mdettmann's review against another edition
3.0
This book tried to be a magic realism book, but it mostly was a little confusing and long at parts. I wasn't too invested in the family feud or the romance, but it wasn't a terrible book. Could have been a 100 pages shorter.
kiperoo's review against another edition
5.0
What an absolutely spectacular book! Gorgeous writing, fascinating atmosphere, a swoony romance, and just the right amount of magic kept me turning pages and savoring each line. All the high stakes that come with Romeo-and-Juliet-esque warring families along with the unique and beautiful weirdnesses of a detail-rich, special story. Mermaid performers with real scales! A boy who makes wings and grows his own feathers! Scarred characters who are more beautiful than prettier counterparts! Fans of NIGHT CIRCUS and AVA LAVENDER will love this book. I'll definitely be reading this one again.
headfulloffish's review against another edition
5.0
This book made me cry, made me laugh, made me thankful for my family and friends, and made me wonder at all the talent in those around me. This book was written like poetry and I can't wait to read more of Anna-Marie McLemore's books!
juliterario's review against another edition
4.0
Hace tiempo que tenía The Weight of Feathers en mi TBR, pero cuando me enteré de que este libro había sido escrito por Anna-Marie McLemore, una autora que me está encantando, decidí darle una oportunidad bien prontito. ¡Y qué bellos libros! Sin duda voy a leerme todo lo que McLemore haya escrito :) No soy tan fan del realismo mágico, pero de seguro amé esta novela.
“He wore his loneliness like his scar.”
The Weight of Feathers es un retelling romaní de la historia de Romeo y Julieta. No en el sentido dramático y exagerado de Shakespeare, sino al seguir la historia de dos adolescentes cuyas familias romaníes se odian y ellos dos, al conocerse, no pueden evitar enamorarse a pesar de la enemistad entre sus familias. The Weight of Feathers cuenta la historia de dos familias, una francesa y otra española, siguiendo a dos protagonistas de color y personajes que viven con deformidades y discapacidades. Además, las dinámicas familiares y la diversidad tanto étnica como cultural inherente en esta novela es grandiosa, sin mencionar la importancia de temáticas como la actuación, el circo y el teatro en la historia. La escritura de McLemore es preciosa, los personajes son sumamente complejos y multifacéticos, y la manera en la que esta historia está creada es más que grandiosa. En serio, se los recomiendo muchísimo. ¡Qué novela tan hermosa!
“He was beautiful in ways that made him ugly to his family.”
¿Por qué no 5 estrellas? Al igual que la otra novela de McLemore que leí, este libro no me impactó. Sí que lo hizo en cuanto a la originalidad de la historia y el contenido de calidad que está mujer está poniendo ahí afuera, pero no en aspectos personales. Este no fue un libro que me cambiara, y me dejó bastante indiferente en algunos aspectos. No sé, no terminó de encantarme, me aburrí en algunos capítulos, el libro tiene un ritmo lento y sigue a personajes en vez de una trama. En resumen, ciertas cosas fallaron en tener un efecto en mí como lectora :(
“The sense of falling did not touch her, not as long as her body was between the hands of this boy who felt steadier in the air than on the ground.”
“He wore his loneliness like his scar.”
The Weight of Feathers es un retelling romaní de la historia de Romeo y Julieta. No en el sentido dramático y exagerado de Shakespeare, sino al seguir la historia de dos adolescentes cuyas familias romaníes se odian y ellos dos, al conocerse, no pueden evitar enamorarse a pesar de la enemistad entre sus familias. The Weight of Feathers cuenta la historia de dos familias, una francesa y otra española, siguiendo a dos protagonistas de color y personajes que viven con deformidades y discapacidades. Además, las dinámicas familiares y la diversidad tanto étnica como cultural inherente en esta novela es grandiosa, sin mencionar la importancia de temáticas como la actuación, el circo y el teatro en la historia. La escritura de McLemore es preciosa, los personajes son sumamente complejos y multifacéticos, y la manera en la que esta historia está creada es más que grandiosa. En serio, se los recomiendo muchísimo. ¡Qué novela tan hermosa!
