This was a beautiful story about a girl with CF. I loved her relationship with her dad and her best friend. I couldn't relate to a lot of what she was going through but I think that's what I loved about it. It gave me a new perspective.

Another wonderful middle grade novel by Cindy Baldwin. There is excellent character development and you really feel with the main character.

Penny is a middle schooler with mild-moderate cystic fibrosis who forms a strong connection with a dolphin she finds in the creek behind their house. When a marine biologist finds out that the dolphin is also sick, they’ll need Penny to help them treat the animal and return it home. This beautiful verse novel about living with cystic fibrosis is honest and heartrending.

Cindy Baldwin has crafted a beautifully heart-wrenching yet hopeful story told in verse about what its like to grow up with a chronic illness and simultaneously not fully understand who you are outside of that diagnosis.

Not only does Baldwin have a nostalgic storytelling method that brought me right back to my own school vacation days but she also has an effortlessly inclusive and comforting writing style too. It was certainly a tear-jerking journey to watch Penny's growth as she came to terms with who she is outside of her illness and find happiness amongst an online community whilst enjoying smaller moments with the people that make life worth living.

I can't recommend this middle grade book enough and am confident readers across all generations can appreciate this story.

Given that this is a verse novel, the primary focus of the narrative is emotional. We get a fair amount of exploration of Penny's feelings: about her CF, about her relationship with her friend and her sister, about her connection to this dolphin. Even so, Baldwin is able to include a surprising amount of biological information about CF, treatment protocols, infection concerns, and life expectancy. While the near mystical connection between a child and an animal is not my favorite thing I can't deny that it works quite well here.

An epic narrative told in verse! I loved the flow of the narrative from start to finish. This one was hard to put down because each poem connected and I wanted to know what happened next. Penny is brave and grows so much during this story. I loved her encounters and connections with a dolphin named Rose. This story hit me in the feels.

Penny has cystic fibrosis. She is more than her condition though and she is struggling to find her voice and let the world know who she is. Life is hard for any middle schooler, but it is even harder when you have CF and your best friend is moving.

This novel in verse gives a glimpse of what life is like for those with CF. I strongly encourage it to find space on any middle school bookshelf!

What makes Penny, Penny?
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Penny Rooney has cystic fibrosis aka “65 Roses”, which means her life expectancy is lower than the average person and she has to do breathing treatments a lot, as well as protect her comprised immune system. When she’s tasked to write a poem about herself in school, she struggles to see herself as anything other than a CF patient, but when she finds an unlikely animal friend in the river by their house, she feels such a strong connection to it. When they realize the dolphin that has lost its pod is sick, Penny immediately relates her. But as Rose the dolphin must return to her pod, Penny also must learn to say goodbye to her best friend and realize strong she truly is.
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What a beautiful and melodic MG novel in verse. This one is perfect for national poetry month and to teach kids more about CF and the advances it’s made in the last twenty years. Make sure you read the author’s note at the back, as it makes the book even more special.

CW: hospitalization, blood, needles, chronic illness

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A middle grade story told in poetry is rather new for me. However, this book executes it nicely and giving me a warm feeling all over. It's really good and easy to follow.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for an honest review.

Beautifully written novel in verse. As the prognosis and treatments for CF are ever changing I think that have an updated story is good for kids, but I loved that while Penny has CF (and it's an integral part of the story), it's not the totality of who Penny is.

This is a remarkably powerful collection of poems, from the perspective of a middle schooler with CF. I'm glad to see someone with lived experienced writing this. Stories are so often told by "outsiders," and for kids going through something difficult—health, family, financial issues—seeing how others go through it, that it isn't all suffering, is important.

I loved this middle grade novel in verse about a young girl with CF who helps rescue a stranded dolphin. This novel highlights cystic fibrosis, which most middle grade students have little knowledge of, but CF is just part of the story. There is lots to love in this new novel!

"Goodbyes are hard," Daddy says, echoing my words back to me. "Endings hurt, no matter how right they are."
"No matter the distance, no matter the struggle. I am never alone"

This is a wonderfully written middle grade book in verse. It is filled with such hope and wonder while not being too sappy or surreal. The author's note is especially poignant and adds to the impact of the story. Highly recommend it!

Thanks to Netgalley for a chance to read it in exchange for me honest thoughts!

I really enjoyed this book. I'm not a huge fan of books in verse but I loved the way that this one was written. The author shares a lot about dealing with CF and how the family deals with the illness as well. There is a small touch on fertility issues when she talks about her parents struggles with conceiving both her and her sister.
The special relationship that the Penny forms with Rose, the dolphin that strays too far upstream into fresh water, is inspiring and heart-warming. Penny must deal with the limitations that having CF places on her life, her best friend moving away at the end of the school year and being brave enough to help researchers rescue Rose by leading her back to the bay where she belongs.
A wonderful story with loads of information about CF.

