
Wider Than the Sky is an emotional, contemporary, young adult story. From the beginning, I was engaged with the mystery of the death of Sabine and Blythe's father as well as who Charlie was to him. As soon as that becomes apparent, the story turns to an emotional rollercoaster of dealing with grief, family secrets and finding yourself in turbulent times. The story is told mostly through Sabine's point of view and her character stands out with her quirky poeting and finding her footing with new friends and relationships. Sabine reacts to the situation as I would expect any 16 year old girl to react, with shock and push back. Blythe's character seems to react oppositely with blind acceptance of their strange situation. I was more surprised at their mother's approach of just keeping everything a secret and thinking that two sixteen year old girls wouldn't figure things out. I liked Sabine's transition to acceptance of the large change in her life and the meaning of her parent's relationship. Blythe's character highlights the fragility and resilience of the teenage spirit as she comes to find herself.