The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander
Summary: Since her twin brother, Eddie, drowned five years ago, sixteen-year-old Elsie Main has tried to remember what really happened that fateful day on the beach. One minute Eddie was there, and the next he was gone. Seventeen-year-old Tay McKenzie is a cute and mysterious boy that Elsie meets in her favorite boathouse hangout. When Tay introduces Elsie to the world of freediving, she vows to find the answers she seeks at the bottom of the sea.
Elsie is the kind of fantastically real character, likable yet flawed, that we rarely see in fiction. She does dumb things, just like, you know, real teenagers do, and she is sometimes selfish to the point of being oblivious to things her family is going through. But she’s also determined and stubborn and strong. Sure that she can figure out the mystery of what really happened on the day her twin brother, Eddie, disappeared into the North Sea, she takes up freediving and gets mixed up with a couple of boys who know a lot more than they let on. Everyone in Elsie’s family is crumbling under the weight of secrets and guilt, and it’s only when Elsie uncovers the truth – learning a whole lot about herself and her own capabilities along the way – that they can begin to heal.
THE ART OF NOT BREATHING is out now.
Kathy MacMillan 