MY REVIEW: 1 Star ⭐️

I just couldn’t really get into the book. I love the cover but I don’t remember requesting this book as it’s not a book I would be interested in reading.

I’m sure many will love it and that’s awesome! So give it a try.

* Thank you to Netgalley and SOHO TEEN for a digital copy of this book.

{Digital copy provided by NetGalley}

When Sabine and Blythe’s dad suddenly and mysteriously dies, her mother and a man named Charlie make them move into a new town where everything seems a bit too perfect. While dealing with griefing the loss of their father, they have to navigate not only a new home and school, but also solve the mystery behind Charlie, and their dad.

The story is narrated by Sabine who is definitely the focus of the book, having a not uncomplicated friendship with local girl, fashion designer, and granddaughter of the overbearing head of the town beautification society Mrs. Michaels, a blossoming romance with a boy named Kai, and a lot of trouble with the shift in family dynamics. She is it who pushes to solve the mystery, being a very proactive character. A lot of the characters are quite unique and engaging, as is the way the town is described.

Interestingly the mystery around the dad is solved rather quickly, around 30% into the book, with the rest coping with the fallout. The actual mystery, that Sabine and Blythe’s dad was bisexual and polygamous, in a relationship with both their mother and Charlie, and that he died of an HIV-related infection, was pretty unique and engaging, but could have been revealed in a more profound manner. The background regarding the house they move into and the plans for it was pretty nicely done, and I really liked tge exploration of what you really know about someone, even someone as close to you as your family. The romances overall, in particular between Sabine and Kai, were a bit basic, although I liked some elements a lot, like Sabine and Kai’s focus on poetry and music. The general drama between characters was a bit frustrating at times because it felt like people were never actually talking to instead of around each other. Miscommunication as a plot device can be fun, but I felt it was overused. The actual storyline was definitely entertaining, but I felt a bit too annoyed at the characters, because a lot if drama could have been avoided with one or two conversations.

I did enjoy this book, but not as much as I hoped I would. I liked the representation of bisexuality and polygamy, although the only character who falls under these categories is dead throughout the whole book. Same on the HIV/AIDS representation. It felt a bit too much like a relatively generic young adult novel that used these identities as a backdrop to make it more interesting and unique.

This was an interesting YA novel. The plot was quite intriguing, and I found myself interested in the characters. I felt that the story dragged on quite a bit, and had a bit of a lack of detail. Unfortunately this wasn't my favourite book, but it might appeal to younger readers.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

I dnf’d this book because I, personally couldn’t get into it. It wasn’t badly written or anything I just couldn’t get into it.

Absolutely loved this, I thought it was a little slow to get into but once things started to happen I could barely put it down.

I liked the relationship between Sabine and Blythe and how realistic it felt, it's also good to see a sibling relationship. However, I did struggle a bit with the miscommunication and the mistrust between the sisters.

Overall it was really good and well written,

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's just described as "the twin sister". She doesn't have a personality or plays a role in the story. If Sabine was an only child, nothing would have changed.

Furthermore, Sabine is so unlikeable. She's selfish and childish and I would have expected her behaviour from a 13-year-old not a 16-year-old.
As soon as she finds out that her dad was bisexual and had a polyamorous relationship with both Charlie and her mother, she he does everything in her power to bring misery to the people around her. First to her mother and Charlie, by trying to cover the house they're living in fines. Second, to her friend Emma, who is living at Kai's to escape from her abusive grandmother. Since Sabine is jealous of the connection Emma and Kai has, she reports her to social services so Emma has to go back to her grandmother's.
I found her "poeting" very weird, I think the author wanted to make her quirky as a John Green character, but she just spouted random poetry lines at the most inappropriate times and it was fun at first, but it grew old soon.
She comes around in the final chapters only because she alienated everyone around her, not because she truly understood she did something bad.

I loved the writing style so I'm interested to read the author's future works but this is not a book I would recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy.

I enjoyed the writing of the story but wish there had been a bit of a shift in focus. The main character was a bit hard to connect with or truly like; I wish there had been more exploration about the father and his relationships through the lens of the main characters. The writing and overall pacing were solid and this is a good entry in the YA contemporary category. I would recommend this if this is a genre you enjoy.

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 <spoiler> about the rehoming centre both the dad and Charlie had dreamt of building</spoiler> more.
Instead we learned about Sabine, a irresponsible, selfish and rude person. Without spoiling the entire book, she attempts to ruin her family <spoiler>by trying to get them to be homeless all because she didn't want to look at Charlie or be reminded of him</spoiler>, breaks a few crimes or two for her own selfish gain (and not in good way!) <spoiler>by breaking into Charlie's flat and getting the community person (I don't know the technical term sorry!) to fine Charlie so much so it pretty puts him and her mother in debt</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 <spoiler>which is only discussed when Sabine asks Charlie if he was the one who gave her father HIV. Yeah. That kind of sets the mood for how Sabine is.</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.

