Wider Than the Sky by Katherine Field Rothschild

Jan 18, 2021 sarah rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2021-read, my-reviews, arcs, ya-contemporary

I had high expectations for Wider than the Sky because of the description, some positive reviews and the gorgeous cover (yes, I know, don't judge a book by its cover- but you cannot tell me that this one isn't stunning.) Unfortunately it was quite disappointing and let me down on almost all fronts.

Before we get into that, here is a quick summary of the story. Wider than the Sky follows Sabine and her twin Blythe, who have to move to a new town after their father mysteriously dies. It goes throu ...more

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Dec 14, 2020 Susana rated it liked it

Shelves: 2021-releases, contemporary, detailed-reviews, lgbtq, arcs, e-books, young-adult, 2021-reads, sibling-relationships

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eArc via Eldelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars ⭐

Release date: January 19
This book is out now!

I have such mixed feelings about this book. I think I was expecting a very different story from what I got, but that was not necessarily a negative outcome.

Sabine is a sixteen-year-old girl whose father died from an unexpected, mysterious ilness. Along with her twin sister, Blythe, she has to deal with the aftermath of his death, i ...more

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Dec 31, 2020 Celia McMahon rated it liked it

Thank you, NetGalley for the e-arc.

After the death of their father, twins Sabine and Blythe find themselves transplanted into an old mansion with their mom and their dad's friend, Charlie. Hoping to solve the mystery of why Charlie is living with them and why their mom won't give them the whole truth of their dad's death and why they're living with a stranger in a house, Sabine delves into the history of a dad she thought she knew.

There was a lot to process in this book with some heavy topics: Thank you, NetGalley for the e-arc.

After the death of their father, twins Sabine and Blythe find themselves transplanted into an old mansion with their mom and their dad's friend, Charlie. Hoping to solve the mystery of why Charlie is living with them and why their mom won't give them the whole truth of their dad's death and why they're living with a stranger in a house, Sabine delves into the history of a dad she thought she knew.

There was a lot to process in this book with some heavy topics: Homelessness, AIDS/HIV/ polyamorous relationships, bisexuality, and trauma. Now, putting that many sensitive themes in a book can be tricky, and even though I feel like some of them were glossed over and handled "too quickly" I think this book had good intentions.

BUT

I wasn't connecting well with Sabine. She has a character arc that spells growth for her character, but after I finished it, I tried to justify the things that she did, but I had a very hard time. She was mean and just as much of a liar as her mother and Charlie. She almost ruined a person's life, broke into an apartment, and was downright horrible to a man she hardly knew. Now, I understand that grief can do horrible things to a person, but she seemed entirely selfish about the entire thing and almost devoid of emotion. Even after finding out how her dad died, she did not take the time to educate herself on the cause, and did not try to understand much about who her dad was, and come to terms with it in a realistic way.

Lots of other things bothered me. Sabine's mom and the way she talked about the poly relationship felt weird. She made it sound like she did not like it at all, and was almost forced to deal with it for the sake of being with Sabine's dad. Let's not get started on the way the book portrayed the twins' dad. It felt so much like he did not care for his daughters at all, and couldn't wait until they went away to college to leave his wife of seventeen odd years to be with his boyfriend. It all sounded really really really awful. If I were Sabine, I would be crushed with no amount of convincing me otherwise.

I'm rambling, but I'm on a roll.

The small portion of the book where they discuss AIDS/HIV really made me turn my head. Charlie hints that Sabine's dad contracted the virus before he was with him, and got the virus from sleeping with multiple partners. The entire thing felt cringy and hinted that bisexual people slept around to experiment with their sexuality and that only queer people contracted HIV. I may be reading too much into it, but just a few one-liners contradicting my feelings would have helped. In the end, it felt very harmful.

Overall, it was a fast and well-paced read, but not one for readers looking for realistic poly and queer reps. ...more

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Dec 03, 2020 Althea rated it did not like it

Shelves: poly, 2021-releases, lgbt, achillean, ya, arcs, contemporary, disability-and-illness-rep

1.5/5 Stars

I hate writing negative reviews, especially for queer books and books by debut authors, but this one was such a disappointment. It follows Sabine as her, her twin sister Blythe, and their mother leave everything behind to move into a ramshackle old mansion with a stranger named Charlie, who just happened to show up in the hospital room when their dad died. Sabine, curious to find out what’s been going on, does some snooping and finds more secrets than she bargained for.

I had such high 1.5/5 Stars

I hate writing negative reviews, especially for queer books and books by debut authors, but this one was such a disappointment. It follows Sabine as her, her twin sister Blythe, and their mother leave everything behind to move into a ramshackle old mansion with a stranger named Charlie, who just happened to show up in the hospital room when their dad died. Sabine, curious to find out what’s been going on, does some snooping and finds more secrets than she bargained for.

I had such high hopes for this book – the main character has a bisexual dad, polyamorous parents and it discusses HIV (although, despite whoever shelved it as sapphic on Goodreads – it definitely isn’t), which are three things you rarely see in books, particularly in YA. Plus, the premise sounds interesting – the main character is obsessed with poetry, and their father’s legacy sounds so intriguing – but sadly it completely missed the mark for me.

