? Definitely not. I mean, don't get me wrong, her hair turns out fine in the end, but she still managed to burn her scalp. 
 However, Don't Breathe A Word is also about a small group of homeless teens. There's Creed, the unofficial leader and caretaker of the group, who has his heart set on getting a record deal and well, Joy too. Next there's May who has mad hair cutting skills; she's been living on the streets for almost all of her life and she's pretty much hollow inside due to things you'll discover while reading Don't Breathe A Word. Lastly there's Santos, who has a ferret named Faulkner and a thing for May. The three of them are pretty much family to one another and needless to say, they look out for one another. When Joy arrives, it doesn't take long for her to be taken into the fold and taught how to survive. 
 It hurt a bit to read about Joy's initial experience while living on the streets and well, the fact that she needs an inhaler doesn't exactly help matters either. With that said, there's really not much that I can add. Holly Cupala's writing style was easy to read and I finished reading Don't Breathe A Word much faster than I initially thought that I would. Although Joy's decision is not one that I would make, I was happy to watch her become more confident and well, happy. 
 If you enjoy reading contemporary fiction, then I'd definitely recommend checking out Don't Breathe A Word.