annieb123's Review of 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.

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.

The Gravity of Us

by Phil Stamper

Reviewed by annieb123 on Jan 26, 2020

Reading updates