I’m going to start with one of the biggest disappointments of the book for me – the main character, Sabine. Her ‘poeting’, aka randomly spouting lines of poetry, often at inappropriate moments, but always related to the situation at hand, was fun and quirky at first, but soon lost its merit, and it often felt harsh and stand-offish when she began quoting Dickinson right after she had been very rude to her best friend. Speaking of being rude to her best friend, Sabine was just a horrible person. I like unlikeable protagonists and I can appreciate a horrible villain, but Sabine was something else completely (this is where it’s gonna get spoilery). Sabine and her family move into Charlie’s crumbling mansion, that he’s had part of it redone for them, and she is constantly so horrible to him. Her mum never told her what was going on, despite Charlie encouraging her to tell Sabine and her sister, but instead of confronting her mum about it, she decided to steal Charlie’s possessions, break into his house and just make life miserable for him. The house was being re-modeled into a temporary safe-house for LGBT people, which was something that Sabine soon finds out, was both Charlie and her dad’s dream. This particularly makes sense when Sabine finds out that her dad is bisexual and was in a polyamorous relationship with both Charlie and her mother, and that her dad died from an HIV-related illness. But Sabine hates this idea, and is so extremely selfish about her whole situation, going so far as to do everything in her power to stop the project from continuing and causing all of them to almost go without a home. But it’s not after hearing that how her dad died, or from seeing the work Charlie does to help those living with HIV/AIDS, or after visiting an HIV/AIDS memorial that Sabine decides to change her mind and help Charlie with the house, no, it’s after (and I’m seriously not exaggerating here, if it weren’t an ARC I’d include the whole quote) she finds out that her best friend (that Sabine had previously potentially got into a very dangerous situation) isn’t allowed to use her sewing machine in her gran’s house that she realises people may need somewhere else to stay. Yes, really. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg – she’s horrible to her twin sister, her supposed boyfriend and her best friend multiple times throughout and somehow ends up on good terms with them all by the end.

The synopsis also suggests that Sabine’s twin, Blythe, might play a bigger role in the story than she did – what with her supposed obsession with her father’s alma matter. But we barely see any of her in the book, and what we do see of her has…you guessed it…nothing to do with whatever it was their dad did.

But it gets worse. Although I am neither bisexual nor poly, the representation of both of these identities felt like a combination of just about every stereotype in the book. Throughout the book, after Sabine finds out her dad was in a polyamorous relationship, she blows the whole situation out of proportion. Her mum was supposedly not happy with the whole situation but would rather marry Sabine’s dad while he was also with Charlie or not marry him at all, and it’s quite often hinted at throughout the book by both Sabine and her mother, that her dad was selfish, didn’t love them and that Sabine’s mum was almost forced into having their marriage this way – yet it was all consensual and there was no cheating at all. It was not an accurate representation of the loving, communicative poly relationships I have seen – and I think the bisexual rep and the HIV rep was even more damaging.

Near the end of the book Sabine confronts Charlie and asks if it was because of him that her dad died of his HIV related illness (first of all, big yikes) and Charlie tells her that when her dad was younger he slept around a lot because he lived in the South, which wasn’t very accepting, and so was looking for that acceptance elsewhere, playing into the stereotype that both bisexual people, and people with HIV/AIDS, are promiscuous and sleep around a lot. There is absolutely no work done in this book to combat the harmful stereotypes around these communities, which would have been so important to see in a YA book that is obviously marketed towards younger readers, but instead it continued to perpetrate these ideas. There is also no discussion on the fact that it is not just queer people who contract HIV/AIDS, and so, inadvertently (at least I hope it’s not on purpose), plays into that extremely dangerous stereotype too. I am well aware that this is still an unfinished ARC and that these portrayals may change by the final copy, but judging by how they impact the plot, I would guess there would only be minor changes.

Although this book was not the greatest, to say the least, I did really enjoy myself when I started reading this book, and strangely enough I think it got me out of my reading slump (here’s hoping). I can see how this book would appeal to younger readers and the author’s writing style is really beautiful, so I am interested to read her future work. But, overall, this is not a book that I would recommend, particularly if you’re looking for good bisexual/polyamorous/HIV rep (but if you are looking for that give me a shout!).

Thanks to Edelweiss and Soho Press for an eARC copy in return for an honest review ...more

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Jan 22, 2021 Sheena rated it did not like it

Shelves: netgalley, contemporary, young-adult, edelweiss

The gorgeous cover is what tricked me into requesting and reading this book. Going into this I expected a story of grief, hope, and acceptance. I thought I would get poignancy and a new favorite book. I hate to write such a poor review because this book touches on the LQBTQ community and polyamorous representation and I feel like that is rarely touched in YA novels.

Our main character Sabine is the worst. Her father dies and she and her family moves from Southern California to the Bay Area. At h ...more

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Jan 23, 2021 Sofii♡ (A Book. A Thought.) rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2021-releases, read-in-2021, arc, young-adult, contemporary

I want to thank NetGalley & Soho Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I appreciate so much many of the discussions that this book has and tries to have, as well as the amount of diversity since it shows polyamorous relationships and bisexual characters, on the other hand, the execution doesn't seem to be successful, it felt quite messy and the actions of the characters are simply rude and inappropriate. I cannot speak for own-voices readers so I will n ...more

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Dec 23, 2020 Carmen Reyna marked it as to-read

Saw this and now I gotta read it because of that beautiful cover. I think it’s my favorite cover, like ever. Wow. Ok that’s all.

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Aug 16, 2020 Sylvs (NOVELty Reads) rated it really liked it

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

What a book!

This book really packed a punch and twisted my soul. It was beautiful, poignant and elegant in its prose, the characters all were complex and well written and the writing was poetic and read well on the page. I genuinely did enjoy myself when I was reading this contemporary novel and I believe that it has something special that would make people want to pick it up and read it.

Wider than the Sky foll ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

What a book!

This book really packed a punch and twisted my soul. It was beautiful, poignant and elegant in its prose, the characters all were complex and well written and the writing was poetic and read well on the page. I genuinely did enjoy myself when I was reading this contemporary novel and I believe that it has something special that would make people want to pick it up and read it.

Wider than the Sky follows twin sisters Blythe and Sabine who, after the death of their father, move into a stranger's home. It seems that their mother knows this man and he had a close connection to their father as well. However, as the two sleuth more into Charlie's life, they uncover secrets that threaten to shatter their world as they know it.

This book really centred on Sabine's journey and her acceptance of her father, Charlie and the people around her. It was a story about self-growth and learning to embrace the changes around you. Sabine was very complex and she grew from anger to eventual acceptance of her circumstances. Her relationships with others, especially Emma, developed throughout the duration of the novel. I also enjoyed the fact that at the start of the book, the writing demonstrated whether a person was "good" or "bad" according to Sabine. It was only through the development of the storyline in which these descriptions have changed as Sabine's own perceptions of others have changed as well. It was a subtle technique that really made this book successful.

