THE ART OF NOT BREATHING by Sarah Alexander

Expected Publication April 26th 2016 by HMH Books for Young Readers 
Read: April 2016
How I Got It: Ebook (approximately 288 pages) from NetGalley 

Elsie’s family has not been coping well with the loss of her twin brother, Eddie. Her father has moved out, her mother can’t get out of bed, and her older brother is losing more weight every day.  Elsie thinks she has found solace with the boy she met at the diving club, but even he has secrets. Ultimately, freediving is what will save Elsie from her grief. Eddie drowned five years earlier, and freediving allows Elsie to remember parts of that day previously blocked out from her memory. How deep will Elsie have to dive to get her answers? And will her family, and her relationship, survive what she finds out?

The Art of Not Breathing is a deep (pun intended) novel about grief and what it does to families. Sarah Alexander also captures the intricacies of the emotion that involve guilt, anger, and numbness. The novel keeps the reader intrigued with character’s secrets, and it ends with a twist that will make the reader want to flip back to the first page immediately after finishing.   

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with  an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.