The Weight of Water

By Sarah Crossan

A girl navigates immigration, loneliness, and first love, seeking solace in swimming.

3.8/5 Goodreads · 9,315 ratings

240 pages

$10.99Save 7%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

Kasienka arrives in England with her mother, burdened by a broken heart and a missing father. Struggling to fit in at school, she finds solace in swimming, where the water offers a brief escape. But when a new boy enters her life, Kasienka discovers unexpected ways to stay afloat. As she battles alienation and searches for identity, her journey unfolds in a lyrical tale of courage and first love. Will she find her place in this new world, or will she continue to feel like she's sinking?

From the publisher

A poetic, gifty offering that combines first love, friendship, and persistent courage in this lyrical immigration story told in verse. Carrying just a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother are immigrating to England from Poland. Kasienka isn’t the happiest girl in the world. At home, her mother is suffering from a broken heart as she searches for Kasienka’s father. And at school, Kasienka is having trouble being the new girl and making friends. The only time she feels comforted is when she’s swimming at the pool. But she can’t quite shake the feeling that she’s sinking. Until a new boy swims into her life, and she learns that there might be more than one way to stay afloat. The Weight of Water is a coming-of-age story that deftly handles issues of immigration, alienation, and first love. Moving and poetically rendered, this novel-in-verse is the story of a young girl whose determination to find out who she is prevails.

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