The Weight of Feathers

By: Anna-Marie McLemore

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne, Cynthia Farrell

Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

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) 

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.

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!!!

A Fantastic Debut

Any additional comments?

In The Weight of Feathers we are introduced to two feuding families – the Palomas and the Corbeaus. Both make their livings as traveling performers, yet a deep-rooted animosity between the two has divided them for over 20 years. When disaster strikes, and the Paloma daughter, Lace, and one of the Corbeau sons, Cluck, are found inexplicably drawn to each other, the tension brewing between the families is dangerously brought back to the forefront. Written in beautiful prose, and comprised of wonderfully developed characters, The Weight of Feathers is a perfect blend of Romeo and Juliet and The Night Circus. Anna-Marie McLemore is a fresh, new voice to the YA genre, and I can’t wait to see what else will come from her.

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!

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.

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-

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

DNF... for now

The clipped way in which the female narrator reads this is something I can not get used too. It’s making it so hard to really enjoy this book. I’m going to shelve it for now and I may just revisit this story via ebook. What I did get of the story is actually intriguing so it’s disappointing that I just can’t stick with the audiobook.

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.

Disappointing narration

If one of the main characters speaks French, and every other chapter has a French heading, it might be good to ensure the narrator has a decent grasp of that language. It really threw me out of the story every time he mispronounced his grandfather's name, Alain, as something closer to 'Elaine'. The female narrator did a much better job.

Similar to others

Overall a good book. the mystery behind some of the characters was good and kept me listening. Although a little Romeo and Juliet, with two different family's with a ford but with lovers from either side.

Don’t let the hype devalue this super book

The comparison to night circus and even 100 years of solitude made me very excited for this book. Well; yes, it’s a book of magical realism and dynastic. I’d say for any reader loving this rarely handled well genre it’s beauty is very real and worth reading. It’s not Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But it has its own charm and beauty and these sort of comparisons are often unfair : We don’t find a flag irises less than a field orchid.

I did not love the Male narrator in particular. Neither detracted hideously from the story but ( and I have it replaying while I write this to be fair) I note that pace is changing for dialogue and the female narrator’s beautiful voice is so pacey I struggled at times and the Spanish, a language I am far from fluent in, was easier for me to follow!

Still, it’s too good a story to miss, and if like me audio is your best or only chance to enjoy it, these aren’t voices that will ruin it for you.

Beautiful

This is just a beautiful story and well told. It tugs against your heart in just the right way