A review by syafa
The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf

adventurous hopeful reflective tense 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

3.25

I'll start with what frustrated me. One is that I think the action escalated too fast? I kinda wish we saw her go through a normal school day/week/month/whatever before all the shit goes down, and get exposure and context to the unrest slowly vs right in the thick of it. The second thing that's kinda related to the lack of exposition before all the action is that I'm not convinced of the depth of her relationships. Like I feel like her closeness to the people supposedly important in her life is more "tell" (and all from her internal monologue) vs "show" and given that that's her main driver throughout the story...idk I just didn't feel convinced of her motivation and anxiety. I do really appreciate the historical context that was chosen though. Like I appreciate that a story like this exists to capture the "emotional truth" of that moment in history. And I did also appreciate the honest way that it talks about her views on religion - like it's human for faith to waver but it feels like such a taboo topic to bring up or admit to in reality.