But it wasn't just that. Wider than the Sky was also about our perceived conceptions of home and family. This book explored that well through the use of poetry and song lyrics in particularly from The Cure. The idea of "poeting" was genius as well and the connection between lyrics and poetry contemplated each other perfectly in the final scenes.

The only reason why I am rating this the way I am is simply to do with the almost insta-lovey connection between two of the characters but other than that, it was a great story with a lot of heart. I definitely recommend.

ACTUAL RATING: 4 STARS ...more

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Sep 22, 2020 PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps rated it liked it

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of WIDER THAN THE SKY by Katherine Field Rothschild in exchange for my honest review.***

3 STARS

After Sabine’s father dies unexpectedly of an “infection” she, her identical twin Blythe and their mother move to a run down mansion owned by their dad and his “friend” Charlie. Together the twins grieve separately and apart as they adjust to their new surroundings and their new found knowledge about who their dad really was.

I have mixed feel ...more

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Feb 16, 2021 Aly rated it it was ok

Shelves: lgbtqa, 2021, february-2021, netgalley, contemporary, romance, ya, audiobook

The premise of this book is pretty unique, especially in a YA story so I was excited to jump in. The book follows Sabine, who's father has passed away suddenly and as a result she, her twin, and her mom have to move in with a mysterious stranger named Charlie. The twist is that Charlie was her father's lover, he was bisexual and in a polyamorous relationship with his wife and Charlie. I'm not bisexual or polyamorous so I can't speak to the accuracy, but it didn't paint the adults in a good light ...more

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Jan 15, 2021 Paige Hettinger rated it it was ok

read this review on my blog now!!!

I received an advanced copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much to Soho Teen for providing this galley!

I make it a point to always remember my age when I review a YA novel. At 22-years-old, I am decidedly not the target audience for Young Adult novels, and age is something that I believe should be at the forefront of reviewers’ and bloggers’ minds when they read, assess, and critically engage with Young Adult novels. As a re read this review on my blog now!!!

I received an advanced copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much to Soho Teen for providing this galley!

I make it a point to always remember my age when I review a YA novel. At 22-years-old, I am decidedly not the target audience for Young Adult novels, and age is something that I believe should be at the forefront of reviewers’ and bloggers’ minds when they read, assess, and critically engage with Young Adult novels. As a result, I’m pretty forgiving. When I find a character overdramatic, selfish, ignorant, etc., I try to remember their age and how I acted at 15/16/17. But sometimes, the problem extends far beyond a reality factor and seeps over into issues of character development. And one of my major issues with Wider than the Sky, I believe, lies with development.

Over the course of Wider than the Sky, I saw little to no change in Sabine’s character. Her “poeting” (in which she randomly bursts into verbal recitations of poetry when overwhelmed, and which she more than once refers to as a type of disease or abnormality rather than, say, a tic) became very old very quickly, and she was clearly meant to be a “quirky” girl with her fascination for nice boots and the staunch belief that she was not like the other girls she went to school with, and neither were her friends. And for about 240/280 pages, she didn’t change her tune at all. She made decisions that were selfish and harmful, and even when other characters pointed out that she was being selfish and harmful, I never got the sense that she truly understood that she had been doing something wrong. And on top of that, way too much girl-on-girl hate for me to feel comfortable with seeing, even in a sixteen-year-old character. Her actions had serious repercussions, and rather than face them, every character forgave her time and again and almost immediately, completely unrealistically.

And while this book appeared to be about Sabine’s healing process on the surface, her personal development, grief, hurt, forgiveness, and healing took up very little textual space. This book was far more concerned about Sabine’s developing romantic relationship, and there were times it was easy to completely forget that the basis of this novel had been her father’s death in the first place. She was so caught up in schemes, destruction, and her own self that you forgot you weren’t just supposed to be reading a contemporary romance novel with a splash of sisterly love—and then a brief mention of her father, his life, and his death would re-appear. Which brings me to my major, massive criticism: the HIV/AIDS and polyamory representation.

I’ve read numerous books, YA and non-YA, that deal with the AIDS crisis or HIV/AIDS; I’ve consumed a lot of media about it. Even those works that simply touched on it handled it better than Wider than the Sky, in my opinion. Not only did it take a surprisingly long time to come into play, considering the synopsis mentions it, but I was so disappointed by its use here. Sabine and Blythe’s father’s death from an HIV-related infection became the backdrop for an average, standard YA contemporary romance. HIV/AIDS became just a thing present in this book, and I don’t believe this was appropriate within this specific text, seeing as Sabine and Blythe had no idea about their father’s HIV status, his bisexuality, or his polyamorous relationship prior to his death. It should have been comprehensively dealt with, and it just simply was not. And up until the end, every time that it was touched on, it was met with an outright refusal from Sabine not just to understand her father, but to understand the general issues that LGBTQ+ communities and especially HIV+ individuals face. It got under my skin and bordered on cruel.

I don’t think I’ve ever read about polyamorous relationships. They’re certainly not often the subject matter of YA novels. But the way polyamory was portrayed here, even to my limited knowledge, stood out as harmful. At one point, Sabine calls her father a “lothario,” a word I had to look up and then was promptly shocked to see had any real estate here. She saw her father as promiscuous, as not a real or true father because of his relationship; her mother played the part of victim, not willing participant in this marriage. When Sabine did begin to turn a corner, then, I had a hard time believing she had really come to her senses about her father’s life. I didn’t want to extend understanding to her because I didn’t see that she was truly reaching an understanding. She just suddenly decided to accept monumental change in her life, and suddenly decided to forgive her father, despite how consistently and swiftly she refused to do so previously. It felt disingenuous, like she just changed for the sake of sudden and final growth. It was absurdly frustrating and did a complete disservice to the real issues on display.

