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ihateprozac's review
5.0
Yes hello 911 I would like to call an ambulance because THIS BOOK HURT ME!
The Weight of the Stars was every bit as strange, beautiful, and heartbreaking as I’d hoped it would be. It’s a strange contemporary about a strange group of misfits who find each other in strange ways, plus a girl who listens to radio signals from space.
If you enjoyed the quick writing style and format of The Wicker King you get a similar vibe here, right down to the page headings. For a story that often makes huge time jumps, there is so much rich detail to it, with seemingly little details that become more significant later on (like the apples!) I loved the often lyrical writing, which leaned in and out of realistic teen speak. It’s a gorgeously written read from start to finish.
This book combines speculative fiction and contemporary in a less obvious way than The Wicker King. For the most part it reads as a sad, soft contemporary, and then it hits you near the end with a FULLY HEARTBREAKING speculative element! Certain space tropes always make me cry and this one had me sobbing until I gave myself a damn headache.
(See why I need an ambulance?)
Character-wise, Ryann is an incredible protagonist. She’s a butch lesbian who is taking care of her brother with selective mutism and his baby son following their parents’ sudden death. Ryann is voicey as hell, queer as hell, strong as hell, and angry as hell. She will fight anybody who hurts her chosen family, and when she has your back and says “I’m gonna kill your ex-boyfriend” she will actually try to kill your ex-boyfriend.
Also, can we talk about the supporting characters? They’re borderline unlikeable and shouldn’t work together as a friend group, yet these messy children all have each others’ backs. We’ve got a Sikh side character with poly rainbow parents, a cheerleader gal with strict religious parents, a character recovering from addiction, a theatre kid, and a whole bunch of queerness. This cast of characters are the definition of colourful and I would straight up die for them.
There is just so much to love about this book and I can tell that I’m gonna be thinking about it forever. 5 million bajillion stars. My poor heart shall never recover.
Representation: butch lesbian black MC, QWOC love interest, selective mutism, teenage fatherhood, orphaned teens, Sikh side character with poly rainbow parents, queer male supporting characters, recovering addict side character
The Weight of the Stars was every bit as strange, beautiful, and heartbreaking as I’d hoped it would be. It’s a strange contemporary about a strange group of misfits who find each other in strange ways, plus a girl who listens to radio signals from space.
If you enjoyed the quick writing style and format of The Wicker King you get a similar vibe here, right down to the page headings. For a story that often makes huge time jumps, there is so much rich detail to it, with seemingly little details that become more significant later on (like the apples!) I loved the often lyrical writing, which leaned in and out of realistic teen speak. It’s a gorgeously written read from start to finish.
This book combines speculative fiction and contemporary in a less obvious way than The Wicker King. For the most part it reads as a sad, soft contemporary, and then it hits you near the end with a FULLY HEARTBREAKING speculative element! Certain space tropes always make me cry and this one had me sobbing until I gave myself a damn headache.
(See why I need an ambulance?)
Character-wise, Ryann is an incredible protagonist. She’s a butch lesbian who is taking care of her brother with selective mutism and his baby son following their parents’ sudden death. Ryann is voicey as hell, queer as hell, strong as hell, and angry as hell. She will fight anybody who hurts her chosen family, and when she has your back and says “I’m gonna kill your ex-boyfriend” she will actually try to kill your ex-boyfriend.
Also, can we talk about the supporting characters? They’re borderline unlikeable and shouldn’t work together as a friend group, yet these messy children all have each others’ backs. We’ve got a Sikh side character with poly rainbow parents, a cheerleader gal with strict religious parents, a character recovering from addiction, a theatre kid, and a whole bunch of queerness. This cast of characters are the definition of colourful and I would straight up die for them.
There is just so much to love about this book and I can tell that I’m gonna be thinking about it forever. 5 million bajillion stars. My poor heart shall never recover.
