Breath, Eyes, Memory vs Twelve: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Belletristische Darstellung, New york, Fiction

Breath, Eyes, Memory Edwidge Danticat · 1994 ★★★★☆ 3.9 234 pages · ≈ 4 h 20 m · Moderate

“A flattened and drying daffodil was dangling off the little card that I had made my aunt Atie for Mother's Day.”

At the age of twelve, Sophie Caco is sent from the impoverished village of Croix-des-Rosets to New York to be reunited with her mother she barely remembers. There she discovers secrets that no child should ever know and…

Haiti Women travelers Mother-daughter relationship Literary

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Twelve Nick McDonell · 2002 ★★★☆☆ 3.2 244 pages · ≈ 4 h 31 m · Moderate

"White Mike is clean. He has never smoked a cigarette in his life. Never had a drink, never sucked down a doobie. But White Mike has become a very good drug dealer, even though it started out as a one-shot deal with his…

Bildungsromans

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate Breath, Eyes, Memory highest: Breath, Eyes, Memory 3.9 · Twelve 3.2.
Breath, Eyes, Memory has the widest readership — 31567 ratings behind its score.
Twelve runs the darker storyline; Breath, Eyes, Memory stays the lighter read.

How to choose

Want the crowd-tested pick? Breath, Eyes, Memory 31567 ratings vs 4512 for Twelve Just want the better-reviewed one? Breath, Eyes, Memory 3.9 vs 3.2 from readers In the mood for something dark? Twelve a darker storyline than Breath, Eyes, Memory Want something lighter? Breath, Eyes, Memory an easier tone than Twelve

Scores by source

	Breath, Eyes, Memory	Twelve
Goodreads	3.9 (31567)	3.2 (4512)
Hardcover	3.6 (22)	2.8 (6)
Google Books	3.0 (2)	3.5 (2)
Apple Books	4.5 (98)	4.5 (5)

Reception

	Breath, Eyes, Memory	Twelve
Ratings	31567	4512
Editions	22	10
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	31815	1641
Reading it now	677	94
Written reviews	1888	370
Wikipedia attention	352	5286
Pages	234	244

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Breath, Eyes, Memory or Twelve?

Breath, Eyes, Memory has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Breath, Eyes, Memory 3.9/5, Twelve 3.2/5).

Which is shorter to read: Breath, Eyes, Memory or Twelve?

Breath, Eyes, Memory is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Breath, Eyes, Memory (234 pages, ≈ 4 h 20 m); Twelve (244 pages, ≈ 4 h 31 m).

Which is harder to read: Breath, Eyes, Memory or Twelve?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Breath, Eyes, Memory: Moderate; Twelve: Moderate.