Despite this being a smooth read and fairly well-written in terms of style and voice, the issues of representation here were too egregious for me to move past. It impacted my entire reading experience, lingered at the back of my every thought. I don’t think this book sent a responsible message about HIV/AIDS and polyamory, not one that reflected real understanding, and it would be irresponsible of me not to denounce it. While I don’t relish going in on a book like this, especially a debut, I cannot in good conscience choose to overlook the extent of these issues to praise a sweet romance, the bits I enjoyed, or the love of poetry that this story was infused with.
...more

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Dec 10, 2020 Samantha (WLABB) rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbtqia, contemporary, ya

Following her father's unexpected death, Sabine's life was uprooted. Relocated from her childhood home to a crumbling mansion was jarring enough, but learning about her father's "other life" shook her foundation to its core. Sabine made some questionable decisions while she struggled with these changes and her grief, but would she be able to undo some of the damage she had done?

I have a penchant for grief books, and therefore, was eager to read Wider Than the Sky. I really don't have an opinion Following her father's unexpected death, Sabine's life was uprooted. Relocated from her childhood home to a crumbling mansion was jarring enough, but learning about her father's "other life" shook her foundation to its core. Sabine made some questionable decisions while she struggled with these changes and her grief, but would she be able to undo some of the damage she had done?

I have a penchant for grief books, and therefore, was eager to read Wider Than the Sky. I really don't have an opinion on the father's secret. I think the disclosure of his secret was added to the synopsis after I first found this book, and I will admit it is something I personally would find a bit shocking, but this story, for me, was about Sabine's grief.

Not only had Sabine lost her beloved father, but she learned he was leading a life, separate from her, her sister, and her mother. This distorted what she knew about him, and I found her confused emotions understandable. I don't believe it was a reaction to what she learned, but rather that these secrets existed in the first place, and I sympathized with her need to come to terms with it all.

I cannot say that I wasn't frustrated with Sabine's decisions though. They were reckless and sort of destructive, but I was happy she learned from her mistakes and made an effort to make amends. I appreciated that she was young, had experienced a significant loss, and really didn't have much support. Therefore, it was not difficult for me to forgive her impulsive behavior.

I also have to mention, that I thought there was some really beautiful prose in this book. It wasn't out of the blue either, as Sabine was a lover of poetry, known to randomly spout it in bursts she called "poeting". It was fitting that her narrative had that sort of quality to it. All the Dickinson, The Cure, and the poetry mashup were things I greatly enjoyed as well.

Overall, I thought this was a beautiful exploration of grief. There were tears, and I was touched.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS ...more

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May 18, 2020 Sally Engelfried rated it it was amazing

I loved this story of 16yo Sabine, who loses her father twice: first when he dies unexpectedly, and again through what she perceives as his betrayal of her family. Sabine’s journey toward reconciliation and acceptance of both tragedies drives the story forward…plus: romance! Sabine’s “undiagnosed literary medical condition,” also called “poeting” by her twin sister, where she spouts Emily Dickinson lines in times of stress, is brilliant and funny and sad. Couldn’t put it down.

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Aug 27, 2020 Julie Link rated it it was amazing

Although the target audience are teens, every parent should read this book to understand the impact our actions, and inactions, have on our children. The main character, Sabine's journey to forgiveness was believable and true to life. Great character development, touching and uplifting. ...more

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Jan 14, 2021 Lu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: earc, love-story, in-english, lgbt, drammatic

Thank you so much, Soho Press and Soho Teen, for granting me this wish!

Sabine and her twin Blythe don't have much in common with one other. Blythe loves hoodies and jeans, she's more practical, while Sabine prefers poetry and design and when their father suddenly dies from an unexpected illness, each copes in her own way. Blythe by obsessing over getting into MIT, their father alma mater and Sabine by "poeting", a quirk of bursting into poetry at inappropriate moments.
Their world is ripped open Thank you so much, Soho Press and Soho Teen, for granting me this wish!

Sabine and her twin Blythe don't have much in common with one other. Blythe loves hoodies and jeans, she's more practical, while Sabine prefers poetry and design and when their father suddenly dies from an unexpected illness, each copes in her own way. Blythe by obsessing over getting into MIT, their father alma mater and Sabine by "poeting", a quirk of bursting into poetry at inappropriate moments.
Their world is ripped open again when their mother moves them all to a ramsackle mansion with a stranged named Charlie. Soon the sisters discover the truth about Charlie, who was their father's lover and that their father died of an HIV-related infection. Everything changes.
While Blythe seems to react reasonably well with these changes, moving into another school, into another house renovating it to fulfill their father's dream of a healing place for the LGBTQIA+ community, Sabine struggles and tries to know more about the father she thought she knew, uncovering truths and secrets. And maybe finding the way to accept another person in her family and forgive.

Wider than the sky is a moving and intense debut novel by Katherine Rothschild. The story is skillfully written, told by Sabine's POV and the reader gets into her feelings and struggles right away. It's impossible not to be moved by her sudden tragedy, Sabine's pain and changes. Uprooted, angry, upset, Sabine struggles with a new house, new school, an emotionally detatched mother, a stranger, new friends and maybe love, too.
Sabine and Blythe are very different from one other and, after their father's death not only they react differently, but seems to grow apart, following different plans and ideas about their house and home.

The way the author dealt with delicate themes like a loss of a parent, grief and changes is brilliant. Sabine's wonderful and moving journey into understanding her father, uncovering her family's secret and finding the truth and forgiveness is the novel's cornerstone and it's really inspiring. Sabine's passion for Emily Dickinson is captivating and I loved how each chapter is named after a bit of a poem.
I enjoyed reading this book and I loved the characterization and the way the author talked about moving on, love, friendship and future.. ...more

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Jan 14, 2021 Elizabeth Mellen rated it liked it

Thank you to Netgalley and Soho Press for the advanced reader's copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Polyamory, HIV and discussions about safe sex with a positive partner, wrapped up in an emotional storyline.

This had a lot of things I really liked, but just didn’t catch me how I’d hoped.

Sabine has dealt with the unexpected loss of her father, a move to a new town, and things seem to be going downhill from there. She’s made a cool friend and found a new crush, only to realize he’s her n ...more

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Oct 22, 2020 Starr ❇✌❇ rated it it was ok

Shelves: reviewed, got-an-arc

I received a DRC from Edelweiss
2

No one has been able to tell Sabine why her dad died, or why Charlie, a man who claims to have known him but she's never met, suddenly appeared the day he died- or why they had to move in with Charlie, in a house that mysteriously has both his and her mom's names on the lease. All Sabine wants to do is go back home and remember her dad as he was. But what if she didn't know her dad?

