Author: Sarah Crossan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens
Release Date: 3 Jan 2013
ISBN-13: 978-1408830239
Synopsis
Armed with a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother head for England. Life is lonely for Kasienka. At home her mother's heart is breaking and at school friends are scarce. But when someone special swims into her life, Kasienka learns that there might be more than one way for her to stay afloat. "The Weight of Water" is a startlingly original piece of fiction; most simply a brilliant coming of age story, it also tackles the alienation experienced by many young immigrants. Moving, unsentimental and utterly page-turning, we meet and share the experiences of a remarkable girl who shows us how quiet courage prevails.
My Review
I read 'Breathe' and 'Resist' by Crossan and absolutely loved them so when I heard she had written something else I wanted to read it. So i put in a request at the library.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but was very surprised by what I got. The whole book was written in verse, I was tempted to just put it back without reading it, but decided that it was worth a try.
It only took me an hour to read, and is very easy to get through. It took me a while to get used to the writing style but soon found myself racing through and I think it was very cleverly done.
Kasienka is polish, she has come to Coventry, England with her mum who is heartbroken but determine. Her dad left, only leaving them a note saying he was moving to England, so now her mum is determined to track him down. Leaving her home, family and friends is hard and fitting into a whole new school in a different country is hard too. Kasienka just wants to go home, but then she meets someone who makes her realise that life her could be good.
The story is very simply done and covers topics like immigration, bullying and separation. It's all done very well and gets the messages across without being offensive or too preachy.
I did find it a bit hard to relate to the character and her situation but it was cleverly done, certainly very different.
Good if you want a quick read with a different angle.
My Rating
2 comments:
I love Crossan's work too and found her verse novel to be a very fine thing indeed.
I imagine schools will like this book for the issues it covers.
I agree with you there, think it would be a good book to study in schools.
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