Oh my days I can't believe this was Serena's debut novel written in such stunning prose. Ro was an amazing main character and through Serena's writing I felt all of her emotions so strongly that at times I was in tears myself especially how she dealt with her dyslexia.

I will now be auto buying Serena's books from now on as her prose writing is not only eloquent but emotional too

For all the above reasons Wider Than The Sea receives 5 stars.

This is a beautiful heartfelt piece of writing. Love the plot, love Ro, the main character and I love the cover, so colourful and amazing.

Due to the writing being laid out like a poem, it took me a little bit longer to get into the book but once I did, I was fully immersed.

It was lovely seeing the relationship that Ro formed with the dolphin and it was important to see how her struggles were documented.

This will be great for my students with dyslexia who always think they can’t read. Both the plot and the layout of the book will hopefully help with this so thank you!

Ro really struggles at school, especially with reading & writing. She feels isolated from the rest of the class, her best friend is acting strange, and the popular girl is always being mean to her.

Spending time with Sunny the bottlenose dolphin is one of the only things Ro looks forward to.

But everything changes when she gets a new teacher Ms C, who recognises her struggles and reminds her that her mind is her super power - it's wider than the sea!

Wider Than The Sea is a wonderful book for children who might feel like they don't fit in at school, and struggle to accept their differences.

It was an overall lovely, heart warming read - thank you to NetGalley & Hachette for the DRC!

When i started reading the book, i was really unsettled by the way the text was laid out, as it is laid out like concrete poetry. However, I am so glad I persevered as this book is amazing.

After reading a few chapters I ended up really enjoying the words' layout and the story.

The story is about a girl who is really shy and finds schoolwork hard. When she meets a dolphin called sunny it gives her courage and she doesn't give up. It is a beautiful friendship story between a girl and a dolphin.
(Thanks to Net Galley for this Heart-Warming Book).

Thank you to Net Gallery and Hachette Children's Group, Hodder Children's Books for an advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wider Than the Sea is a brilliant, beautiful novel that tugs at all the heart strings. It's a piercingly realistic coming of age story about a pre-teen whose life is changing no matter how badly she wishes things to stay the same. As simple as this story is, it's this simplicity that cuts straight to the heart. With raw, loveable characters, it's easy to connect to their struggles of friendship, family, and self-image. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an insightful middle grade with a unique format that may make you cry in public.

Wider than the Sea⁩ is a book which delivers so beautifully what it promises. A total hug of a middle grade verse novel! Layout choices, illustrations from George Ermos make it a joy for readers of all abilities, especially children struggling with dyslexia.

This book I received from Netgalley for an honest review

This story sees Ró who finds school really hard, is feeling lost and alone as her parents are having their own struggles and adores the local dolphin Sunny.

This book has so many things I want to scream about (in a good way)
A book written in verse of middle grade!!!! I adore books written in verse but have yet to reach much in the way of middle grade books written this way. This makes the reading flow beautifully , the emphasis on words and the art of the words on the page are not just beautiful and emotive but also integral to the story line.

This links into our main character, the book written in verse also is such a good thing for reluctant readers or readers who are daunted by bigger books. And our h my son character, although never named suffers from dyslexia and I’m guessing dyscalculia too. The book helps readers to understand what that is like for the character but also offers representation and a voice for dyslexic readers too!

Also want to shout out about the emphasis on the positives too! The fact that everyone child has something unique and amazing to bring to the table no matter whether they have dyslexia.

The book also has a huge theme of change, spanning a few different threads, family friends and growing up too.

Honestly such a good book, more please! The ending brought me to tears

It is a beautifully written story about a girl who is both feeling a bit shy and lonely. The book needs some proofreading work done though to edit out some typos.

Such a lovely story. A girl needs help both in school and out of it and she struggles to ask for it/accept it.
New friendships are formed, old ones change and eventually a conversation is all that's needed to help her. A real feel good book with messages about self-belief, help and friendships.

Exquisitely penned. Tender, filled with voice and heart.

Ro is struggling with the words on the page - they swim around - but not in the delicate way the dolphin in the sea does. It takes a tuned in teacher to reach over to Ro and help her confidence. In the meantime Ro is also dealing with growing up, changes in relationships and the bickering between her parents that she can't seem to get to the bottom of.

I absolutely adore verse novels - when penned brilliantly - and this one is absolutely penned brilliantly. Delicate, poignant and heart felt. An utter joy to read.