I spent the majority of this book really angry, honestly. I'm not a fan of the char I received a DRC from Edelweiss
2

No one has been able to tell Sabine why her dad died, or why Charlie, a man who claims to have known him but she's never met, suddenly appeared the day he died- or why they had to move in with Charlie, in a house that mysteriously has both his and her mom's names on the lease. All Sabine wants to do is go back home and remember her dad as he was. But what if she didn't know her dad?

I spent the majority of this book really angry, honestly. I'm not a fan of the characters, the romance, the theme, or the representation shown here, and besides a pretty cover the promise of two twins uncovering a family secret, there was nothing for me here.

It does still get points from me for the following- having a Hawaiian love interest, being the only YA I've read so (unfortunately) that's dealt with (view spoiler), though that's more a remark on the industry than on it being any good, and the fact that some of my complaints are really things that teens, aka, the target audience wouldn't dislike. This feels like a much younger YA, so I can't judge it fairly in that way, as a reader. I also did like the tension of the mystery of who Charlie was and how it was dealt with in the matter of sneaking around, I just really didn't like how it panned out.

However, I really didn't enjoy this book personally. And, most of the reason why falls under "spoiler" territory. So, if you want to read the book, I don't want to ruin it for you, if you happen to be someone who would like it.
What I can say without ruining any plot twists or mysteries is that I hated Sabine. She is over written and her "poeting" is incredibly distracting, unrealistic, and pretentious. I really hated her love interest for the same reason. He seemed alright at first, but he's given too many quip-ish lines and long lines of quotations and high brow ideas about grief. They're just not characters I feel connected to or feel real in any way.

The love triangle is also steeped entirely in miscommunication and a downright refusal to be honest with each other, and it's so exhausting. It does not make me care at all about the characters or their feelings. Love triangles have to be done really well for me to feel invested in them at all, and this one was not, at all. Instead it was someone feeling conflicted and going "oh no am I a bad person/friend?" while then refusing to do anything about that.

Now into spoiler territory.
(view spoiler)[The entire plot of this book is about a girl dealing with finding out her recently deceased father was bisexual and polyamorous- something that she might be taken aback by. But her response is totally ridiculous. She immediately decides 1) her father was a liar and now she hates him 2) she's going to destroy her father's final dream for... no good reason 3) she's going to go behind her entire family's back to side with someone she knows doesn't have her, her family, or the town's best interest in heart and sabotage their living situation. She is a bad person and her response to finding out her dad was queer and had another life is way over the top, especially since it wasn't cheating (her mom knew and was fine with it), he was planning on telling her, and she spent the whole beginning of the book wanting her dad back so her turn on him feels entirely prejudice based.

Also, I hate the fact that her dad died of HIV complications. Just because someone is queer doesn't mean they should automatically have an HIV/AIDS death, having HIV does not mean you're queer so they shouldn't have had to hide it from her, there are other ways to get HIV, and if AIDS was going to be a big part of the story then they should have actually pushed that angle! Making that his cause of death and then having some photos of people that are HIV positive means... nothing. Except that he is a stereotype of a queer person.

And, finally- not only did Sabine sabotage her father's dream (not to mention try to get her family kicked out and bankrupt) but her feelings about the transitional home for the queer community only actually changes at the end. Is it because of her father? Is it because of the experience of a queer individual? Is it even because of all those HIV photos? Nope, it's because her white cishet friend isn't allowed to sew in her grandmother's house. That is what makes her think transitional houses are good- never mind all the info she gains about and from actual queer people! It's so frustrating! (hide spoiler)]

I didn't like this book, and my experience was finely tinted with rage about representation and how much I disliked Sabine. ...more

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Dec 17, 2020 Giulia Colma rated it it was ok

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I had high expectations for this one since the premise sounded so interesting, but it fell flat to me and I had a hard time finishing it.

The book follows Sabine and her twin sister Blythe, who after their father dies, move to a different house with their mother and a stranger named Charlie.

You're probably expecting to read about both of them, right? Wrong. Sabine is the only narrating voice; Blythe rarely gets mentioned, she' ...more

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Sep 15, 2020 Lindsey McLorg rated it it was amazing

Katherine Rothschild’s debut novel is written in the voice of an original and exciting new author. Her quirky characters are richly and drawn. The plot is plum full of unexpected twists. The insular small town setting is a character unto itself. A word of caution: do yourself a favor and restrain yourself from the temptation to read the back cover before you’re deep into the book. I refrained and am so glad I did. While the enticing details may draw the reader in, IMHO, too many spoilers! Having ...more

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Oct 28, 2020 Sacha rated it liked it

Thanks to NetGalley and Soho Teen for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. I'll post that review upon publication.

Updated 1/20/21

3.25 stars

There is a lot happening in this quick YA read.

At the start of the novel, twins Sabine and Blythe experience a tragedy that upends their lives, resulting in a big move, a whole lot of questions, and ultimately some surprising answers. Despite twinning, Sabine takes center stage in this one. Her friendships, a possible romance, and he ...more

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Dec 29, 2020 Florgcueto rated it liked it

First of all thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

I have decided to give this book 2.5/3 stars.

Now as the synopsis states this book follows Sabine’s story. Sabine and her identical twin, Blythe, are going through a hard situation as her lives change drastically after their father’s death. They have to move, new house, now school, they now live with a man named Charlie who they simply don’t know.

So, at the beginning I was pretty much liking the boo First of all thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

I have decided to give this book 2.5/3 stars.

Now as the synopsis states this book follows Sabine’s story. Sabine and her identical twin, Blythe, are going through a hard situation as her lives change drastically after their father’s death. They have to move, new house, now school, they now live with a man named Charlie who they simply don’t know.

