The Weight by Jeff Boyd

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Julian is a twenty something, plays drums in a rock band, lives in Portland, has a solid group of friends with whom he has many things in common. The exception of course is that his friends are all white and Julian is black. As the band inches towards success, Julian flails in a way that is uniquely his own as he navigates work, relationships, and reckoning with his religious upbringing’s effect on his decidedly not religious adulthood as a black man in a predominantly white city. 

The Weight is a phenomenal character study that still manages to have an interesting plot and does not drag on too long. It’s full of interesting scenarios and even more interesting people. This is the type of book that stays with you after you’re done. Not quite book hangover territory but I find myself thinking about it throughout the day, days after having finished. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read the book early. All opinions expressed are mine alone. 

4.5 stars out of 5 rounded up to 5.  

The Weight will be available everywhere books are sold on April 11, 2023. 

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