NO MATTER THE DISTANCE

A girl with cystic fibrosis forms a special bond with a dolphin.

Eleven-year-old Penny Rooney is thrilled when her teacher announces a poetry slam for sixth graders. However, the theme proves daunting: What does she know about herself? She knows she’s more than her CF, with its nebulizer treatments, digestive enzymes, and periodic hospitalizations. But sometimes it feels like she knows more about members of her close-knit family than herself and that she and best friend Cricket are practically the same person. When Cricket reveals she’s moving from North Carolina to Virginia, Penny can’t imagine who she’ll be without her. Her sadness eases when an ill dolphin unexpectedly swims into her backyard creek. To Penny’s amazement, she and the dolphin, whom she names Rose, can communicate telepathically. But Rose will soon have to rejoin her pod. How can Penny say goodbye to two best friends? In introspective free verse, Penny poignantly navigates an array of tough emotions, including the loneliness of being unable to meet peers with CF in person due to infection risks, the guilt of needing her family’s attention, and—notably—the pressure to repress her fear and anger because, as her doctors remind her, things could be worse. Readers navigating chronic illness will particularly appreciate Penny’s cathartic, empowering self-discovery. An author’s note explains that Baldwin herself has CF. The Rooneys read White by default.

A thought-provoking take on illness, identity, and long-distance friendship.