Book Review: Weightless by Sarah Bannan

---

Weightless
Author: Sarah Bannan
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: June 30th 2015
Review Source: St. Martin's Griffin

  

When 15-year-old Carolyn moves from New Jersey to Alabama with her mother, she rattles the status quo of the junior class at Adams High School. A good student and natural athlete, she’s immediately welcomed by the school’s cliques. She’s even nominated to the homecoming court and begins dating a senior, Shane, whose on again/off again girlfriend Brooke becomes Carolyn’s bitter romantic rival. When a video of Carolyn and Shane making out is sent to everyone, Carolyn goes from golden girl to slut, as Brooke and her best friend Gemma try to restore their popularity. Gossip and bullying hound Carolyn, who becomes increasingly private and isolated. When Shane and Brooke—now back together—confront Carolyn in the student parking lot, injuring her, it’s the last attack she can take.

Sarah Bannan's deft use of the first person plural gives Weightless an emotional intensity and remarkable power that will send you flying through the pages and leave you reeling.

Weightless is quite unique. The narrator is never identified. It makes you think the whole town is in bullying one particular person, which makes one sad. Seriously, how bizard must one town be to bully a young teenager? Though they may not directly harass Carolyn, somehow they contribute to it. Feeding gossip is not okay, let alone spread fibs about a person’s life and make a person miserable. It makes you think about how social media is used to bullying and the many other outlets one can spread hurtful sayings.

Actions speak louder than words. Yes, this is true. However, sometimes words can be as hurtful as actions. When Carolyn moves from New Jersey to Adamsville, Alabama her classmates do not welcome her. Instead of embracing her beauty and intelligence, they treat her poorly. I empathized with the way Carolyn was treated. However, the fact that the story was told, I didn’t feel connected with her.

Weightless deals with a dark topic. It is an uneasy read about bullying. I did have an issue how the story was told. I never did find out who was telling the story. But at the end, it really didn’t matter since “they” only focused on the unimportance and superficial things. With this said, Weightless does leave you thinking.