Kathryn's Inbox

If you are looking for a book that will break your heart We Come Apart is most definitely it. Told completely in verse, the reader meets two very different characters. There is Jess, a tough London girl who is growing up in a violent household and who has a group of ratbag friends who trick her into taking the blame when they are caught shoplifting. And then there is Nicu, a gentle boy who is in England while his parents plan for his wedding back in Romania to a girl that he has never met. The pair find themselves working at the same Community Service programme. At the programme they form an alliance. At school, however, things are different. Jess is a part of the toughest crowd of kids. Nicu is the victim of bullying and racial abuse. As time goes on it becomes clear that each is the only person the other can trust.  But what happens when it all goes wrong? This was a heartbreaking read right from the first page. Although their circumstances are both teenagers are misunderstood, ...

Sarah Crossan's debut novel for adults is the story of Ana, a lawyer who's affair to her client, Conner, comes to an abrupt end when he passes away suddenly.  Told completely in verse, Here is the Beehive is a story of loneliness and how Ana begins to grieve for the man that she mistakenly believes is her true love. As well as a meditation on grief, it is one on sexual attraction and selfishness. The author also plays a few clever tricks on the reader. As the novel opens, Ana speaks with Conner's wife, who just happens to be named Rebecca. Her manner, and outlook, it would seem are similar to the title character of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.  Ana leads the reader to believe that Rebecca has phoned her to punish her for being the other woman. Over time, however, it becomes clear that Rebecca has no knowledge of Ana at all. Just as it becomes clear that Rebecca is a perfectly nice and kind human being, while Conner is not.  Judgements aside, this is a story about a mar...

Ever since reading One I have been slightly enchanted by Sarah Crossan's novels, which are all told in verse. When I saw her first novel, The Weight of Water at a bookshop recently, I just knew that I had to buy it. The Weight of Water tells the story of Kasienka who has come from Poland to England with her Mama. Together, they are searching for her Tata (father) who walked out on the family two years before. Living in a studio flat, the pair try to adjust to their new life, a new job, a new school and a heartbreaking discovery about where Tata has been all this time.  There are little moments that can be celebrated, no matter how tough life can get, and this novel focuses on those moments. While the author show's Kasienka's struggles at school, first with the teachers wrong assumptions about her academic ability (placing her in a lower grade than is necessary,) and then with a bully, we also see her blossoming relationship with William and her remarkable athletic achievem...

Told entirely in verse, Irish author Sarah Crossan's latest novel is a tale of a young runaway desperate to find a place to call home and her relationship with an older woman whose mind is slipping that believes her to be her long lost sister Toffee. Allison comes from a very broken home. Her father is abusive, her stepmother, the only person who ever loved her has left, and Allison made what she now knows is the foolish decision not to go with her when she asked. However, when her father's abusive leaves her with facial scarring, Allison knows that she has to run--far and fast. Determined to track her stepmother down, she finds herself in Cornwall, living with Marla, a lonely and confused old woman. Maybe Marla knows that Allison isn't Toffee, maybe she doesn't. She has good days and bad days. Through their relationship, and her friendship with spoiled Lucy, Allison learns much about the way that people treat one another. And maybe, just maybe it will all come ...

Told in short verse, One makes for compelling reading. Grace and Tippi are conjoined twins, fused at the hip. They want what all teenagers want--to be loved and accepted. In some ways, they've become used to being stared at, though they wish that people wouldn't. But most of all, this past year has brought some huge challenges their way. Their father is unemployed and has developed a serious problem with alcohol abuse. Their mother is struggling to keep up with their medical expenses. Meanwhile, their younger sister, a talented ballerina, may be developing anorexia, and she might be missing out on a great number of opportunities because of a lack of family funds. Grace and Tippi know what they need to do to help out with their family's financial situation. But do they really want to sell their story and expose their lives to the world?  This is the first time that I have read a YA novel told totally in verse and it made for a refreshing change. The story is told fr...