Listen to a sample
The Weight of Water
- Author
- Sarah Crossan
- Narrator
- Izzy Meikle-Small
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 26 February 2026
- Run Time
- 2 hours 11 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Children’s / Teenage fiction: Stories in verse, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Body and health, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction, Children’s / Teenage: Social issues / topics, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Bullying, violence, abuse and peer pressure, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories, Children’s / Teenage: Poetry / poems, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Relationship stories, Children’s / Teenage social topics: Migration / refugees
What to expect
A poetic, gifty offering that combines first love, friendship, and persistent courage in this lyrical immigration story told in verse.
Carrying just a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother are immigrating to England from Poland. Kasienka isn't the happiest girl in the world. At home, her mother is suffering from a broken heart as she searches for Kasienka's father. And at school, Kasienka is having trouble being the new girl and making friends. The only time she feels comforted is when she's swimming at the pool. But she can't quite shake the feeling that she's sinking. Until a new boy swims into her life, and she learns that there might be more than one way to stay afloat.
The Weight of Water is a coming-of-age story that deftly handles issues of immigration, alienation, and first love. Moving and poetically rendered, this novel-in-verse is the story of a young girl whose determination to find out who she is prevails.
Critics Review
-
Poignant, powerful, just perfect.
Cathy Cassidy, author of Gingersnaps
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This is an amazing and poignant book, that is so beautifully written that I didn't even realise I had finished it until I had turned the last page.
The Bookbag (UK review)
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It's a refreshing read, something new and interesting, whether you're a fan of fiction or poetry you'll enjoy it. Totally brilliant and we can't recommend it enough.
Book a Poet (UK review)
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Sarah Crossan's debut piece is a brilliant, realistic, heart-breaking but ultimately life-affirming tale.
Ink Pellet (UK review)
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Sarah Crossan
- Narrator
- Izzy Meikle-Small
- Duration
- 2 hours 11 minutes
- Release Date
- 26 February 2026
- ISBN
- 9781547620982
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- Children’s / Teenage fiction: Stories in verse, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Body and health, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction, Children’s / Teenage: Social issues / topics, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Bullying, violence, abuse and peer pressure, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories, Children’s / Teenage: Poetry / poems, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Relationship stories, Children’s / Teenage social topics: Migration / refugees
Synopsis
Bloomsbury presents The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan, read by Izzy Meikle-SmallA poetic, gifty offering that combines first love, friendship, and persistent courage in this lyrical immigration story told in verse.Carrying just a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother are immigrating to England from Poland. Kasienka isn't the happiest girl in the world. At home, her mother is suffering from a broken heart as she searches for Kasienka's father. And at school, Kasienka is having trouble being the new girl and making friends. The only time she feels comforted is when she's swimming at the pool. But she can't quite shake the feeling that she's sinking. Until a new boy swims into her life, and she learns that there might be more than one way to stay afloat.The Weight of Water is a coming-of-age story that deftly handles issues of immigration, alienation, and first love. Moving and poetically rendered, this novel-in-verse is the story of a young girl whose determination to find out who she is prevails.
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