The Sky Between You and Me

January 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.

February 1, 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.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Barrel-racer Raesha keeps her life and her loves small: she has best friend Asia, boyfriend Cody, her dog, and her horse. Home is just Rae and her dad and the memory of her mother, who died a few years back. But there's a new girl in town, Kierra, and both Cody and Asia are growing close with her. Rae focuses on the one thing she can control: herself. Nationals are approaching, and if Rae can make herself just a little lighter, a little leaner, she won't be as heavy in the saddle, and her horse will move faster. Minus five becomes her mantra as she strives to succeed at the sport her mother loved. The novel in verse approach isn't always the most effective here; the spare format works best when the focus is on the worsening of Rae's anorexia. Though there are many teen books about anorexia, few focus on equestrian sports, despite the fact that eating disorders in the equestrian world are common, and this debut provides an intriguing and valuable perspective.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)