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A review by ihateprozac
The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum
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