“He was beautiful in ways that made him ugly to his family.”
¿Por qué no 5 estrellas? Al igual que la otra novela de McLemore que leí, este libro no me impactó. Sí que lo hizo en cuanto a la originalidad de la historia y el contenido de calidad que está mujer está poniendo ahí afuera, pero no en aspectos personales. Este no fue un libro que me cambiara, y me dejó bastante indiferente en algunos aspectos. No sé, no terminó de encantarme, me aburrí en algunos capítulos, el libro tiene un ritmo lento y sigue a personajes en vez de una trama. En resumen, ciertas cosas fallaron en tener un efecto en mí como lectora :(
“The sense of falling did not touch her, not as long as her body was between the hands of this boy who felt steadier in the air than on the ground.”
jmarcorandolph's review against another edition
5.0
I wouldn't have guessed that this was a debut novel. Beautifully written, it pulls you into its fantastic imagery and character personas without asking you to question its reality. The two young characters could have easily been two neighbor kids in your hometown, despite feathers and scales. They were just kids, but relatable to any adult. I will be on the lookout for another work of McLemore's.
abywee's review against another edition
3.0
The blurb reveals that the Palomas and Corbeaus are enemies so you can kinda predict that someone from each family is going to end up together - enemies to lovers (cover also gives it away). Already knowing what to expect, the book lost a bit of its element of surprise. Both families are pretty toxic, Dax and Nicole
palomapepper's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this so much more than I did.
Pros:
- Hilarious to read if your name is Paloma.
- Well-done magical realism intertwined with powerful superstitions. French/Romani and Mexican heritages help to give this Romeo and Juliet story a unique twist.
- Gorgeous, mellifluous writing style. McLemore’s writing style feels like a mosaic, piecing together fleeting images, scents, and sounds into a cohesive (and beautiful) whole.
Cons:
- Plot moves at a snail’s pace. (This could be OK if you’re content to sit and revel in the gorgeous language. In the right kind of mood, the slow pacing could feel perfect.)
- Italicization of every non-English word is REALLY irritating, especially for the repeated names of relatives. I’m pretty sure that by the 90th mention of “Abuela”, even the most monolingual reader is smart enough to figure out the word’s meaning via context clues!
- While Cluck was a fairly well-fleshed out individual, I had trouble connecting to Lace. When I try to envision her personality, I come up blank; she seemed to be the sum of things that happened to her, rather than having a defined personality of her own.
- The last 10% of the book dumps a lot of exposition on the reader. It’s good stuff, but I wished it had been spread out more evenly or hinted at more strongly throughout the book.
Pros:
- Hilarious to read if your name is Paloma.
- Well-done magical realism intertwined with powerful superstitions. French/Romani and Mexican heritages help to give this Romeo and Juliet story a unique twist.
- Gorgeous, mellifluous writing style. McLemore’s writing style feels like a mosaic, piecing together fleeting images, scents, and sounds into a cohesive (and beautiful) whole.
Cons:
- Plot moves at a snail’s pace. (This could be OK if you’re content to sit and revel in the gorgeous language. In the right kind of mood, the slow pacing could feel perfect.)
- Italicization of every non-English word is REALLY irritating, especially for the repeated names of relatives. I’m pretty sure that by the 90th mention of “Abuela”, even the most monolingual reader is smart enough to figure out the word’s meaning via context clues!
- While Cluck was a fairly well-fleshed out individual, I had trouble connecting to Lace. When I try to envision her personality, I come up blank; she seemed to be the sum of things that happened to her, rather than having a defined personality of her own.
- The last 10% of the book dumps a lot of exposition on the reader. It’s good stuff, but I wished it had been spread out more evenly or hinted at more strongly throughout the book.
daanin's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
erinarkin20's review against another edition
4.0
As soon as I read the summary for The Weight of Feathers by Anna–Marie McLemore, I knew I wanted to read it as soon as I possibly could. It has a Romeo and Juliet feel but mixes in magic and two feuding traveling performer families who let superstitions drive their actions.
