The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy

The Weight of Air
by Kimberly Duffy

ISBN-13: 9780764240386
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Released: February 7th 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In 1911, Mabel MacGinnis is Europe's strongest woman and has performed beside her father in the Manzo Brothers Circus her entire life. But at his unexpected death, she loses everything she's ever known and sets off in the company of acrobat Jake Cunningham for America in hope of finding the mother she's just discovered is still alive.

Isabella Moreau, the nation's most feted aerialist, has given everything to the circus. But age and injury now threaten her security, and Isabella, stalked by old fears, makes a choice that risks everything. When her daughter Mabel appears at Madison Square Garden alongside the man who never wanted to see Isabella again, Isabella is forced to face the truth of where, and in what, she derives her worth.


My Review:
The Weight of Air is a Christian romance set in 1911 in Europe and New York. The first half of the story felt so hopeless because the main characters (Isabella, Mabel, and Jake) seemed so determined to be unhappy. Jake lost his wife to a stunt meant to bring her fame and felt like he couldn't let himself be happy. Isabella was told by her strongman husband that she's weak despite her physical strength because she suffered postpartum depression. He convinced her that she brought only weakness to any relationship and would make their daughter weak. Mabel's the world's strongest woman, but her father and the circus owner convinced her that she's weak without her father and had no value beyond her oddness (her height and strength). They made her dependent on them. But Jake supported Mabel and did what he could to convince her that she's beautiful, lovable, and able to be strong on her own. Isabella's old friend and admirer tried to convince her that she's lovable, forgiven, and didn't have to do life alone.

It's Isabella's man who pointed out that God gives strength and was with her, so she's never alone. That she didn't have to live as though the lies that were told to her were true. My only complaint is that the three main characters seemed to have little knowledge about God and less about Christ, so they assumed everyone goes to Heaven, God is with everyone, etc. There was no mention of our need to accept Jesus' saving work as the basis for our relationship with God. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this novel with complex, realistic characters and interesting historical details woven into the story.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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