I’ve yet to hear a bad word regarding this novel, so I was definitely curious going in. An equally hard-hitting and hopeful story, The Weight of Our Sky was unique and enjoyable; however, unfortunately, no elements stood out to me.

This has to be one of the most unique historical fiction novels I’ve ever read. I’m ashamed to say I don’t recall ever learning or even hearing of the 1969 Kuala Lumpur riots, and while I’m aware this is in no way a history book, I found it insightful regardless. Alkaf wrote the complexities of the time into the story — racial tension, mental illness stigmatization — and I believe it worked out quite well.

Melati was a well-developed protagonist, and her development as the story progressed was remarkable. On the outside, she’s your average teen girl that loves the Beatles, but on the inside, anxiety, OCD, and survivor’s guilt are constantly warring with her love for her mother and determination to find her. I appreciated that in the end, she didn’t overcome her mental illness, but instead realized it didn’t define her and found a way to mitigate it in day to day life.

Another aspect I liked was the complete lack of romance in the novel. Though the end does seem to hint at one to come, the plot is dedicated to the riots and the accompanying tension, as well as Melati’s journey to find her mother and accommodate the Djinn in her head. Vincent was a good character as well, but a romantic relationship of any sort simply wouldn’t fit with this sort of story. In this way alone, Alkaf differentiated her novel from many others under the YA umbrella.

However, my issue with this story was simply that I felt no real connection to it. I was curious about the sequence of events in each chapter, but never invested. I have no reason to decrease my rating, but no reason to increase it either. It was unique, a handful of elements did interest me, but I wasn’t attached. This is turning out to be an instance in which my thoughts make sense in my head and cease to do so when expressed, so I’ll stop here.

The Weight of the Sky is worthy of the praise it receives from other readers and bloggers, even if I didn’t love it as fervently as they seem to. It’s an undeniably heavy read, but if you can handle the contents, it’s worth your time. Alkaf packs a lot into a small novel, and I’m curious to see what she’ll do next.

Oh, and May is an adorable little bean. If there’s one thing that could’ve made the ending better, it’s more information about her. How is she? Where did she go? Does she have enough dessert? I must know.

Representation:
• All Asian cast.
• Melati is a Muslim Malaysian girl with anxiety and OCD.
• Malay and Chinese side characters.

CW: violence, gore, death, racism, anxiety, OCD