Cindy Baldwin
Author of Where the Watermelons Grow
Works by Cindy Baldwin
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Representation: Character with a medical condition
Trigger warnings: Hospitalisation of a child due to a chronic and physical illness, blood depiction, disappearance
Score: Six and a half out of ten.
No Matter the Distance by Cindy Baldwin was okay but imperfect.
It starts with Penny who has cystic fibrosis, and a teacher tasks her to write a poem about herself as an assignment a few weeks before her break. However, she wonders how.
No Matter the Distance is Baldwin's poetry debut, and she wrote it in verse to reflect Penny's assignment and in an accessible writing style for a younger audience. There are some poetic devices, such as metaphors, but the poetry feels more like broken-up prose. However, adding more poetry techniques would help.
The characters have likability value but not relatability value, and Baldwin gave little page time, depth or development to side characters. However, writing about them more would help. Penny is imperfect as she is a child and runs off sometimes, but that's not addressed.
The fact that Penny encountered a dolphin, as seen in a scene where she names it Rose, is rare but an unrealistic plot point. However, biologists arrive to return Rose to the ocean, which Penny eventually accepts. The pacing is slow but enough to keep No Matter the Distance going at 350 pages.
The conclusion is okay.
This is a great book -- I love the intimacy that verse can give a narrator, and I love Penny's voice. The combination of learning about her Cystic Fibrosis and dolphins is a really appealing one, that I think kid readers will enjoy -- I certainly did. It was great reading about her supportive family -- and how that love is less about forcing positivity and more about letting someone be who they are even when they are struggling. I loved the message about friendships and distance and how those connections persist despite everything. Lovely book.… (more)
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Statistics
- Works
- 4
- Members
- 229
- Popularity
- #98,340
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 14
- ISBNs
- 39
- Languages
- 1
THE STARS OF WHISTLING RIDGE is a magical middle grade story of a girl desperate for a forever home, and ultimately learning that “home” means more than just a stationary building. Ivy Mae Bloom’s mother and two aunts are fallen stars in human form, and they control the magic in different parts of the country. Ivy’s family is constantly on the move, traveling from place to place so her mother can help people by granting wishes.
Even though her mom warned her that sometimes wishes were unpredictable, Ivy steals the wish jars and dreams of a permeant home like her Aunt Agatha has in Whistling Ridge, North Carolina. Not long after, the family ends up stranded in Whistling Ridge, and they learn that the town is plagued by a sinister force destroying its magic. Ivy is then faced with a dilemma, since saving the town will mean having to move on again.
Ivy is a relatable character as she faces conflicts with her parents & siblings, the challenge of making new friends, and doing the right thing even if it means not getting what she wants. I enjoyed the mystery of Whistling Ridge’s curse, and how clever Ivy was to research the town’s history and try to fit the puzzle pieces together. The ending was satisfying with Ivy learning a lot about herself, her family, and what “home” truly means. Recommended to fans of magical realism and mystery.… (more)