Book Review – The Weight of Feathers

I’m going to attempt to write a book review for The Weight of Feathers by one of my favourite authors, Anna-Marie McLemore. Her writing is outstanding and my review could never accurately describe this story about families, rivalry, and love.

About The Book 📚

Title: The Weight of Feathers

Author: Anna-Marie McLemore

Publication Date: March 2017 (first published 2015)

Publisher: A Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin’s Griffin

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance, Magical Realism

Goodreads Link

My Review

“Those feathers already had such weight.”

› The Corbeau and Paloma families have feuded for twenty years. They are both traveling performers who come to the town of Almendro during the Blackberry Festival every year. The Corbeaus, a French-Romani family, perform acrobatics in the trees wearing wings made of real feathers. The Palomas, a Spanish family, have a water show with mermaids wearing beautiful hand-made tails.

“The scar on her forearm meant she could never be loyal to her family. Her name meant she could never be loyal to the Corbeaus. The only one left to be loyal to was him.”

› Cluck is a wonderfully sweet boy who makes the wings for the Corbeau performance. The Paloma boys run into Cluck in town and beat him up, not realizing he’s a Corbeau. Lace, branded as a Paloma with birthmarks on her back, gave them trouble for the fight. An accident at the adhesive plant produces rain that burns. Cluck comes across Lace and saves her from the rain, not realizing she is a Paloma. She ends up with a burn in the shape of a feather – a sign that she’s been touched by a Corbeau. Forced to leave her family, she finds Cluck hoping to figure out a way to get rid of the feather-mark. When the Corbeaus discover her cosmetic skills she’s hired to do the make-up of the performers. Lace and Cluck fall in love and uncover the source of the family feud.

“The sense of falling did not touch her, not as long as her body was between the hands of this boy who felt steadier in the air than on the ground.”

› Likes 😻
• I loved everything. The setting, plot, and characters are all extremely well-written.
• The Weight of Feathers is a unique Romeo and Juliet retelling with a different ending.
• French and Spanish language and culture.
• The writing, the writing, the writing. McLemore’s writing is just stunning. I love to read the same sentence over, and over, and over.
• The emotions…oh gosh…I smiled, I laughed, I cried. I felt every emotion in the world. I could cry just thinking about it.
• Diversity! Both protagonists are people of colour and have a disability.
• I am bilingual (French and English) so I knew what the French words and sentences meant. Spanish is similar to French, so I could understand some pieces but sometimes had to google things so I could know what was said. If you don’t speak French or Spanish you’ll want to have google close by so you can translate some sentences.
• McLemore knows how to write a good romance. I’ve read When the Moon Was Ours and The Weight of Feathers and both have authentic teen romances that aren’t insta-love.

“She kissed him so hard he kept his breath still on his tongue. He left the taste of black salt in her mouth. The woody flavor of charcoal. The sugar and acid of citrus peel. The soft metal of iron.”

› Final Thoughts
• The Weight of Feathers is a whimsical and captivating tale that I highly recommend to readers who like Contemporary Romance with magical realism. I think my next McLemore book will be Wild Beauty.

About The Author

https://www.goodreads.com/photo/author/6434877.Anna_Marie_McLemore

“Anna-Marie McLemore was born in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and taught by her family to hear la llorona in the Santa Ana winds. She is the author of THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS, a finalist for the 2016 William C. Morris Debut Award; 2017 Stonewall Honor Book WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS, which was longlisted for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature; WILD BEAUTY, a Kirkus Best Book of 2017; and BLANCA & ROJA, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. DARK AND DEEPEST RED, a reimagining of The Red Shoes based on true medieval events, is forthcoming in January 2020.”

http://author.annamariemclemore.com/p/welcome.html