The Weight of Our Sky

Published in 2019, The Weight of Our Sky is a young adult historical fiction novel by Hanna Alkaf. It is Alkaf’s first novel, and she has since written more, which she calls “unapologetically Malaysian books for kids and teens” (Alkaf, Hanna. “About.” Hanna Alkaf). The novel won the Freeman Book Award, is a CBC/NCSS Notable Children’s Book in Social Studies, and was included on the Just One More Page Recommendation List. Alkaf’s novel takes place in Kuala Lumpur—where Alkaf has spent time living—during the 1969 race riots, which were sparked by tensions between Malay and Chinese racial groups vying for political power. Melati, or Mel, the protagonist of the story, must navigate the riots and search for her mother while fighting with her Djinn, a conceptual manifestation of Mel’s OCD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The novel follows themes of The Stigma and Reality of Mental Health, The Importance of Love and Friendship, and Race and Identity in a Society Divided Along Racial Lines.

This guide uses the 2019 Salaam Reads, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing edition of the text.

Content Warning: This novel contains graphic violence, depictions of mental health concerns, and racist or discriminatory language.

Plot Summary

The novel opens with Mel in school, fighting off visions of her mother’s death. After school, Mel and her best friend, Saf, decide to go to the movies, and Mel calls her mother to make sure she is safe. Mel is plagued by obsessive thoughts of her mother’s potential death, and she taps and counts in sets of three to appease a Djinn, or a spirit, that compels her to endure the visions of violence. The Djinn appeared shortly after Mel’s father died, linking Mel’s mental health struggle to her fear of her mother’s possible death. However, mental health concerns are stigmatized in Malaysian society, preventing Mel from seeking the psychological help she needs and leaving her and her mother to seek out religious alternatives.

Mel and Saf go to the movies, and Mel is distracted by thoughts of her mother’s death, preventing her from enjoying the film. Afterward, Saf wants to see the movie again, but Mel decides to leave. However, the streets are empty, and a passing man warns Mel of violence brewing in the streets. Mel returns to the theater to retrieve Saf, but a Chinese gang interrupts the movie, separating the crowd into Malay and Chinese groups. An older Chinese woman claims that Mel is Eurasian, saving her from being grouped with the Malay audience members, and the gang allows all non-Malay people to leave the theater. Mel is torn, wanting to save Saf, but the Chinese woman convinces her to leave.

Outside, the Chinese woman introduces herself as Auntie Bee, and Mel and Auntie Bee hide around the streets, avoiding the violence of the riots. People are burning businesses and attacking one another, but Auntie Bee’s son, Vincent, arrives in a car to save them. Vincent takes Mel and Auntie Bee to Auntie Bee’s home, where Vincent’s brother, Frankie, is disgusted at the idea of helping Mel, because she is Malay. Auntie Bee helps Mel clean herself, and when Auntie Bee’s husband, Uncle Chong, arrives, the family sits down for dinner. Uncle Chong explains how racial tensions have been building, and recent elections set off the violence of the riots. Frankie is happy about the riots, wanting to join the Chinese rioters, while the remainder of the family is disturbed, hoping the riots end soon. Auntie Bee and Uncle Chong welcome their neighbors into their homes for shelter.

Vincent joins the Red Cross to help people in need during the riots, and he invites Mel to join him to search for her mother. They help people in need, but Mel is disturbed by the scenes of death and violence that she sees in the streets. Going to the hospital where her mother works, Mel discovers that her mother is also looking for her. Returning to Auntie Bee’s, Vincent and Mel discover that the house was raided by rioters, and Auntie Bee and Uncle Chong had to move to Chin Woo Stadium for shelter. Vincent becomes angry with Mel for counting and tapping, calling her selfish for delaying their trip to Chin Woo.

At Chin Woo, Vincent resolves to bring Mel to Stadium Nagara, where Malay people are seeking shelter, and Mel feels rejected. At Nagara, Mel decides to find her mother, leaving the stadium and sneaking to the police station. Mel does not find her mother, so she moves on to a temple, where the clergyman tells Mel that he met her mother. Feeling close, Mel goes back to the Rex movie theater, where she finds a young girl, May, who needs help. Mel and May encounter some rioters, but Mel fights one off, retreating to a Chinese school. In the school, Mel finds her mother helping a young Chinese boy, Ethan, who was hit by a ricocheting bullet. Mel, her mother, May, and Ethan use the school van to go to the hospital.

On the way, the van breaks down, and Mel’s mother becomes disheartened by Mel’s counting and tapping. Crowds of Malay and Chinese rioters threaten to converge on the van, and Mel gathers the courage to confront them, realizing that the leader of the Chinese group is Frankie. Mel convinces Frankie to stop the violence and help them, and Vincent arrives with his car to help. However, Frankie rejoins the violence, and they need to rush him and Ethan to the hospital with injuries.

After the riots, Mel and Vincent’s families become close, though Frankie still distrusts Mel and her mother. Mel discovers that Saf is dead, and she visits her grave. The government tries to downplay the violence, and Auntie Bee and Uncle Chong rely on Mel and her mother for emotional support. Mel explains how her Djinn is still present, but she feels more capable of fighting him after the recent events she endured.