A vivid, evocative YA lesbian romance about how the universe is full of second chances
Ryann Bird dreams of traveling across the stars. But a career in space isn’t an option for a girl who lives in a trailer park on the “wrong” side of town. So Ryann becomes her circumstances and settles for acting out and skipping school to hang out with her delinquent friends.
One day she meets Alexandria: a furious loner who spurns Ryann’s offer of friendship. After a horrific accident leaves Alexandria with a broken arm, the girls are brought together despite themselves―and Ryann learns her secret: Alexandria’s mother is an astronaut who volunteered for a one-way trip to the edge of the solar system.
Every night without fail, Alexandria waits to catch radio signals from her mother. And now it’s up to Ryann to lift her onto the roof day after day until the silence between them grows into friendship, and eventually something more.
The Weight of the Stars is the new LGBT young adult romance from K. Ancrum, written with the same style of short, micro-fiction chapters and immediacy that garnered acclaim for her debut, The Wicker King.
An Imprint Book
“The Weight of the Stars is one of the most gentle, gracious, and, overall, kind books that I've read all year ... It's a YA romance about girls and stars and friendship and mercy and loss and regret and what we owe each other and what we give away to lift each other up ... This book is starlight on broken concrete, it's flowers on a broken rooftop, and it's a masterpiece.” ―Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart a Doorway
“As bright as it is stellar ... a story with a lush, dark atmosphere; heartbreaking circumstances; bright, new love that blossoms from ugliness; and vividly real, magnetic characters.” ―Booklist (starred review)
“Touches on sexual identity, friendship, nontraditional families, and the price of human space exploration. The characters' resilience and vulnerability are deftly handled ... For readers who are drawn to the unconventional, this will be a satisfying read.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Their slow-burn romance ... is sweetly, devastatingly understated.” - BCCB
PRAISE FOR THE WICKER KING:
“Ancrum delves into the blurry space between reality and madness. A haunting and provocative read that will keep teens riveted.” ―School Library Journal
“Teen fans of moody psychological horror will be entranced.” ―Booklist
“Give this to readers who like complex, experimental fictions about intense relationships that acquire mythic resonance.” ―The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“An eerie piece of realistic fiction whose characters revel in intense emotions.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“An eerie and mesmerizing thriller that questions the space where reality and perception overlap, The Wicker King is a spine-tingling read that will have you riveted.” ―Caleb Roerhrig, author of Last Seen Leaving and White Rabbit
2/5 ⭐️
My first book by this author and my first sci-fi book too. I didn’t know what was coming or what to expect.
Well, sci-fi isn’t what I would call this. Soft sci-fi if I made a far stretch, YA with the tiniest grain of sci-fi, yes.
Sadly this did not meet up to my expectations.
The characters fall flat, the story is patchy and feels rushed, the language is not really eloquent either, the author tried to give it a deeper meaning but I just could not find it.
It is a quick read, it is queer YA, but that is all to it for me.
5. Mai 2025
2,0
2/5 ⭐️
My first book by this author and my first sci-fi book too. I didn’t know what was coming or what to expect.
Well, sci-fi isn’t what I would call this. Soft sci-fi if I made a far stretch, YA with the tiniest grain of sci-fi, yes.
Sadly this did not meet up to my expectations.
The characters fall flat, the story is patchy and feels rushed, the language is not really eloquent either, the author tried to give it a deeper meaning but I just could not find it.
It is a quick read, it is queer YA, but that is all to it for me.
DNF @ 50%
I'm sad about all the books I already had to DNF this year.
I'm sure this one can do a lot of things for a lot of people but I just can't do YA anymore. I was 175 pages in and nothing had happened yet. It was just about the daily lives of some teenagers and that's just not for me anymore.
17. Juni 2023
DNF @ 50%
I'm sad about all the books I already had to DNF this year.
I'm sure this one can do a lot of things for a lot of people but I just can't do YA anymore. I was 175 pages in and nothing had happened yet. It was just about the daily lives of some teenagers and that's just not for me anymore.
"We are all together in this incomprehensible wait." (First I just want to say that even if you are not interested in this story you should at least read K. Ancrum's Authors Note.) The Weight of the Stars is about Ryann, about her brother and her found family. It's just been a few minutes since I finished this book but the story is still in the process of finishing me. My heart hurts and I am full of hope. When I bought this book and even when I started reading I honestly had no idea what this book would be about. I just had this feeling that I would love it and that it would mean a lot to me once I finished it. I feel like from no one this book will be one of those on the shelf for "bad times". The book close to Radio Silence, Heartstopper, The Starless Sea, Elizabeth Acevedo's books. A book I pick up when I have a bad day and need to be reminded of love and hope and what is possible. What really made this book special to me were the characters and the atmosphere. I honestly weren't much invested in the plot until the very very end.. but the characters got my attention. I was interested in understanding them, in getting to know them and in the end I really just wanted to spend time with them.. and it hurt when I turned the last pages and had to say goodbye. The atmosphere was amazing. The stargazing and talking on the rooftop.. I want to be there. I really just want to be there with all of them. The writing felt very to the point but at the same time is was poetical and at times very metaphoric. I have to say that I was sometimes confused and there were parts I didn't really get, people said or did stuff that just came out of nowhere and I had trouble connecting it to the bigger picture but somehow I feel like this was part of what made this book so special and honestly so beautiful. We don't get to fully understand the characters or the world or the story and thats ok. We definitely get to love all of it. I also want to mentioned the great representation of people from different backgrounds, religions, identities. It amazed me how sincere it came across, how natural it was and it made me feel very safe. I guess that's what I want to end this review with, actually: K. Ancrum makes you feel safe. K. Ancrum gifts us all a safe space with her book.
20. Mai 2024
4,0
"We are all together in this incomprehensible wait." (First I just want to say that even if you are not interested in this story you should at least read K. Ancrum's Authors Note.) The Weight of the Stars is about Ryann, about her brother and her found family. It's just been a few minutes since I finished this book but the story is still in the process of finishing me. My heart hurts and I am full of hope. When I bought this book and even when I started reading I honestly had no idea what this book would be about. I just had this feeling that I would love it and that it would mean a lot to me once I finished it. I feel like from no one this book will be one of those on the shelf for "bad times". The book close to Radio Silence, Heartstopper, The Starless Sea, Elizabeth Acevedo's books. A book I pick up when I have a bad day and need to be reminded of love and hope and what is possible. What really made this book special to me were the characters and the atmosphere. I honestly weren't much invested in the plot until the very very end.. but the characters got my attention. I was interested in understanding them, in getting to know them and in the end I really just wanted to spend time with them.. and it hurt when I turned the last pages and had to say goodbye. The atmosphere was amazing. The stargazing and talking on the rooftop.. I want to be there. I really just want to be there with all of them. The writing felt very to the point but at the same time is was poetical and at times very metaphoric. I have to say that I was sometimes confused and there were parts I didn't really get, people said or did stuff that just came out of nowhere and I had trouble connecting it to the bigger picture but somehow I feel like this was part of what made this book so special and honestly so beautiful. We don't get to fully understand the characters or the world or the story and thats ok. We definitely get to love all of it. I also want to mentioned the great representation of people from different backgrounds, religions, identities. It amazed me how sincere it came across, how natural it was and it made me feel very safe. I guess that's what I want to end this review with, actually: K. Ancrum makes you feel safe. K. Ancrum gifts us all a safe space with her book.