So, at the beginning I was pretty much liking the book. In fact the only problem I had was that I could sense too much drama related to the teenage-highschool part of the plot, although I still found other issues.
Starting with the good things I truly think, that the whole basis of the idea are pretty original and to be honest I think this book had SO MUCH POTENTIAL, just not used correctly. I loved how Sabine’s interest in poetry line up with the prose, and how this was her way of expression too, still at the end this got lost and she didn’t do poetry at all…
I loved the topics that are treated in the story, because I know the author really tried to give us a wonderful story based in diversity, family, mourning, coping with change, etc. How the different characters cope with their lost, specially the twins and how they are supported (or not) by their family is a pretty amazing topic. I did empathize with their feelings and truly the moment I picked the book I couldn’t put it down even if I wanted.

To my perspective the problems begin to appear when Sabine and Blythe find out the truth about their father, his death, the house and confront Charlie and their mother. I didn’t like Sabine’s reaction, however this didn’t particularly bother me, because I can see how all humans don’t all react the same way to certain situations. What did bother me is how selfish Sabine is regarding all this, how she doesn’t stop to think a single second before doing things that are going to have a huge impact in many people. I initially attributed this to how she is struggling with her mental health and she doesn’t really have anyone being truly supportive of her or just even trying to help her. Nonetheless we do have to remark that our own problems don’t justify our terrible actions and how they may hurt others. Sabine makes very poor decisions, and she doesn’t really suffer the consequences of her actions, at least not in the severity she should.
The main problem to me in this aspect is that Sabine didn’t have a good support mechanism, characters such as her mother, Charlie or even Blythe didn’t have the development to help makes this happen or to portray correctly that this wasn’t happening. This point in particular shows how mental health topics weren’t developed as much, never is maybe therapy mentioned (and knowing all the change and stuff they are going through it probably should have).

On the other side even if this book is shelved as LGBTQIA+ this topic isn’t as important as it should’ve been. I do think that the way bisexuality is portrayed isn’t really accurate and may even reinforced hurtful stereotypes. The same happens regarding polyamorous relationships, since Sabine’s mother mentions more than once that she apparently didn’t want to be in one at all. Again this ends up not being accurate enough and reproducing harmful stereotypes about this communities, instead of raising awareness to wards normalizing them.

Also I personally think that the whole drama building up related to Kai, Emma and also Nate is unnecessary. I think the relationships, specially Sabine and Kai’s, progress to fast. Most of this characters development lacked a little bit for my liking really, specially Nate’s, but Kai didn’t have any really memorable traits either. I do appreciate that Emma didn’t end up simply being the characters opponent in getting the love interest.
Anyhow I do think this drama may be attractive to most readers.

So all in all, I do think this book had so much potential, it’s basis is wonderful, just wasn’t well executed. ...more

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Jan 18, 2021 ✨Emily | Procrastinating • Bibliophile added it

Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 35%

When tragedy strikes in the form of their father's sudden passing, twin sisters, Sabine and Blythe are thrusts into a world turned upside down. When they move into an old mansion owned by a mysterious stranger, Charlie, they discover secrets of their late father, threatening to overturn their already shaky lives. Wider Than the Sky is a story of family, grief and finding your footing again.

First off, it's not the book; it's me. ...more

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Jan 20, 2021 Neonila rated it really liked it

This book managed to make me cry the whole way through, my little heart was shattered.

It dealt with loss, grief, family, relationships and so much more. The characters weren't perfect, but they found their way in the end. And what a beautiful message it had: family is often so imperfect and so nontraditional, but you can make it what you want it to be.

I have to admit, though, I was quite frustrated with some decisions at times. I get that they're portrayed as imperfect humans, and I loved that, ...more

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Dec 12, 2020 artemis rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, ya-books, 2-star, netgalley, bi-characters, contemporary, lgbt-characters, m-lgbt-characters

Thank you to Soho Teen/Soho Press and NetGalley for providing me with an excerpt in exchange for an honest review.

This is going to be a spoiler-y review a little bit so warning for that for those who have not read this book. Also, I'm not a teenager nor did I go through a teenager phase cause I spent it being depressed, suicidal and having to grow up faster than expect so I feel like my criticisms of the character's behaviour may be misguided because I personally didn't understand them.

The book Thank you to Soho Teen/Soho Press and NetGalley for providing me with an excerpt in exchange for an honest review.

This is going to be a spoiler-y review a little bit so warning for that for those who have not read this book. Also, I'm not a teenager nor did I go through a teenager phase cause I spent it being depressed, suicidal and having to grow up faster than expect so I feel like my criticisms of the character's behaviour may be misguided because I personally didn't understand them.

The book itself has a beautiful cover and the premise sounds promising and incredibly interesting. Sabine and Blythe have their father pass away, they have to move soon after their father's death and meets a man that they assume is their mother's new lover when in reality, it was their father's boyfriend. And they learn that their father was in a polyamorous relationship. And that he had HIV and died from complications from it. After this you see more about the sisters or to be more factual - Sabine. I personally thought the book was going to be more amount the twins learning this about their father and then learning more about Charlie, the father's boyfriend and learning more about their father and (view spoiler) more.
Instead we learned about Sabine, a irresponsible, selfish and rude person. Without spoiling the entire book, she attempts to ruin her family (view spoiler), breaks a few crimes or two for her own selfish gain (and not in good way!) (view spoiler) and continuously is rude as all hell to everyone around her. Blythe tries to tell her sister that perhaps she should talk to Charlie or talk to her mum about some things cause Blythe throughout the entire book wasn't mad, she just wanted a few answers and it sounds like it happened all off-screen. Sabine on the other hand, all of her problems could've been solved if she confronted her mother for answers. The thing is, I love characters who are complicated, who seem like assholes but there's a reason for that. I love characters that do things where it's questionable but they take responsibility for their actions and apologize appropriately. Sabine on the other hand, she sabotages her relationship (which personally I couldn't care less about but also me vs heterosexual relationships? Don't go well together) and a friendship at the same time and her apology seemed...mediocre if that makes sense? Everything she had done in the book was for selfish gains and although I understand that with the instant and huge change she had gone through, it wasn't an excuse to treat everyone around her in an awful manner.

