Reviews with content warning for Bullying - The Weight of the Stars

Holy wow.

The dedication was powerful, and I was captivated by page 6. Troubled teens, astronomy, misfits, kindness and hope hope hope hope hope.

Everyone had complex motivations and character depth (even if I still feel there are some unanswered questions around Alexandria’s dad). Problems don’t get magically solved, and good intentions are no guarantee, but goodness it’s a feel good affair.

The printing of the physical book is intriguing, until all at once it is, instead, captivating.

I wish (Spoilers)

there had been more in text reaction to Effie’s messages. To me, they said “don’t do this”, yet never seemed to give anyone pause. Plus — had Alexandria’s dad received these? If so, why didn’t he share them???

.

That said, my heart was in my throat to the final page: when do characters like these get happy endings, truly?

I never saw the penultimate paragraph coming

to RETURN?!

but it, more than anything else in this matter of factly diverse book of kindness, understanding and hope, makes me want to read more by Ancrum. 😍😍😍

[Characters contexts and complexities probably too old for 5/6 but good for highschool. Characters are 17-18. Clean language]

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periwinkle_flora's review

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hopeful mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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basementofbooks's review

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emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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mariebrunelm's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

I picked up this one because I'd seen so much potential in Ancrum's short story The Legend of the Golden Raven. I read the blurb of The Weight of the Stars but somehow assumed it was Sci-fi when it's much more contemporary with a hint of Sci-fi. But what it is mainly is a book bursting with heart.

Ryann Bird is what you'd call a difficult student. Outwardly she doesn't really care about any of it, except for the group of misfits she's brought together and watches over fiercely. Then a new student walks in. Alexandria is the angriest person Ryann has ever met. So of course the latter agrees to keep an eye on the former. What she didn't expect was for Alexandria to reach to the stars with as much longing as Ryann does.

This book goes from dark to light and back to a darkness that's shot with so much light. You can't help but care deeply for this weird found family and hope they turn out OK. It's an extremely readable book because the chapters are so short you just keep reading one more, knowing your heart is more and more likely to be squeezed tight. Especially when the story starts to get Interstellar vibes. And the emotion kept bubbling up until my eyes were very wet by the end, which is rare enough to note.

Rep: bi MC, black SC, non-speaking SC, and on the whole a bunch of diverse & queer characters.

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