The Crossing is the type of book that burrows its way into your mind and refuses to leave. It is so profoundly impactful and feels like essential reading. I don’t think I can recommend it highly enough.

In my review of Mann’s previous work Run, Rebel, I talked about how poetry has this innate emotional power. Mann completely captures this once more in The Crossing. Each word is so delicately chosen in order to wreck the maximum emotional devastation upon the reader. Mann takes on such relevant topics that hold political and social weight in dealing with these issues and weaves this tragically beautiful stories packed full of violence and suffering. This is all achieved in just a few delicately chosen words and that sort of talent just has to be applauded. Right from the opening page, that intense emotion immediately hits you and creates a vice that never really lets you go. This is an incredibly compelling form of narrative that means you can never tear yourself away from the page.

I loved how Mann’s poetic choices reinforced the two distinctive voices in the book. The two narratives intersect in such clever and aesthetically intriguing ways, while also always pushing the plot forward. This is an introspective character study of the grief and trauma both characters suffer, but it also speaks to a wider narrative around immigration and global conflict. Mann really emphasises this by having the characters echo the same words and phrases but in vastly different contexts from one another. Often the same word that ends one narrative section begins the other character’s latest section. This stylistic choice works incredibly well and highlights their connection throughout.

The Crossing is an emotional powerhouse of a book told through razor-sharp verse and packed full of heart and important exploration of social issues.

The Crossing is a novel written in verse following Natalie and Sammy. Natalie has just lost her mother, who died of cancer. Her mother worked in refugee relief and always encouraged Natalie to be compassionate. Since her mother's death her family is falling apart, her brother is getting involved with anti-refugee people. Sammy is a boy from Eritrea, wanting to flee due to the forced conscription into the army where they abuse the soldiers. He wants to flee to the UK.

This novel is a fast read due to it being told in verse, so I always fear that I will not become attached to the characters due to this, even though I enjoy reading novels in verse. But I really became attached and invested in these characters, especially Sammy. This novel is so moving and gripping, with everything handled with care. How the characters are linked together and how this is written is really invented and beautiful.

I am always wanting to read more diversely and more about the refugee crisis; this was a great compassionate read. I enjoyed this more than Mann's previous novel, so am looking forward to what she writes next.

The Crossing explores the theme of migration from the dual perspectives of Natalie and Sammy using the overlapping verse narrative to link the two characters' worlds together. This concept of humanity being intertwined and intrinsically linked is adeptly handled by Mann as she lays bare the horrors faced by refugees from their initial beginnings, their journeys and ultimately the racism endured in their supposedly safe new homes.
Mann explores the themes so often portrayed in the media with refugee camps in Calais, migrants drowning during failed sea crossings and Nationalistic pride in port cities with an accessibility in form and content to capture the imagination of YA readers.

Mann creates a see saw of opposites throughout the book - female/male; gay/straight; rich/poor; motherless/fatherless; Liberal/Nationalist; UK/Europe all pivoting the physical barrier of the English Channel. In some ways all the characters in The Crossing are victims to a greater or lesser extent, whether in terms of birth, locality or ideology. The beauty in this book is the opportunity to empathise with the lives of others and share in the experience of simply being human. Read this book and think about where we have the fortune to be.

What an incredibly powerful novel-in-verse from Manjeet Mann - 'The Crossing' is a dual narrative, following Nat in the UK and Sammy on his journey escaping Eritrea for the 'promised land' of Europe. Both teenagers have been broken by their experiences, Nat by the recent death of her mother and her family falling deeper into poverty and Sammy by the corruption and forced military service in his home country of Eritrea.

Fearing forced labour and death, Sammy and his friend Tesfay start the perilous journey across dangerous territory, two seas and the Sahara desert to reach the UK. Their horrific experiences, characterised by extreme violence, racism and loss, are portrayed in parallel to Nat's journey of discovery of the reality of life for refugees in the UK. As her brother falls in with right wing extremists, acting violently on their ideology, Mann shines a light on the broken system and deeply concerning views held by some which render life unliveable by those seeking to escape from war and poverty.

Mann writes skilfully, connecting the narratives and keeping the pace of the characters' journeys rapid. There are several moments which chilled my core - this woven tapestry of images blending Nat and Sammy's stories is affecting and poignant. This will prove to be a vital read for teenagers and adults alike in search of a safer, more tolerant world. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley UK and Penguin Random House Children’s UK for sending me an advance reader copy in exchange of an honest review.