Sabine just lost her father and has to learn how to cop with it. With her twin sister and their mom, they move in an other city. But when they arrive in their new house, Sabine and her sister Blythe discover that they are leaving with a man that their mother seems to know. Who is this man ? How does he know their mother ?
Sabine is going to discover things she didn't know about her father.

A nice story about love, mourning and forgiveness.

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.

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 her reactions to unexpected insight into a close family member's life are all at the forefront. Despite being at the center of the novel, Sabine is not as developed as I'd like. What readers DO know about her is that she participates in an act she calls "poeting," which is a kind of spontaneous effusion of lines penned by Emily Dickinson. For me, this was sweet in intent, but also a bit irritating and at times goofy (like _So I Married an Axe Murderer_ but without the drink, charm, mic, or stage). Maybe, as a person who has been teaching college-level literature courses for well over a decade, the quaintness of this is just...too improbable? I struggled with the possession by Dickinson - and with the amount of surface-level plotting happening - overall.

Rothschild has a lot going on here, and that includes the promise of more great books. I'll be excited to see some more focused character development and less +kitchen sink happening in the upcoming installments.

Wider than the Sky is a book about twin girls who cope with the death of their father. As they are dealing with their grief, they also realize that their mother might be keeping something from them. The girls try to figure out what she doesn't want them to know along with a mysterious stranger who has shown up. The twist did not do it for me. I was disappointed in how the events were handled.

Thank you for the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Well-written with an interesting storyline. The only thing I didn't enjoy is Sabine's "poeting". I know some people will adore it and boo me for saying so, but it just wasn't my thing.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

***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 feelings about WIDER THAN THE SKY. First the good. I loved debut writer Katherine Field Rothschild writes beautifully. Sabine quotes poetry spontaneously, mostly Emily Dickinson, which was both strange and unique. I liked that the twins had different, fully fleshed non stereotypical personalities.

What I didn’t like was that the bisexual dad was polyamorous and in a marriage where his wife wasn’t, but was okay with his relationship with Charlie and that he was going to leave to be with Charlie when the twins were in college. I didn’t think this was good representation for bisexuality or polyamory. The bisexual people I know are monogamous and to show otherwise for an often misunderstood population is a disservice. I don’t know any polyamorous folks, that I’m aware of, but my understanding is it’s usually not just one half of the couple in healthy relationships. I read another ARC with polyamory that showed better representation.

Though pacing was spotty and at times the plot dragged, WIDER THAN THE SKY is a solid debut.

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

I received an arc from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a very interesting book. There were a lot of turns that I did not expect from this book! It was a little bit hard for me to get into this book, but once I was about a fourth of the way through, I sped through the book really fast. I enjoyed the lesson that this book taught and the struggle the main character, Sabine, went through to reach it. I liked how this book was kind of based around poetry. It was very different from any other book I have read. I loved Sabine’s relationship with Kai. It was very cute and different from other relationships. I didn’t really like her twin sister Blythe. I wanted to like her, but she was kind of mean and bossy. I also really liked Emma. She and Sabine went through some hardships, but their friendship was great.

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was a quick and easy read. I’d recommend it to contemporary lovers and someone looking for a good, quick read.

Wider than the Sky
by Katherine Rothschild
Pub Date: 19 Jan 2021
Read courtesy of http://netgalley.com

I agree with the publisher's representation of Wider than the Sky; "Katherine Rothschild explores the pain and power of forgiveness," and she does it well. Never preachy or melodramatic, the reader feels Sabine's pain, irrational thinking, and growth.

Some very clever details made certain situations quite realistic and vivid. So there are no spoilers, just watch for the scene where Sabine is trying not to drink alcohol at a party. The author was talented at including details throughout the story that were relevant on many levels as the story progressed around them. On the other hand, a few descriptions eluded me or were open to interpretation, like, "It felt like someone eating candy through tears."

Like many YA novels, the teens save the day, and the adults muck things up. Fortunately, in Wider than the Sky the parents here have good intentions and aren't just incompetent. The author also does a seamless job of integrating poetry into the motif and action of the story.

The story approaches forgiveness on many different levels -- sisters, friends, parents, and romantic partners -- through twin siblings, the "girl code," a bisexual/polyamorous relationship, and first love. I'm looking forward to putting this in my HS library.

4 1/2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐🗲