The Gravity of Us

by Phil Stamper

"I'm so starry-eyed for this wise, romantic gem of a book." - Becky Albertalli, bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Cal wants to be a journalist, and he's already well underway with almost half a million followers on his FlashFame app and an upcoming internship at Buzzfeed. But his plans are derailed when his pilot father is selected for a highly-publicized NASA mission to Mars. Within days, Cal and his parents leave Brooklyn for hot and humid Houston.

With the entire nation desperate for any new information about the astronauts, Cal finds himself thrust in the middle of a media circus. Suddenly his life is more like a reality TV show, with his constantly bickering parents struggling with their roles as the "perfect American family."

And then Cal meets Leon, whose mother is another astronaut on the mission, and he finds himself falling head over heels--and fast. They become an oasis for each other amid the craziness of this whole experience. As their relationship grows, so does the frenzy surrounding the Mars mission, and when secrets are revealed about ulterior motives of the program, Cal must find a way to get to the truth without hurting the people who have become most important to him.

• ISBN10: 1526619938
• ISBN13: 9781526619938
• Publish Date: 14 May 2020 (first published 4 February 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Imprint: Bloomsbury YA
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: http://bloomsbury.com/

Reviews

[Angie]

YES!
+NASA! Mission to Mars! A reality show about astronauts! Cal is also quite popular on social media, which may conflict with his family's show contract. And steal the attention away from his father.
+Cal is queer. That's the term he uses, and he states that he likes girls and boys.
+Super cute M/M Interracial Romance.
+After a tragic accident, Cal uses his social media influence to expose the television network that's taking advantage of the astronauts' families. Don't be afraid to speak up about injustices and gross behavior!
+Touches on anxiety (Cal's mom) and depression (Leon), and how Cal tries to help them to the best of his ability without preaching.
+I certainly got swept up in the plot to save NASA!

NO!
-I wish we had gotten to see more of the day to day TV show stuff, not just the big news type stuff. How are the cameras affecting everyday life for Cal and his channel? The show is a large driving force in the plot, yet we never really get to see the behind the scenes stuff, despite this being Cal's life.

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 4 Stars

Ahhh, Gays & Space. ❤️

This was such a great story. Cal & Leon were so REAL & adorable. It meant so much to me just how ACCURATE the anxiety & depression reps were... it made the characters that much more accessible. No matter the subject matter the author never strays from this sense of accessibility, & I LOVED that. The family dynamics were wonderful & realistic, the friendships were amazing, and the exploration of first love was just amazing to read. The author manages to never stray too much away from a realistic standpoint while still managing to successfully express the bliss that is falling in love, and explore a setting that most of us can’t even imagine.

Overall, this was just a gem of a first love story that was out of this world (

[yendysyerb]

There's no way Cal was old enough for his internship.
Also, he idolized... Buzzfeed? Really?
Also 2x, Cal sucks. (That's just a fact)

And we get that you live in NYC stop trying to give me unnecessary tips on which subway line to use to get to the LES. I also live in NYC, bitch, and I walk around like a god damn normal person.

Oh, also 3x - stop putting "retro" or "vintage" in front of anything older than 15 years. We know cassettes are old, you don't need to constantly be calling them "oooooo retro cassettes". Red flag #1 that whoever wrote this has no knowledge of people who actually collect antiques or visit fleas/thrift shops.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Cal's father had the opportunity to live out his childhood dream after being selected as a candidate for NASA's mission to Mars. The catch? His family would have to relocate to Texas, and be part of a reality show. This stipulation threatens Cal's Flashfame show, and asks a lot of his mother, who struggles with social anxiety.

It was a bumpy ride, and the story took a turn I was not quite expecting, but I loved the outcome. A sweet romance was definitely one of the highlights for me, but I also appreciated the growth Cal and his parents experienced. All the space stuff really spoke to my inner geek too.

I am definitely looking forward to more stories from Stamper.

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[littleread1]

Just so cute. The book I didn't know I was looking for.

[pagingserenity]

Full review on Paging Serenity.

The Gravity of Us is a cute story full of realistic characters and modern mentions, as well as comedic gold and secondhand embarrassment.

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper is a very sweetly written YA romance with a m/m central theme. Due out 4th Feb 2020 from Bloomsbury YA, it's 320 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

There's a lot to love here. The writer is quite gifted with descriptive prose and the characters are sensitively rendered, distinct, and likable. I enjoyed the gentle pacing and development. I read about half of the book imagining that it would be a simple coming of age story with the added tension which often befalls LGBTQ youth. I was wrong. There is, of course, the fraught young love and some drama associated with navigating coming out to family, and trying to maintain a relationship amidst huge life changes (cross country moves, school changes, college/university, etc) but there's also a pretty solid antagonist and mystery along with a satisfying denouement.

I really liked the background stories of Cal's social media presence and reading about the space program and astronauts and their families. I've been a huge NASA nerd since I was a toddler a zillion years ago (my dad was an engineer and space nut) and I spent a lot of the read smiling.

Beautifully written, satisfying, upbeat, and positive. I really enjoyed this and would recommend it unhesitatingly for YA readers who enjoy romance and coming of age novels. The language is R rated, there's some implied sexual content (off scene) as well as sensitively handled discussion of depression, relationships, family issues, etc.

Four stars. Highly recommended.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Stephanie]

SPACE!