I have read another book, Zeitoun, nonfiction, that came out of the Katrina disaster, and I understood this book the better for it.

The Weight of Water by W.A. Schwartz | Goodreads The Weight of Water by W.A. Schwartz | Goodreads

However, I feel the need to say something about this because I am usually put off by the "middle grade" label and sometimes assume it will lack depth or just be written in a style that is too young for me. She is enrolled in a secondary school in Coventry, but is treated as an outsider and an intruder by classmates who constantly poke fun at her. I was drawn in early by the story of these two sisters growing up in New Orleans and the struggles they faced with the poverty of the area and ultimately their divide in adulthood. The novel is split into two parts: the present day, told from Jean's point of view and in the present tense; and 1873, told in first person from Maren's point of view, her "memoir". Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition.

I found both stories interesting and while there are some clear parallels between the two, the author isn't so explicit drawing those comparisons. Not really knowing where the line between reality and fiction is drawn leaves me a bit ambivalent about the book. Dit boek is weer in poëtische stijl geschreven en dat vind ik zo origineel aan de schrijfstijl van Sarah Crossan. The second story is told in the first person by the only survivor of the nineteenth century double murder.

The Weight of Water - Crossan, Sarah: 9781408830239 - AbeBooks The Weight of Water - Crossan, Sarah: 9781408830239 - AbeBooks

She must deal with the other students at her school every day; students who hate her for being different, for wearing the wrong thing, for saying the wrong thing, or just because they can. As Jean becomes more and more interested in this story, the novel flips back and forth from 1873 to the present day, 1995. A deeply moving tale of a young girl forced to deal with difficult issues that many people face today.

this leads to the result of a nice easy book to read for foreign people as my first language is not English as well. The first timeline is modern day with a photographer and her famous yet emotionally damaged poet husband and young child going on a boat trip with her brother-in-law and his newish girlfriend. While the book may not have been as beautiful and amazing as One, it was a quick and a enjoyable read.