A Heavy Topic That Doesn't Quite Find Its Balance

Sarah Bannan's Weightless promised a poignant and perhaps unsettling exploration of social dynamics, bullying, and the pressures of conformity in a small-town high school, particularly through the lens of a new, mysterious girl. As a reader who appreciates character-driven stories that delve into the darker aspects of human nature, I was drawn to its seemingly intense premise. The book certainly tackles important themes and has moments of raw insight.

The strengths of Weightless lie in its atmospheric portrayal of the high school environment and the collective narrative voice that attempts to capture the insidious nature of groupthink and rumor. Bannan creates a palpable sense of unease and the suffocating pressure of social hierarchies. The central mystery surrounding the new girl, Ryann, and the events that unfold around her, is initially quite compelling, drawing you into the town's quiet desperation and the girls' complex relationships. The themes of identity, belonging, and the destructive power of gossip are explored.

However, despite its promising premise and atmospheric touches, I found that Weightless didn't quite maintain its narrative balance. The pacing, while attempting to build a sense of dread, often felt a little too slow and meandering, causing the story to lose momentum. While the collective narrative voice is a unique stylistic choice, it sometimes made it difficult to connect deeply with individual characters or their emotional journeys. The emotional impact, while present in glimpses, didn't consistently land with the depth I had hoped for, leaving me feeling a bit detached at times. Some of the plot developments felt a little predictable, and the ultimate resolution, while fitting, didn't quite provide the catharsis or profound insight I was anticipating.

Overall, Weightless is a thoughtful and atmospheric novel that offers a glimpse into the darker side of adolescence and social dynamics. It's a solid choice for readers who appreciate character-driven stories, a focus on psychological tension, and a narrative that explores difficult themes. While it didn't completely captivate me from start to finish, it's a well-crafted story that shows promise and tackles important issues with sincerity.

Weightless, by Sarah Bannan, is a story told from the viewpoint of the plural "we." However, you never really find out who "we" is. "We" really ends up being everyone - you and me, the audience, everyone looking in at the story from the outside; everyone apart from the main characters. This was an unusual viewpoint and took a while to get used to. My biggest issues with this novel are that one - it's quite predictable and two - it constantly names off brands like a teenager trying to be hip. This book was a bit painful for me to get through and unfortunately I gave this only two stars. Pretty cover sucked me in, but I'm not sure why I didn't DNF this one. Wasn't worth it in the end.

A thoughtful, deeply cutting book about the 'real' reality of bullying. About turning the blind eye, about indifference, about 'but this is nothing and she/he just should to learn about how to take it", about 'she/he just should know better'.

15-year-old Carolyn Lessing was first a star when she moved to the small city of Adamsville. Pretty, interesting, different - and even kind. She became popular overnight, hanging with the small town 'creme de la creme'. But there are unwritten rules there in Adamsville high, and in town of Adamsville too - and Carolyn crossed them when she had started to date a guy. An athlete, a boyfriend of a popular cheerleader (and a mean girl), and - coward.
And in the times of Instagram, Facebook, hate speach and just small town curiosity and small-mind, all just went wrong.
But this is not just about a few bullies, a few people who might just be fighting the only way they knew (this is not to making apologizes, just trying to understand shere they are coming from).
This is also about the silent majority - if you take curiosity, stalking and (often malicious) social media posting as a silence. Because nobody ever intervened in this feud, nobody ever offered even a few kind words, nobody ever said/did anything. Not even adults - teachers, parents, pastor. The kids were just left (unknowingly to both them and adults) alone in the cruel high school world. Again, this is not to justify them or their silence.
And what is so impactful about this book is precisely that - the authoress is not moralizing, just painting the picture (from more than one side). The narrators are teenage girls - 4-bodied entity moving entirely together as a group, observing, talking about others, having fun, being unknowingly cruel and hypocritical - as their community might be.
The book transferred me back to my own school time, and I remember some of the dynamics. And I even see the dynamics in the adult life, too. It makes me think about the power of a few kind words, about a contact, touch, the power of simple words like 'I see you. I am sorry. I understand'.
And yet, the book is not a heavy read. Sad, definitely. A food for thought -for sure. Intelligent read - no doubt. But there is also a bit of light, understanding and the fond memories.
Read this.

So sad, and so necessary. I think that all high school students and their parents and teachers and school counselors and administrators should read this as well as the parents of middle school students. The narrator of the story only calls herself "we" because she is just part of the group and in the end, we are all responsible. The narrator describes how a beautiful new girl named Carolyn arrives in town and. because she is beautiful and new, she is accepted into the school and is nominated for the homecoming court. Carolyn doesn't understand that the various cliques at the school are separate and that she can't just go from one to another. She begin's dating the most handsome boy at school, Shane, which makes his now ex-girlfriend hate Carolyn. She joins the swim team where they see scars on her arms. Eventually, Carolyn is bullied and a video of her making out with Shane is posted online. The book shows the attitudes of the students about everything that goes down. "We" didn't really participate in any bullying of Carolyn. Sure, there was that one time, but they changed what we said or perhaps someone else spread that rumor. The book shows how we are all accountable for how we treat others and that being a bystander is also being guilty. We could have done something different if we had known what was going to happen. Perhaps we could have changed things, but it is too late now. The book is just heartbreaking.

I was intrigued with this book from the beginning. From the unknown yet well-developed narrator to the realistic and heartbreaking interactions and ignorances, it just felt real. A great reminder of how standing up for someone or to someone could make a difference while apathy can lead to unforeseen and unfortunate consequences.