SuitabookBreathing fire
Sarah Tsiang
- Reading
- Read in stages, pausing after the opening events to ask how Ally is feeling and what support she might need. Let her decide whether to discuss personal connections to loss or foster care.
- Themes
- Finding a way forward: After her mother’s death and entry into foster care, Ally meets a fire-breathing busker and begins to imagine a life as a street performer. The overview presents performance as a possible new direction for Ally, but does not establish whether the story ultimately affirms or questions it.
- Life without a stable home: Ally runs away from her foster home and sleeps on the streets while trying to avoid fights with other buskers. These experiences are part of Ally’s situation; the overview does not establish how they are evaluated or what support she receives.
- Worth knowing
- The story includes a parent’s death, foster care, running away, sleeping on the streets and attempts to avoid fights. These are potentially weighty subjects to check in about as you read together.