The Weight of Feathers

By: Anna-Marie McLemore

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne, Cynthia Farrell

For 20 years, the Palomas and the Corbeaus have been rivals and enemies, locked in an escalating feud for over a generation. Both families make their living as traveling performers in competing shows - the Palomas swimming in mermaid exhibitions, the Corbeaus, former tightrope walkers, performing in the tallest trees they can find.

Lace Paloma may be new to her family's show, but she knows as well as anyone that the Corbeaus are pure magia negra - black magic from the devil himself. Simply touching one could mean death, and she's been taught from birth to keep away. But when disaster strikes the small town where both families are performing, it's a Corbeau boy, Cluck, who saves Lace's life. And his touch immerses her in the world of the Corbeaus, where falling for him could turn his own family against him, and one misstep can be just as dangerous on the ground as it is in the trees.

Beautifully written and richly imaginative, Anna-Marie McLemore's The Weight of Feathers is an utterly captivating young adult novel by a talented new voice.

©2015 Anna- Marie McLemore (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

Morris Award finalist, 2016

"Narrators Kirby Heyborne and Cynthia Farrell enhance the beauty of the language in this story.... The dual reading reflects the emotional struggles both teens experience as they fight their feelings, and their families, to stay together." (AudioFile)

Meh

There are two reasons this book didn’t make it to my “DNF” list: the first is that I bought it during a 2-for-1 sale and so didn’t pay for it. The second it that where I couldn’t make it anymore, there were only two hours left. The fact that the characters had literal scales and feathers wasn’t super clear right up front and that caused confusion. The author was also super hung up on Lace’s bare breasts, which I didn’t find appropriate in reference to a 16 year old girl. The writing... was fine, I guess. It wasn’t inspiring, but it wasn’t terrible. It was just meh.

Definitely not your typical Romeo & Juliet story!

A fantastic and fascinating story of two rival families with traveling circus acts, the secrets that cage each of them, and two teenagers who can never live up to their families' expectations. Beautifully written and beautifully performed by two great narrators. I was immediately sucked in to the lush descriptions and real multidimensional characters. You'll believe in magic, redemption and hope, as well as fish scales and bird feathers by the end!

A gem of a book

What did you love best about The Weight of Feathers?

So many things; I may need to come back and add to this review when I have more time! For now:
The story drew me in right from the start, and never let me go.
The touches of magical realism are light and beautiful, accentuating the whole without overwhelming the story, and leaving me with beautiful and novel imagery to enjoy long after the story is done.
Lace and Cluck's characters and actions were believable, and I could hardly imagine anyone not caring about them. Their relationship developed in a way which allowed me to believe in their love, and root for them.
The language and dialog are beautiful and moving, yet unaffected and believable -- there is nothing labored or self-conscious about Ms. McLemore's style.
I loved the touches of Spanish and French, and the ways in which these things are part of the flavor of each of the two families.

Amazing!!

This book was amazing. The story hooks you in, and the figurative language and touch of magic is just delightful. Enjoyable love story for all ages. Should be required reading in schools!!!

Meh!

Any additional comments?

I expected more magic, fantasy, something, but it was not there for me. Narration mediocre. Story mediocre. Sorry, guess this was not for me.

beautiful...

Beautiful story. Beautiful language. I loved this. My only issue was the male narrator's French pronunciation. Not only was it clear that he doesn't speak French, but it was clear that he didn't have good coaching for the handful of French he was required to speak.

Really great

I really liked the story. You think it's going to be just another twist on Romeo and Juliet, but the backstory and characters and world of the story was so detailed that it really stood out, and I looked forward to reading it. I like how the chapters switched character points of view as well.

Trees or Water?

If you could sum up The Weight of Feathers in three words, what would they be?

Lace loves Cluck

What other book might you compare The Weight of Feathers to and why?

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby for the magical realismandThe Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

What does Kirby Heyborne and Cynthia Farrell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrators' dialogue and language (French & Spanish) drew me in and had me rooting for Lace & Cluck. Especially beguiling were the narrators, Kirby Heyborne and Cynthia Farrell, they brought this magical world to life and continued the fantasy as each chapter unfolded and the reader was plunged into this world of urban fantasy. Deeply satisfying, magnificent worlds, crazy families and life teetering on the edge.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES YES YES!!!

An interesting tale

Although the story telling was sometimes excessively dramatic the actual story was engaging. People born with fish scales or bird feathers cast against each other in a battle where no one knows the truth. The two main characters are underdogs and rooting for them to win is part in f the experience

Big sigh

An approximated progress report of how it went
10% - okay, whimsical and quirky setting, I dig it
20% - it's just a bit slow, it will pick up.
30% - yup superstitions should totally make you shun a child
40% - I'm just waiting for the sweet release of death at this point.
50% - *swoon* well, that turned around quickly
70% - boy that's a lot of racism
100% - whaaaaaaa-