The Weight of Memory (Paperback)

As usual, this book by Shawn Smucker has characters that are unique, but still feel like they live down the road from you. The town of Nysa is vaguely creepy, so you will worry about these characters that might live down the street from you. These characters face down really hard things and you will wonder exactly what is real, just like these characters do. You will be left feeling triumphant and a little nervous by what is really possible in this life. The characters and setting are powerful. The ending of this will stick with me. In some ways it is tied up and other parts are loose, so my mind just keeps wandering around Nysa. I received a copy of the book. This is my review. Thank you to NetGalley and Revell.

I decided to stay up late last night to finish reading this story. It's good...not the kind of good I expected, or maybe even looked for, but it has still made me think. But since I can't decide whether I like the story enough to want a copy on my shelf, or if it's one that I'd likely shelve and never read again, I thought I'd offer three likes and dislikes about the book. I disliked: 1. The "ghost" that appeared throughout the book. It creeped me out several times, and I was VERY thankful to know I was just reading a book, and that this kind of thing doesn't happen in real life! 2. At least half of this book is written in first-person present-tense, which I found really jarring at times. I'm the kind of person who loves to experiment with writing in this style, but finds it difficult to read. 3. It was a sad story, and though it had a redemptive ending, the ending almost wasn't enough to make up for the rest of it (in saying that, I thought the same about the last Smucker book I read--These Nameless Things--and then I ended up changing my mind and loving it when I re-read the ending several months later). But lest you think it's all bad, here are the things I LOVED about the book! 1. The richness of the characters, the way they (and the wording itself) drew me into the story. The story crafting was beautiful. I could study it all day, and that would be one of my main reasons for reading this again. 2. The way this book made me think...about regrets (or the things we don't regret), how good decisions can greatly impact our lives in the future, about secrets and the way they can affect us...I loved that it wasn't just a story to experience, but one to think about. 3. The grandfather/granddaughter relationship in here--it's not something I've seen in many books, but the care he had for her and she for him were beautiful. There are so many things I could say about the book, but I'll leave it as it is. It was a bittersweet read. One I wasn't sure, halfway through, if I'd even finish, but one I'm glad I did finish in the end. Would I read it again? Possibly--once I've had a good few years to mull over the story. Trigger warning: Drownings and near-drownings are a theme in this book. I was given a review copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.