The Weight of a Thousand Feathers

December 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up{amp}mdash;This first-person work of realistic fiction features Bobby Seed, a teen who has been foisted into the role of "carer," a term American readers might find unfamiliar but will soon understand as they read about Bobby's wisecracking and loving mother becoming less able to take care of herself and her family because of her multiple sclerosis (MS). Not only must Bobby manage school and dinner, but he must also attend to laundry and all his mum's personal needs. Add to that coping with a younger brother with some cognitive and behavioral challenges of his own, and the teen badly needs a solid friend like Bel whose romantic feelings Bobby does not return. He also begins to attend a support group for other teen carers, where he meets Lou, a guy with a Vespa and an American flavor of cool, whom Bobby does find attractive. The book's second half sees Bobby rooming with Lou at a weekend group outing, trying to provide his mum with pot at her nostalgic request to relive her youth while she still can, and hoping to manage even more unthinkable requests as she faces the total loss of body control. While the story is important, the writing style and poor pacing fail to pull teens into Bobby's narrative. VERDICT An additional purchase.{amp}mdash;Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA

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Starred review from December 1, 2018
A teen struggles with just how far he's willing to go for his terminally ill mother.While most kids his age are arguing with their parents over curfews and screen time, Scottish 17-year-old Bobby Seed is his mother's caregiver. Mum has secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, a painful and debilitating disease of the central nervous system. There's no pretty way to say it: Mum is going to die. Bobby also looks after his 14-year-old brother, Danny, who acts much younger than his age (he seems to have an undiagnosed cognitive disability; their mother wanted to avoid labeling him). In addition to making sure Danny brushes his teeth and gets to school on time, Bobby tries to protect him from their mother's prognosis with lies and half-truths. Mum's health is rapidly deteriorating, and she makes a request that changes everything: She wants Bobby to end her life. Bobby loves her more than anything, but can he take away her pain by taking her life? Bobby's first-person narration is a masterful and very realistic blend of sarcasm, shame, hopefulness, earnestness, and anger. His emotional ups and downs parallel MS's vicious cycle of relapse and recovery. Awkward moments with his crush, Lou, the ultracool American guy who drives a vintage Vespa, and lots of ribbing from Mum add a touch of comic relief to temper the story's seriousness. Assume whiteness throughout.Uncompromising, unflinching, and unsentimental. (Fiction. 14-adult)

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November 15, 2018
Grades 9-12 Bobby Seed is a caregiver. Along with the usual school-related responsibilities of a 17-year-old, Bobby is tasked with looking out for his younger brother, keeping the house clean and food on the table, and, most important, taking care of his mother, whose advanced-stage MS is rapidly taking its toll on her body and mind. Just as his mother asks him to consider helping her end her suffering, Bobby starts attending a support group for teen caregivers and finds solace and possible romance within the group. Bobby's wry, sometimes crude narration can be repetitive, but is a welcome antidote for the dark subject matter. His romance with an appealing bad boy in the support group is complex and uneasy, building to a truly disturbing and frightening scene. The relationships depicted, especially between Bobby and his mother, are raw and real, and readers will be rooting for this family even if they're not sure what outcome they're rooting for. A heavy, well-written examination of ethics and family bonds.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)