The Sky between You and Me

by Catherine Alene

Overview

An emotional and heart wrenching novel about grief and striving for perfection.

Lighter. Leaner. Faster.

Raesha will to do whatever it takes to win Nationals. For her, competing isn't just about the speed of her horse or the thrill of the win. It's about honoring her mother's memory and holding onto a dream they once shared.

Lighter. Leaner. Faster.

For an athlete, every second counts. Raesha knows minus five on the scale will let her sit deeper in her saddle, make her horse lighter on his feet. And lighter, leaner, faster gives her the edge she needs over the new girl on the team, a girl who keeps flirting with Raesha's boyfriend and making plans with her best friend.

So she focuses on minus five. But if she isn't careful, she's going to lose more than just the people she loves, she's going to lose herself to lighter, leaner, faster…

"Sit quietly with this book. Feel the wind, the dusty air. Taste the sorrow and the wonder. Listen to the heart that is beating on every page. Then be grateful that Catherine Alene gave us this stunning story. It's a thing of beauty." —Kathi Appelt, Newbery Honor and National Book Award Finalist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492638544
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	02/07/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	496
File size:	933 KB
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Catherine Alene lives in Bend, Oregon, with her daughter and received her master of fine arts from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her resume includes jobs as an animal control officer, a fisheries biologist, and, most recently, a language arts teacher in an alternative high school. Visit catherinealene.com.

Editorial Reviews

01/30/2017
A competitive barrel racer, Raesha knows that a single pound can translate into seconds lost or gained. Determined to win Nationals, like her mother did before dying from cancer, Rae fixates on her weight, sure that losing five pounds will make all the difference. The arrival of Kierra—a new rider who throws a wrench in Rae’s relationships with her boyfriend, Cody, and best friend, Asia—leaves Rae feeling alone, jealous, and frenzied. As her eating disorder develops, Rae becomes less strong and less focused, yet those elusive five pounds remains just out of reach, no matter what the scale says: “Lighter/ Leaner/ Faster, My goal/ Is always/ There.” Writing in free verse, debut author Alene vividly conveys Rae’s spiral into anorexia; as she weakens, the poems fragment and become less fluid, mirroring Rae’s physical deterioration. Alene’s characterization of secondary characters, particularly Rae’s friends, is less successful; Cody’s shallow comments about Rae’s looks are particularly damaging, but this issue is never acknowledged. Even so, Alene presents an illuminating account of a girl struggling for control of her life and body. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sara Sciuto, Fuse Literary. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Alene, a recovering anorexic, skillfully conveys Raesha’s increasing withdrawal from worried friends and her fixation on counting calories and exercising. But this is much more than a problem novel. Raesha’s Western world is beautifully evoked, from the "Breathed blue" of the sky to the camaraderie between the girl and her horse and dog" — The Washington Post

"This powerful tale is a realistic portrayal of the difficulties many go through every day with an eating disorder." — PopCrush.com

"This debut provides an intriguing and valuable perspective." — Booklist

"Raw and heartbreaking, Alene’s work tackles a very sensitive topic with accuracy and compassion. This title will resonate with readers on many levels." — School Library Journal

"Alene has crafted a beautifully written novel about a teen dealing with grief and struggling with an eating disorder… The fact that it is written in verse enhances both the setting and the characters. Readers will be immediately drawn to Rae and root for her on her path to recovery." — VOYA Magazine

"Writing in free verse, debut author Alene vividly conveys Rae’s spiral into anorexia…an illuminating account of a girl struggling for control of her life and body." — Publishers Weekly

"Through poetry, the voice of the main character, Rae, and the voice of the author, herself a survivor, this book expresses the painful and critical discovery of self-worth and power that is gained when individuals accept that they are more than a disease… This one is worth the time and the tears." — School Library Connection

From the Publisher

02/01/2017
Gr 10 Up—Raesha is determined to win Nationals. She and her horse, Fancy, must make the best time in the barrel race, and Rae has to be as light as possible. So she begins to deprive herself of food. To complicate matters, a new girl is flirting with Rae's boyfriend, Cody, and trying to steal Rae's best friend, Asia. Rae copes by creating her own world, where everything is about control, from keeping track of calories to counting seconds on the clock. Her mantra is "lighter, leaner, faster," and the scale must be "minus five." Drawing from personal experience referenced in an author's note, Alene has crafted a novel in verse that articulates the slow decline and ongoing recovery of a teen battling anorexia nervosa. The story's scope shows how deep and complicated anorexia's hold can be; Rae's need for control extends beyond her own immediate situation to her grief over her mother, also an equestrian, who died of cancer. What if Rae can no longer fit on her mother's saddle? What if she can keep the scale at minus five? What if she could have stopped her mother from dying? Raw and heartbreaking, Alene's work tackles a very sensitive topic with accuracy and compassion. VERDICT This title will resonate with readers on many levels. A first purchase for most older YA collections.—Erin Holt, Williamson County Public Library, Franklin, TN

School Library Journal