There's also the fact that it's written that the mother wasn't 100% okay with the polyamorous factor of the relationship which I would say is...the most important part of having a poly relationship. The writing itself I don't think I had too many issues with aside from the bisexual rep seemed a bit iffy but I'm not bisexual so I can't speak for them. There is the fact that the father has the role of being promiscuous so that's how he got to have HIV (view spoiler) and they played him being bisexual into the promiscuous idea as well. That part itself made me feel iffy as well.

The biggest issue I had with this book was honestly the main character. I didn't have a prominent issue with the writing or with anything else aside from what I've mentioned. The main character was too selfish and too unlikable for me which ultimately ruined the book for me. Hopefully someone else can enjoy this book more as it sadly didn't meet my needs. ...more

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Nov 24, 2020 Rebecca Collins rated it it was amazing

excellent read for adults and teens. I sat down to read and wound up finishing in a day. it was beautifully written and offers hope for people who are going through rough times.

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Sep 11, 2020 Lydia rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Teen, Tween, and Adult readers

This is a beautifully written contemporary story about loss, discovery, love, and forgiveness. I've recommended this book to my teen and tween as it chronicles Sabine's journey after the death of her father with a subtle sense of humor and even a little romance. (And since there's nothing explicit, my 12 yr old can read it without me flinching.) ...more

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Dec 30, 2020 Em Jay rated it it was ok

Shelves: netgalley

How well can we ever really know a person? And what happens when secrets only surface after that person is gone?

I haven't been this conflicted over a book in a long time. WIDER THAN THE SKY is about Sabine, who discovers her late father was bisexual, polyamorous, and died of HIV .... also, that he had plans to turn their home into a halfway house for the LGBTQIA community. Sabine is left feeling betrayed and angry at her father's "double life," feelings made even more complicated by school drama How well can we ever really know a person? And what happens when secrets only surface after that person is gone?

I haven't been this conflicted over a book in a long time. WIDER THAN THE SKY is about Sabine, who discovers her late father was bisexual, polyamorous, and died of HIV .... also, that he had plans to turn their home into a halfway house for the LGBTQIA community. Sabine is left feeling betrayed and angry at her father's "double life," feelings made even more complicated by school drama involving a gorgeous boy named Kai.

SO. On the positive side, Katherine Rothschild's writing is absolutely stunning. This book is a lyrical masterpiece, full of attention to detail that made the whole world jump off the page. Sabine's "poeting" (random bursts of Emily Dickinson whenever she felt overwhelmed) was a particularly quirky detail, and I loved the overall arc of acceptance.

However (HOWEVER) I felt super uncomfortable about the queer rep. There are so many harmful stereotypes about bisexuality being tied to deceptiveness/indecisiveness; HIV being tied to promiscuity; polyamory being destructive to relationships etc and NONE OF THESE stereotypes were challenged. They were UPHELD. Sabine views her father's identity as proof that he was living a lie, and instead of attempting to understand, she throws herself behind trying to undo his legacy. Now, I'm usually all for unlikeable characters! But how, how, how am I supposed to root for a girl who tries to sabotage a halfway house because she ... wants a room to return to during college?? I am????? Without delving into spoiler territory, Sabine ALMOST MAKES HER FAMILY HOMELESS BECAUSE SHE CAN'T STAND THE IDEA OF SHARING HER HOUSE WITH QUEER PEOPLE IN NEED. And to compound this, she also ALMOST RUINS A GIRL'S LIFE BECAUSE SHE DELETED A PHONE PIC OF SABINE AND KAI. For me, the "almost" was not enough to make me forgive Sabine. She faces no real consequences for her actions (in fact, several times she is framed as being partially correct and people apologize TO HER, even though she is frequently motivated by pure pettiness). As a result, reading the book often felt exhausting; like, even if things turn out okay in the end, do I really want to spend 90% of the time actively hoping the protagonist will fail? Do I really want to listen to Sabine complain about how complicated her romantic life is, then immediately go home and refuse to understand the complexities of her father's own romantic life?

I just ... urgh. I was so excited to see a YA with bi/poly rep, but it felt like a huge mess. I respect that the author's intentions came from a good place, and again, she is an amazingly talented writer. However, there is a danger in the perpetuation of stereotypes. Especially since poly rep is almost nonexistent, it felt harmful to center a book around how it can ruin a family (Sabine's dad loved both her mom and a man named Charlie, but because neither Mom nor Charlie were poly, he lived a double life with each of them separately. And while it was consensual, WIDER THAN THE SKY is dedicated to exploring the [negative] fallout).

tl;dr: While others will certainly feel differently, and I did enjoy reading this book, it is not one I can easily recommend. 2/5. ...more

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Feb 03, 2021 Calista rated it liked it

Note: I received a digital preview copy of this book from NetGalley in order to provide an honest review.

Oof, okay, I have some thoughts on this one. I was honestly really excited for some good commentary and character work out of this YA novel, especially since it was compared to “Tell the Wolves I’m Home,” which had similar themes and I read last year and loved. Unfortunately, I felt like this book fell short in a variety of ways.
A few of the smaller things included some plot points that just Note: I received a digital preview copy of this book from NetGalley in order to provide an honest review.