Penny is called Lucky Penny, despite having cystic fibrosis (CF), she has remained healthy. Spring break, however, is going to try her in many ways - the chance to submit a poem all about who Penny is to a poetry slam at school, her best friend, Cricket, moving away, and a dolphin showing up in Turtle Creek, her backyard. Penny feels an instant connection with the dolphin, Rose, and will do whatever it takes to help get her back to the sea and her pod, even if it puts her in danger. The novel in verse explores Penny's need to right poetry and is filled with information about CF that many won't know - all the medications, the daily treatments, the isolation, the health risks. Reading the book is fast and adds in a magical realism feel with a mystical connection between Penny and Rose as they connect with each other - two lost souls. The author, Cindy Baldwin, has CF herself and pulls in her own life experience to shed light on this disease that despite medical advancements still takes lives too often and too young. Well worth the read for many reasons beyond the miracle of saving a dolphin and finding the inner truths of ones self.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. No Matter The Distance is an OwnVoices story of a middle school aged girl named Penny who is searching to learn what makes her uniquely herself, beyond being the girl with cystic fibrosis. Along the way she bonds with a dolphin who has also lost its way from its pod and finds itself in the creek behind her house. As a special education teacher I tend to find myself drawn to stories with main characters with special needs, and as the author herself has cystic fibrosis, I appreciated the realistic viewpoint she was able to give the main character. Dolphins are also my favorite animal, so going into the story I was pretty sure this was one I would enjoy and I wasn’t disappointed.

I've enjoyed every one of Cindy Baldwin's books, and No Matter the Distance is no exception. In fact, it may be my favorite. Told in verse, this story follows Penny Rooney, who has cystic fibrosis. Tasked with writing a poem about who she is, she finds it difficult to contain all the facets of her life. When a lost dolphin appears in the tidal creek in her back yard, she feels immediate connection. She'll do what it takes to get the dolphin safely back to its pod, no matter the distance.

Cindy's own cystic fibrosis and the nuance she brings from that shines clearly through the book. The verse sings, and Penny pulls you right into her world. Well worth reading!

This was an incredible read! I found it to be accessible despite being written in verse. Sometimes younger readers struggle with this kind of format. The story was engaging and well-developed. I’d love to use this with my summer groups in a reading workshop setting. Penny was such a wonderful character, as was rose. I particularly loved how it wasn’t meant to be inspirational, as many books featuring disabled characters are. I am chronically ill and saw so much of myself in Penny’s experiences.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books, and Cindy Baldwin for the opportunity to read No Matter the Distance in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a hi-lo novel written in verse, meaning it is high-interest for young readers with a lower readability level.

Penny has cistic fibrosis. It is soemthing she has had her entire life. Living with CF means being in and out of the hospital and having home care consistently throughout her life. Having an older sister who is good at and praised for everything supplies even further discouragement for Penny.

When down by the river behind her house, Penny encounters something magical, something that can be fully her own that she doesn't necessarily have to share with anyone: a dolphin. Giving her the name Rose, a scientist is brought out to check on the dolphin. Because she needs salt water and lives currently in brackish water, her lungs aren't doing so well, and like Penny, Rose has her own lung struggles.

The connection between Rose and Penny is almost magical. Penny has something all her own, and builds a special connection with Rose. While spending the time she can with Rose, a spill into the water brings a horrific episode with a CF flare-up, causing Penny to miss school and not be able to spend time with her friend who is moving at the end of the school year.

This book is an excellent display of writing telling a story about the battle of living with cistic fibrosis, written by someone who  actually has CF herself, bringing an authentic display of the experience (as opposed to other contemporary novels written about CF through author research and not personal expeirience).

This novel is fun, creative, and real, offering an excellent reading experience for a middle grade audience.

I loved this novel in verse about a sixth grader with cystic fibrosis. I thought it was a great depiction of a child with a chronic illness not portrayed as helpless and fragile, but brave and strong. I loved Penny's interaction with the dolphin, even though the idea of living right on a creek where such a thing could happen is totally foreign to me. Even though Penny does get sicker in the book, and a few other not-so-great things happen to her, she is resilient and hopeful about her future. I would recommend to upper elementary and middle school.

I adored this middle grade novel by Cindy Baldwin! The main character, Penny Rooney, is a young girl living with cystic fibrosis. As school ends for spring break, Penny is tasked with writing a poem about who she is. That question proves surprisingly difficult to answer. She is a friend, a daughter, a sister, and a girl living with a disease, but she's not sure these are the things she wants to define her. Penny has a beautiful heart and readers will find her descriptions of her friends and her family tell a lot about Penny herself.

When an unexpected animal makes an appearance in Penny's backyard creek, Penny learns about herself as she gets to know a sick dolphin who has been separated from her pod. I appreciate that Baldwin has given Penny a loving and supportive, if slightly smothering, family and still allows her to struggle with things many children will relate to - a friend moving away, physical limitations, being afraid to take chances.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this book is Penny's observations of the difficulties of living with CF, even though her disease is more easily controlled than what many CF patients experience. Being told over and over again how lucky she is, given her diagnosis, wears on her over time. Just because it could be worse, doesn't mean it isn't difficult. I expect many readers will relate to this statement in one way or another.

It is important to note that the author, herself, is living with CF.