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The Weight of Water

The Weight of Water

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There won't be a review as I don't think I can write a review to show how much I was surprised with this novel. A brief thought:

The Weight of Water by W.A. Schwartz | Goodreads The Weight of Water by W.A. Schwartz | Goodreads

I really liked this book because it tells Kasienka’s story in verse as she arrives in England to search for her father. Life is lonely for her. At school she doesn’t have many friends and at home her mother’s heart is broken. However, The Weight of Water wasn’t all doom and gloom. I felt that the plot was solid, and actually quite enjoyable. The characters, whilst seeming to be distant, were still likable and it highlighted problems faced by many immigrants. These included on that happened at the beginning of the book, when a teacher assumes Kasienka wants to be called Cassie. Is this an act of Xenophobia? Or is this merely a teacher thinking that she is doing the right thing. As well as this, it highlights issues with bullying, especially with foreigners. Kasienka gets bullied herself, and many of the teachers seem to look away, or not notice. This is particularly relevant as last week was anti-bullying week. Jean becomes immersed in the details of the 19th-century murders after discovering a purported memoir of Maren in the library. Gradually, tensions increase among the group on the sloop, with unspoken emotions surfacing. Jean begins to suspect an affair between Thomas and Adaline. My favorite character was Kasienka. That answer may seem quite dull as she is the main character but it still stays. She is one of the most interesting characters in the story – period. The Weight of Water is a 1997 novel by Anita Shreve. Half of the novel is historical fiction based on the Smuttynose Island murders, which took place in 1873.As she tries to navigate her new surroundings, she makes a special friend, learns to look out for herself and even realize her potential. Jean Janes is researching the Smuttynose Murders. Bringing along her husband and daughter, she charters her brother-in-law’s boat to take photos and get a feel for the island. She pulls letters, journals, and information about the trial which are archived in the historic city of Portsmouth. Jean steadily unravels the story leading up to the murders, as well as the suspecting infidelity of her husband. This poetic novel is sheer perfection - for adults as well as for teenagers. Being in Kasienka's head, the reader gains a new understanding of how alienation feels. I loved it. - Irish Examiner The verse works well because it forces you to pay attention to every word. With prose, it is so easy to skim and still get the gist of the plot. This book has a plot, but the story is definitely about the trajectory of Kasienka as a character. She begins as a scared girl and matures, with each challenge teaching her something valuable about who she is becoming. She faces down the Popular Girl, develops shy affection for a boy in Year 9, and even struggles with keeping a secret from her mother that could tear them asunder. Because everything is narrated in her poetry, we only ever get a sense of Kasienka—the other characters are more like shadows of themselves than real people—but that’s enough.

TALKING POINTS CILIP Carnegie Medal Shortlist 2013 TALKING POINTS CILIP Carnegie Medal Shortlist 2013

But I wouldn’t say that this is a particularly sad book. Yes there are a lot of moving poems, especially when Kasienka first moves to England and constantly feels “unwanted and misused”, but I also saw this book as more about finding out who you are and becoming comfortable with it. Interwoven with the modern story is the saga of what happened on the island in 1873 when two women were brutally murdered with an ax. This part of the novel, told in a memoir by another woman who hid in a cave after the murders, is even more intense than Jean’s marital woes. I don’t want to spoil any of the delicious narrative surprises Shreve has in store, so I’ll just say that there’s insanity, jealousy and incest at work on the island in 1873—problems that continue to resonate and haunt characters 100 years later. It may have been made even moodier by the sense of deja vu I experienced as I must have seen some part of the movie years ago. That feeling always disorients this reader. Also, another amazing feature that the book has is that it is laid out in a poem format, without rhyming though. This is interesting to me as it could mean the whole book is an account from Kasienka from either the present or the future. This could be quite vague (like the climax) as you could decide why it is laid out like thata b STEPHEN HOLDEN, "FILM REVIEW; Women at the Edge, a Century Apart", New York Times, 1 November 2002, accessed 20 August 2012

The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve | Goodreads

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide. Get started Close I always like a Sarah Crossan's book. This one was well done and I appreciate so much the fact that it was written in verse, the author is truly good with this writing style. Two sisters were separated and both had different lives. Rachel had always wanted to protect her younger sister Talia but she didn't realise that Talia was actually protecting her all those times.No physical violence, but Kasienka experiences prejudice and bullying (snide remarks, being ostracized) at school. One of the students and her clique make fun of her clothes and her haircut, whisper and gossip about her, and exclude her. Kasienka thinks,"I am a fox surrounded by beagles. They will eat me alive and spit out the fat." This is a short book to read and I loved the style of writing. No need for long chapters describing the scenes – the author conveys her story incredibly. One night, Rachel receives a phone call. The information she is given sets in motion a series of events that will unravel her life, force her to examine past decisions, and take her on a psychologically arduous journey to save her sister. Ultimately she is faced with the an almost impossible choice. Kasienka isn't the happiest girl in the world. At home, her mother is suffering from a broken heart as she searches for Kasienka's father. And at school, Kasienka is having trouble being the new girl and making friends. The only time she feels comforted is when she's swimming at the pool. But she can't quite shake the feeling that she's sinking. Until a new boy swims into her life, and she learns that there might be more than one way to stay afloat.



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