Representation: butch lesbian black MC, QWOC love interest, selective mutism, teenage fatherhood, orphaned teens, Sikh side character with poly rainbow parents, queer male supporting characters, recovering addict side character
xpressionless's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mcspace's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ceena's review
5.0
Gosh, this book was good. It did take me a few chapters to get into, especially since it starts with bullying. I'm not sure how or why she thought that was the way to go. It was hard to put down though and the characters won over my heart. Halfway through the book I knew I was going to love it.
I will admit, the ending had me confused at first. I was even tearing up and crying as I tried to read all the way to the end and I'll take that happy ending which forced even more tears from my eyes. This is an absolutely lovely, magical book.
I will admit, the ending had me confused at first. I was even tearing up and crying as I tried to read all the way to the end and I'll take that happy ending which forced even more tears from my eyes. This is an absolutely lovely, magical book.
cassguin's review
5.0
This is my 2nd time reading this book and I can 100% say it is my favorite book of all time (and possibly the best book ever written).
This book does a wonderfully painful thing to me where it makes be feel simultaneously heavy yet lightweight, in the best way possible.
The characters in this book are flawed and angry and vulnerable but so full of hope and joy and love for one another in a way that wrenches my heart.
Ancrum perfectly captures the feeling of awe and amazement I feel while looking up at the night sky and hoping to get there one day but fearing the wide, open expanse of loneliness up there, too.
The Weight of the Stars is a beautiful book about found families, loneliness, love, dreams, space, and making choices and living with those choices.
If you haven't read this book I highly recommend that you do because I will be reading this one for a very long time.
To the moon and back.
This book does a wonderfully painful thing to me where it makes be feel simultaneously heavy yet lightweight, in the best way possible.
The characters in this book are flawed and angry and vulnerable but so full of hope and joy and love for one another in a way that wrenches my heart.
Ancrum perfectly captures the feeling of awe and amazement I feel while looking up at the night sky and hoping to get there one day but fearing the wide, open expanse of loneliness up there, too.
The Weight of the Stars is a beautiful book about found families, loneliness, love, dreams, space, and making choices and living with those choices.
If you haven't read this book I highly recommend that you do because I will be reading this one for a very long time.
To the moon and back.
glutenfree_nonbinary_heehee's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I really wanted to like this book because who doesn’t love sapphic love and space? And butch rep! Plus the title rocks.
However, I left the book just wondering…why? I never really understood why the characters did what they did or why Ryann wanted to go to space and did it. It really seemed like we were told she wanted to go to space rather than shown. I felt like this book could’ve gone in a different direction, as it had so many avenues to flesh out that it really didn’t.
The recordings from Alexandria’s mother in space were so interesting, and honestly made it sound so harrowing that I couldn’t believe Ryann would still want to go to space after hearing all of that. Again, we were told she did, not shown, so it was very hard to believe.
Additionally, I known I might not be the target audience as I’m white and didn’t grow up in a space similar to Ryann, but I can’t stand the way her and her friends treated Alexandria and each other before they were in the friend group together. It was hard to listen to at points. I can see the angle the author was going for, but it just reminded me of the “oh that boy is picking on you because he likes you” trope in a way.
There were a lot of things I enjoyed about the book, but I did walk away feeling generally “meh.”
However, I left the book just wondering…why? I never really understood why the characters did what they did or why
The recordings from Alexandria’s mother in space were so interesting, and honestly made it sound so harrowing that I couldn’t believe Ryann would still want to go to space after hearing all of that. Again, we were told she did, not shown, so it was very hard to believe.
Additionally, I known I might not be the target audience as I’m white and didn’t grow up in a space similar to Ryann, but I can’t stand the way her and her friends treated Alexandria and each other before they were in the friend group together. It was hard to listen to at points. I can see the angle the author was going for, but it just reminded me of the “oh that boy is picking on you because he likes you” trope in a way.
There were a lot of things I enjoyed about the book, but I did walk away feeling generally “meh.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
Minor: Bullying, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
icaruscaelum's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25