4.5, rounding up to 5 stars. (If there was a genre for "important books", this book would feature on that list)

"It must be here between the lines, the space between (his) words."

For me, this quote sums the beauty of The Crossing, the incredible novel in verse by Manjeet Mann.

Natalie Lennon, a talented 16 year old swimmer from Dover find herself facing homelessness when her family begins to unravels after her mother passes away with cancer. Her father, who is struggling with grief, can't keep them afloat and her newly adult brother Ryan is being seduced far right groups.

Samuel Jabir, a 17 year boy Eritrean boy, looks to stars for hope after his father is killed for being a dissenter. As forced conscription, which already stole his sister Sophia and his high school crush Mariam, threaten to enslave him too, Sammy and his best friend Tesfay decide to make the perilous journey to UK to reunite with a cousin. The boys know they are "walking into death" but "the chance to love is worth dying for".

Nat and Sammy complete each other's stories, the words and phrases repeating as move from one POV to the other. Mann's poetic language use, which we first became familiar with in her debut Run, Rebel, continued to create a haunting, portrait of the reality. My heart ached as I was immersed in both young protagonists' struggle for survival in a world where their humanity is being questioned.

Grief at the loss of a parent, bravery in a harsh world, and ultimately being forced to grow up too early are all expressed with heart and vivid clarity, connecting the teenagers who share common human experiences despite their wildly different circumstances. And in this, despite not saying it out loud, Mann, reminds us that "We're all built from the same dust".

The dust in question is Stardust. Stars are one of the few connections between Nat and Sammy - they both look up to the star-filled sky for inspiration and hope. The other more earthly connection is formed when they see each other on the news (Nat, who sees stories of refugees on the tv and Sammy sees an newspaper article about Nat's charity swim for Care4Calais in memory of her mother who was a refugee support worker). This connection, although more tangible, felt far more tenuous for me. I would have preferred the two stories to stories to only ever intersect in anonymity, but that is just me.

Instead, I would have preferred to see and hear more from Fazel, "the boy who came to (our) school last year. The boy who came on a boat." Although he plays a pivotal role in Nat's story, I wish we saw and heard more from him. Nat's other classmates: Kevin, who bullies and attacks Fazel constantly, and Mel, Nat's rich girlfriend, both are fleshed out but their arcs don't quite end.

Mel in particular, is another example of Mann's clever writing. While Ryan rages about a presumably non-white family moving into a house in the estate (he mentions "people born in this country should take priority" and gets chastisied by his sister) he doesn't bat an eyelid at "Mel's sea-view mansion". Even Nat's father is happy to work "renovating a mansion in the middle of Kent", while losing their community and home to the new, ironically named "Prospect Homes", a wealthy housing development.

While Mel using her wealth to support Nat softens the blow, I wish we saw Nat question Mel's priviledge more, or even ask what makes Mel's family different from hers. There is a superb scenes early in the book where Nat and Mel eat sandwiches at school: Nat has corned beef, while Mel tucks in "some gourmet-supermarket-finest creation with houmous and roasted peppers." Or
walk down the high street. Nat is window-shopping while thinking about the homeless woman in a shop doorway and how close she is to this fate, while Mel is weighed down with bags full of the latest gear.

For such a poignant story, I wish Ryan's arc was better explored. We see Ryan through Nat's eyes and given that she has a stronger, more compassionate voice, we don't get to sympathise with his plight as much. There was plenty of opportunity to dig deeper into his descent to the far-right violence but with Nat's sermonising voice, these experiences get lost. While I love slick, Hollywood-style cross-cutting of Sammy and Tesfay on the boat and Nat and crew at the protests against the far-right marches, equating Tesfay to Ryan felt cheap and almost disrespectful.

Tesfay, in his entire being, represents the hope that his name translates to, which Ryan's undoing cannot ever come close to. We are reminded that Ryan is not a bigot as he got his sister a rainbow cake to celebrate her coming out, but his actions really speak louder than words. Even in his redemption, Ryan is not given a voice, rather he speaks after being prompted by his father. If there was a sequel or a companion novel, I would want it to be from the perspectives of the 2 sibling: Ryan and his descent into fascism, and Sophia and her survival as a forcefully conscripted soldier.

