The Weight of a Thousand Feathers
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the acclaimed author of When Mr. Dog Bites and The Bombs That Brought Us Together comes a compelling, thought-provoking, heartbreaking, and timely story that asks: how far would you go for family?
As the person who cares for his terminally-ill mother, Bobby Seed has a lot on his plate. Add to that a responsibility to watch over his little brother (with his endless question about why their mother is in so much pain), keeping up at school, and navigating a relationship with a girl friend who wants to be a girlfriend, and he's barely keeping his head above the water. Something's got to give.
But then Bobby's mother makes a request, one that seems impossible. If he agrees, he won't just be soothing her pain. He'll be helping her end it -- and end everything. Angry, stirring, and tender, this bold novel tells a story of choice and compassion, exploring the lengths to which we'll go for the people we love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Scottish teen Bobby Seed, 17, finds himself caring for both his 14-year-old brother, Dan, whose undiagnosed psychosocial condition leads to developmentally younger behavior, and his mother, whose advanced multiple sclerosis makes her dependent on Bobby for basic needs. Witty, upbeat conversations between mother and son do not disguise the anguish caused by the family's unplanned role reversals. An invitation to join a support group brings Bobby a welcome weekly respite as well as relationships with other teens who truly understand his predicament. Bobby's emotional challenges reach a crisis point when his mother asks him to help end her life. Through Bobby's conversational narrative voice ("Ever want to piss someone off? Tell them you understand their pain: that'll work a treat") peppered with snippets of poetry, Conaghan (The Bombs that Brought Us Together) deftly manages his heavy subject matter, conveying both the particular conundrums caused by Bobby's atypical responsibilities and more predictable teenage challenges regarding sexual identity, friendships, and experimentation. This illuminating, thought-provoking novel offers a compassionate exploration of the weighty responsibilities that one teenage caregiver faces. Ages 14 up. (Feb.)
