“Wait....what?” Probably my most used phrase while reading The Weight of the Stars. I had so many questions about what was and was not happening in this book. If I’m being honest I probably would have stopped reading if I hadn’t picked it up for a book club I had joined. ⁣
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Ryann is a girl with big dreams and an even bigger sense of responsibility to the people in her life. With her parents gone she has her brother and a small circle of friends. She holds a lot of anger but also love for the people in her life. When Alexandria shows up Ryann first offers friendship but that quickly turns sour. Alexandria has one focus, trying to pick up radio messages from her mother but when she gets hurt she is forced to rely on Ryann and her friends to continue this. I don’t want to give any spoilers but the circumstances around how they got here are kinda messed up and not really addressed. ⁣
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I had much more interest in learning about some of the side characters than I did about Ryann and Alexandria. I loved the love and the care this group of friends eventually showed for each other but there was not enough for me to buy a romantic relationship between Ryann and Alexandria. There were definitely elements of love in the story but in my opinion, not a romantic one. ⁣
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Overall, the Weight Of the Stars is a super-fast read with some friendship and family dynamics that will punch you in the gut. In the end that wasn’t enough for me and I was super confused regarding the character's decisions. I didn’t believe the need or desire to go to space and the short chapters felt like a previously on or a short flashback from a show rather than a fully developed story. The whole time I was reading I just felt like there was something I was missing. Like if only I could piece it together maybe I could also fall in love with the story. In the end, this just was not for me. ⁣