I spoke little about Sammy, but that's because every word about him and his story broke my heart and inspired me in equal measures. It was his parts that I was most excited to read and I will forever be haunted by his words: "Language can so easily put you on top if you are lucky enough to be the ones giving out the labels. I guess migration is only a human right if you're the right type of human."

This book pulled me through such intense emotions.
I absolutely loved the writing style and the two characters stories were equally compelling.
I didn't want to put it down and I didn't want it to end.
I highly recommend this book.

This novel is so beautifully written that it is impossible not to be moved to tears by it. It is a story brimming with emotion but it never feels exploitative or sensationalist. The school already teaches a SOW based around refugee literature and this is definitely, definitely going to be a vital addition to that scheme of work. I think that the verse form is the perfect match for the story and I think it will be such a great educational tool for the kids to read a novel in verse as this is up there with one of the best examples of a novel in verse. Wow. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this.

I finished this last night... tears rolling down my cheeks.
Such an exquisitely written story- touching, engaging, powerful and raw.
So full of emotion.
A must-read.
The verse novel format works so brilliantly for the intertwined lives and narratives of Natalie and Sammy.
Natalie is in Dover, still coming to terms with the death of her mother.
Sammy is in Eritrea, fleeing for his life. He is heading to Dover, and the chance to live free of persecution.
They are both fighting for something, they are both trying to cling onto what makes them human.
Brilliantly paced, and heartfelt. A story that will stay with me for a long time.

The powerful & often visceral style of writing really works well with the two interweaving narratives offering unusual parallels between the characters' lives & drawing out the big issues in a harrowing, compelling way.

The Crossing is a fantastic, educational and heart touching novel in verse written for teenagers but I feel many adults would get a lot from it too.
This novel is told from two perspectives which are cleverly entwined throughout. Sammy is a refugee seeking safety while Natalie is struggling after her mother’s death, two very different lives with the same goal, to feel safe and whole again.
I’ve read many verse novels now and this one certainly sits there with the best. I’ve read less novels about refugees but this really reminded me of Boy 87 and the brutal world of the refugee. A 5 star novel I’ll be buying for our school library.
Netgalley and Penguin kindly offered this novel in exchange for an honest review.

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The Crossing is a trailblazing new novel written in the form of a poem about two teenagers from opposite worlds and is a heartbreaking and life-affirming story of hope, grief and the very real tragedies of the refugee crisis. Natalie's world has turned upside down and she's struggling to cope. She's just lost her mum to an aggressive cancer, and her brother is descending further and further into anger and violence with a far-right, anti-refugee gang who march the streets of Dover; it seems this is an outlet for his seething anger and an adverse reaction to his mum’s passing. Meanwhile, Sammy has fled his home and family in the East African country of Eritrea for the chance of a new life in Europe. The primary reason for emigrating is that he is of an age where there is compulsory conscription into the army which is essentially like a death sentence in his country. Every step he takes is a step into the unknown - into a strange country and a hidden future.

A twist of fate brings these two teens from opposite sides of the channel together, but will their journey end in hope or despair? This is a heartbreaking, poignant and beautifully written prose poem with a subtle power to it. Both characters are suffering through adversity and tough times and you feel empathy for both of them in different ways. As soon as you realise that Sammy and Natalie could meet you simply cannot put it down are compelled to read on right until the end. The connection would be in strange circumstances but what has you glued to the pages is the hope they could perhaps bring to each other as they both feel so desperately alone. It's a profound story of grief, hope, displacement, loss and finding the strength to carry on fighting another day. The exploration of the plight of refugees was deftly and sensitively handled, and I thoroughly enjoy reading this captivating and original novel. Highly recommended.

I love a book in verse - especially a YA book in verse.
This book is beautifully written, but I didn't find the subject matter to be very engaging personally. I didn't connect to the plot or the characters. I loved Mann's writing, and that's what kept me reading, but I wanted more from the plot. It's one that hasn't really stayed with me. The topic and themes of the book should have made more of an impact but there wasn't any emotional connection for me.

I will definitely read Manjeet Mann's next books, but I want more than just pretty writing. I want to be moved by the story!

This novel in verse made me feel all the feelings. It’s hard to say I liked this book because it’s such a tough subject matter, but I did. The way that the words are presented on the page is great. I felt empathy for the characters vividly and I kept rushing to know what happened next.

I can see it is well written but the kindle edition makes it really hard to see when the narrative switches as there’s no differentiation at all. Will definitely try and get a hard copy to read as I am definitely intrigued