No Matter the Distance

A girl with cystic fibrosis develops a bond with a stranded dolphin in this novel in verse filled with “positive empathy,” per ALA Booklist’s starred review, from award-winning author Cindy Baldwin. Now available in paperback!

When Penny Rooney is assigned to write a poem about herself, she’s stumped. She thinks of herself as half of a whole with her best friend, Cricket—until she’s blindsided by the news that Cricket is moving away. Nothing is going right. But when Penny and her sister are swimming in the creek behind their house, Penny sees something impossible: a dolphin.

Penny names the dolphin Rose, and she feels an immediate connection. Then, at the end of spring break, Penny’s cystic fibrosis begins to flare up. The only thing that reassures her is her bond with Rose, who is also sick—she was diagnosed with pneumonia by a local marine biologist and is given antibiotics not unlike those Penny inhales every day in her nebulizer. 

As much as Penny takes solace in her connection to Rose, Penny might also be the only person who can get Rose back to her pod. The longer Rose lingers in the creek, the worse her illness gets and the more danger she’s in. Will Penny be able to do what’s right, even if it means losing Rose?

Cindy Baldwin is the award-winning author of Where the Watermelons Grow, Beginners Welcome, and The Stars of Whistling Ridge. She is a disabled activist, cofounder of Middle Grade at Heart, and We Need Diverse Books mentor. She lives just outside Portland, Oregon, with her husband and daughter.