• Age: 9 to 13
• Grade: 4 to 8
• Reading age: 7 to 10

Gracie and her friend Laura are both on the synchronized swim team in their hometown of Cochrane, Alberta.

Gracie is focused and hard-working, eager to be chosen for a solo. Laura is more relaxed about synchro, wanting above all to enjoy the sport. As the swim meet nears, these different approaches strain their friendship and threaten the success of the team itself.

Lively and good humoured, Breathing Not Required is a novel about competition, jealousy, and the importance of friendship.

Michele Martin Bossley was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but grew up in Calgary, Alberta. Her sixth grade teacher encouraged her to write down the stories she enjoyed creating, but it wasn't until high school that Michele really began to consider writing as a career. She graduated from the University of Calgary in 1991, and began working seriously on writing children's books.

Michele is the author of eighteen novels for young people. Ten of her books have been chosen by the Canadian Children's Book Centre for the Our Choice list. Others have been nominated for the Manitoba and Alberta Reader's Choice Award, and she was runner-up for the 1997 Writer's Guild of Alberta R. Ross Annett Children's Literature award.

Many of Michele's books focus on different sports. As a former athlete, she was involved in synchronized swimming in her teens and competitive swimming in university. She has also coached young swimmers, in addition to coaching her twin sons' soccer and hockey teams, and draws on much of that experience for her books.

A frequent speaker at writing conferences and schools, Michele divides her time between writing and parenting her four sons. She lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Michele Martin Bossley's profile page

"Bossley manages to mix nice, non-technical descriptions of synchro moves and some tense competitive moments in a story that is mostly about the give and take of friendship."

Daily News