ISBN: 0-670-06028-3

The following review was contributed by:   Lily Azerad-Goldman: CLICK TO VIEW Lily Azerad-Goldman's Reviews

THE WEIGHT OF THE SKY is written solely in free verse- a popular form of poetry that does not rhyme nor does it have a meter. Its popularity stems from the belief that free verse is poetry without rules. Moreover, it is different from prose or poetry in the arrangement of carefully chosen words into verses.

Lisa Ann Sandell’s debut novel, THE WEIGHT OF THE SKY is powerful in its simplicity. What is more amazing is that the entire story is written in verse, no small feat by any means! The characters are very much alive as are the settings, both in the flashbacks in Pennsylvania and in Israel.

The narrative focuses on a simple plot involving an insecure sixteen -year old Sarah, the only Jew in her class in Pennsylvania, who is sent to violence- torn Israel for a summer vacation. Gradually, she falls in love with the country, despite the brutality, the shootings in the streets and bombs going off on buses that are reported on the daily news broadcasts. Lior and Nadaf, two handsome soldiers help her on the road from insecure adolescence to maturity. Harsh life on Kibbutz Kfar Avivim makes her want to return to her cozy home in Pennsylvania, but the beauty surrounding her, the smells, the sounds, and the friendships, override her homesickness.

Sandell’s writing can be compared to a beautiful painting with all the attributes of a master painter. She brings tears to your eyes with the contrast of so much beauty and yet so much sadness. For example, when Sarah asks Michal, the cousin she is staying with:

“Aren’t you proud of them,(Michal’s sons) fighting for Israel?

She glances at me, the lines (etched on her forehead) deepen,

Her mouth screwed up in a grimace.

Yes, I’m proud of them, Sarah,

But not for fighting.”

Or when she describes the setting sun on Kibbutz Kfar Avivim:

“We’re sitting on a wooden bench

in the garden,

watching the sun dip down below

the horizon.

It falls slowly to the crests of the hills

And sinks in

A flare of fuchsia and golden flames.”

The Weight of the Sky should not be limited to the Young Adult audience. Everyone should read and enjoy the beautiful free verse written by such a talented author.