Oof, okay, I have some thoughts on this one. I was honestly really excited for some good commentary and character work out of this YA novel, especially since it was compared to “Tell the Wolves I’m Home,” which had similar themes and I read last year and loved. Unfortunately, I felt like this book fell short in a variety of ways.
A few of the smaller things included some plot points that just... didn’t make a lot of sense, even right at the beginning. There was also just generally somewhat flatter characters (maybe with the exception of Blythe, Emma, and Sabine).
The whole thing about Sabine’s “poeting” could’ve been really interesting but it just came off as a bit weird and contrived and annoying half the time (even quoting Dickinson has a time and a place).
But by far the biggest problem was an unlikeable protagonist. Sabine is just /not/ pleasant. She’s often pretentious, judgemental, and jumps to conclusions often. She has level headed people in her life who try to be patient and talk sense into her throughout the book, but she ignores them every time unless they agree with her exact outlook and then proceeds to sabotage all her relationships to try and get her way. Now, this is not to say that the grief of losing a parent can’t cause some ugly behavioral issues, it definitely can. But being inside Sabine’s perspective AND watching her deliberately choose to sabotage her life was just wholly infuriating for a good 70% of the book. While she does eventually “learn her lesson” and avoid all consequences of her actions because of literally one (extremely) convenient plot point. So instead of lessons in forgiveness and acceptance, it felt more like everyone eventually choosing to ignore Sabine’s mistakes as soon as the external pressure is removed and just bend to what she’s now decided she wants in the first place. Sabine broke a LOT of trust and it should take longer to heal than just a couple weeks. Get this girl some therapy and help her work through her problems and don’t just- ignore that they ever happened???
I mean if the book had focused on Blythe instead I could see this book being much better, but being in Sabine’s perspective was just /not it/. I can survive an unlikeable protagonist if the message is strong, but this message of forgiveness and acceptance got muddled and buried along the way. Beyond that, there was not nearly as much focus on the LGBTQ+ themes in this book as I’d thought, and what there was was largely to do with Sabine’s reactionary anger and sabotage towards her mom, Charlie, and her late father.
There were a lot of good intentions with this story and there were some genuinely good moments and potential, but it just got marred for me and was not executed nearly as well as I’d hoped. Writing-wise, the style and pacing were alright. I usually try to be a little gentler on debuts... but the author is a writing coach and an English professor- so I feel a little more justified in a slightly harsher critique. It just wasn’t great, and that makes me disappointed, but that’s how I feel about it. ...more

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Jan 06, 2021 Kasey Connors-Beron rated it really liked it

I received an ARC of Wider Than The Sky by Katherine Rothschild thanks to the publisher through NetGalley for free for an honest review.

The summary gives a lot away so read it at your own risk. I will be including a short summary that I wrote to still give you an idea of what the book is about without the spoilers.

Sabine and Blythe, twin sisters, are devastated by the sudden death of their father which is compounded with an equally sudden move. On top of that, a strange man keeps showing up. Con I received an ARC of Wider Than The Sky by Katherine Rothschild thanks to the publisher through NetGalley for free for an honest review.

The summary gives a lot away so read it at your own risk. I will be including a short summary that I wrote to still give you an idea of what the book is about without the spoilers.

Sabine and Blythe, twin sisters, are devastated by the sudden death of their father which is compounded with an equally sudden move. On top of that, a strange man keeps showing up. Convinced that their mother was cheating on their father, the twins begin looking into him and why they are now living with him. Despite being immensely close, the differences between the twin begin to tear them apart and pushing them toward new people: friends and those who may end up being more than friends.

Wider Than The Sky is very good. I think I would have given it a better rating if I didn’t read the summary. I want those twists to be a surprise! They aren’t even twists really. More like I want to learn with the character rather than know what they are about to discover. That is definitely a preference of mine, which is why I still provided the summary below if you want those story details.

Now to the actual review part.

This story broke me a bit. I identify with the characters’ need for perfection while struggling to hold themselves together during an emotionally trying time. There are so many feels in this story that I can’t even describe it. Parent loss is hard. Moving to a new house and school that same week is unthinkable. Sabine’s method of coping is not the healthiest but I think it is an extremely accurate depiction.

Blythe I honestly didn’t care much for but that was not due to anything specific at least not that I can say without spoilers. Every other character I enjoyed. They all did have excellent development throughout the story as well.

The mysteries were excellent and the path to discover the answers was really interesting.

I can’t imagine living in a town like this. It reminds me so much of the town in Hot Fuzz where everything is perfect so obviously there is something wrong with it.

There is so much I want to talk about, like the friends/’friends’, but I feel like everything I would say would give something away! So I’m going to wrap this short review up with a “please read” recommendation, especially if you or someone you know is struggling with a major life change (which to be honest is nearly everyone right now). ...more

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Oct 30, 2020 Stephanie Rivera rated it really liked it

Sixteen-year-old twins Sabine & Blythe are dealing with the sudden death of their father from an unknown illness when at the hospital they meet Charlie a friend of their fathers who had something to discuss with their Mother Maryann. After they bury their father, the next week they are moving 6 hours away to Thornewood into a crumbling mansion fixer upper with Charlie after having sold their home. After their father’s death to deal with her grief Sabine develops a habit of “poeting” in which she Sixteen-year-old twins Sabine & Blythe are dealing with the sudden death of their father from an unknown illness when at the hospital they meet Charlie a friend of their fathers who had something to discuss with their Mother Maryann. After they bury their father, the next week they are moving 6 hours away to Thornewood into a crumbling mansion fixer upper with Charlie after having sold their home. After their father’s death to deal with her grief Sabine develops a habit of “poeting” in which she just blurts out random bits of poetry while talking that indicates what she is feeling and Blythe is covering up her grief by concentrating on getting good grades so she can get accepted in to MIT their father’s alma mater. The girls start school at Bell Edward and stick out like sore thumbs with all the pastel that is apparently the unofficial dress code at the school which they are wearing the opposite with Sabine in her tall boots with dresses and Blythe in her doodled on zip up sweater and messy jean. While investigating Charlie and thinking that he is involved with their mother, they find out from breaking into his garage apartment on the property that he was the lover of their father and that their father died from an HIV related infection and that their mother knew the whole story. This devastated Sabine who acted out by wanting to go back to how things were before she knew about her dad and sabotaging the renovations at the house so they are forced to sell. While Blythe just wants to not deal with more change and she wants Sabine to talk to Charlie and forgive their father and Charlie.

I really loved this even though I would have liked to have the reveal about their father’s sexuality to have been a surprise and not in the synopsis for the book. I was just waiting impatiently for the reveal as I read the book since I knew it was coming and was waiting for the story to really pick up since they now had this to deal with. I did like that the story was about forgiveness and that even with all the things they didn’t know about their father, he was still the same father they loved and that he wasn’t trying to leave them and forget his life with them and their mother but incorporate Charlie in their life. This was a really fast read and I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Soho Teen and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own. ...more

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