The main characters are Lace and Cluck and I loved how the chapters had a lead in either in French or Spanish…depending on whose perspective it was from and based on the family’s heritage. Lace is a Paloma and her family has a traveling mermaid show that she has recently been added to by her grandmother. Cluck is an outcast in his family, the Corbeaus, but he has learned how to make the wings his family uses in their tightrope walking show. The story is centered on these characters but also the conflict that exists due to something that happened between the families twenty years ago.
As readers, we get glimpses of each of these families separately as well their own interpretation of what happened between them so long ago. I thought McLemore did a wonderful job of pulling me into the story of these families and then ultimately the impact their history had on both Lace and Cluck. Admittedly, there is a twist I never saw coming and kudos to McLemore for being able to pull it off.
When they first meet, neither Lace nor Cluck know that the other is a part of the competing family and I immediately loved how they were with each other. If Lace had known who Cluck was right away she definitely would have walked away a lot faster and by the time she realizes who he is, things are too late for her. Ultimately a disaster at the local plant throws these two together and they begin to build a friendship and more.
Not only did I like Lace and Cluck together, I liked them as separate characters. Lace is smart and not someone who likes to sit on the sideline. Cluck prefers to blend into the background and avoid conflict if he can. I really just wanted to hug Cluck throughout most of the story. I also loved the relationship Cluck had with his grandfather and as the story progresses, it changes.
McLemore does a wonderful job with the flow of this story and reveals pieces of what happened in the past as well as what is going on now at a good pace. I also thought the story itself was written beautifully. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to get when I opened the cover of this book but I couldn’t bring myself to put this it down until I turned the last page.
If you are looking for something a little different that includes well-developed characters and a story that will pull you in and have you rooting for the main characters to get their happily ever after definitely consider checking this book out when you can. I will absolutely be checking out any future books by McLemore as her debut is a beautifully written piece of work.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy!
The main characters are Lace and Cluck and I loved how the chapters had a lead in either in French or Spanish…depending on whose perspective it was from and based on the family’s heritage. Lace is a Paloma and her family has a traveling mermaid show that she has recently been added to by her grandmother. Cluck is an outcast in his family, the Corbeaus, but he has learned how to make the wings his family uses in their tightrope walking show. The story is centered on these characters but also the conflict that exists due to something that happened between the families twenty years ago.
As readers, we get glimpses of each of these families separately as well their own interpretation of what happened between them so long ago. I thought McLemore did a wonderful job of pulling me into the story of these families and then ultimately the impact their history had on both Lace and Cluck. Admittedly, there is a twist I never saw coming and kudos to McLemore for being able to pull it off.
When they first meet, neither Lace nor Cluck know that the other is a part of the competing family and I immediately loved how they were with each other. If Lace had known who Cluck was right away she definitely would have walked away a lot faster and by the time she realizes who he is, things are too late for her. Ultimately a disaster at the local plant throws these two together and they begin to build a friendship and more.
Not only did I like Lace and Cluck together, I liked them as separate characters. Lace is smart and not someone who likes to sit on the sideline. Cluck prefers to blend into the background and avoid conflict if he can. I really just wanted to hug Cluck throughout most of the story. I also loved the relationship Cluck had with his grandfather and as the story progresses, it changes.
McLemore does a wonderful job with the flow of this story and reveals pieces of what happened in the past as well as what is going on now at a good pace. I also thought the story itself was written beautifully. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to get when I opened the cover of this book but I couldn’t bring myself to put this it down until I turned the last page.
If you are looking for something a little different that includes well-developed characters and a story that will pull you in and have you rooting for the main characters to get their happily ever after definitely consider checking this book out when you can. I will absolutely be checking out any future books by McLemore as her debut is a beautifully written piece of work.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy!