Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Weight of the Stars

How did a book I almost DNF’ed end up leaving me in tears of sadness and hope? How did a book, with what I thought to be mediocre writing, end up having some of the most stunningly beautiful quotes in the back half?

This was well worth the read and I am beyond glad I stuck with it. While most conclusions and answers felt handed over without much conflict I see the reasons why now. This book isn’t about the conflict or resolution, it’s about human experience in a way we can all understand it. It’s about failures and pulling yourself out of your circumstance. It’s about love and family and how that transcends space and time.

This book was wonderful, I’m glad o gave it the chance it deserved.

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calicot's review

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medium-paced

3.5

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booksthatburn's review

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adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

THE WEIGHT OF THE STARS is about connection and desire, a story of love and found family, yearning for the stars while understanding the gravity of the undertaking.

This is set in the same town as THE WICKER KING a little more than two decades later and it was amazing to see Jack and August again, now as adults. If you haven’t read THE WICKER KING, this will completely make sense without it. If you have read it then it’s a very welcome peek into their lives as they’re helpful adults in the periphery of THE WEIGHT OF STARS.

I’m so happy to see Ryann as a female protagonist who is given space and encouragement to pursue her dreams without worrying about how it will affect anyone else. She cares so much about people, then when it’s a choice between being selfish and selfless after years of feeling like selfless is the only right choice she gets to make her choice. The slow-burn romance builds her up and pushes her to be and do what she wants. It would have been so easy for it to hold her back and being one more thing shelving her dreams. It’s a love story about helping each other be better people, first and foremost, and that makes it so powerful to read. I especially like the portrayal of Ryann's brother and his son. I don't think I've read a book with a nonverbal character who was treated as self-sufficient before, let alone one who is himself taking care of another person. The friend group is numerous enough to really feel like a group with complex interrelationships, but the focus is managed carefully so that the cast stays manageable in scale with the story. I love that there's a heist because I love heists, but it's a relatively minor portion of the book and it's more about what happens around it and what the circumstances of the heist prompt in the relationships between the characters than it is about the actual event. Not a heist story, just a story with a small heist-like thing.

K. Ancrum’s work (specifically but not exclusively THE WICKER KING, LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN RAVEN, and THE WEIGHT OF THE STARS) exists in this strange middle space between realistic fiction and sci-fi/fantasy. It’s not, ultimately, a fantasy story in THE WICKER KING, just like THE WEIGHT OF THE STARS isn’t strict science fiction but plausible science future. If certain real-world private companies trying to get into space had made different decisions then the backstory of anguish and separation undergirding this story could be happening now (though I hope it’s not). Alternate-history? Alternate-contemporary? It’s strange and beautiful, reaching and yearning, a slow-burn romance igniting like a rocket into a strange place where kisses matter but are not the point. Where jars of applesauce add up to time in the sky. Kindness coming back and making things a little bit better, the space to not speak but maintain connection. Unabashedly queer where that means LGBTQ+ but also strange, odd, a cluster of found family when "no one likes me" and "I am afraid" is met with "sit with us".

This is for when you want to feel like magic is real and the stars can be felt, for just a little while, but the rest of the world isn’t asked to stop. It won’t and it can’t. But for a time the world is brighter with every turning page.

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anna_23's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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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elcowboyreads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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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geckomeg's review

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emotional hopeful sad 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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annalisaely's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

I loved the found family in the little glob of misfits surrounding the main character, and the way she kept adding to it. The main relationship grew beautifully and I loved seeing all the characters process their life situations and emotions. There is a f/f relationship, a gay side character, and the brother of the main character is nonspeaking and communicates via typing. I felt like I was being hugged every time I picked it up.

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