Gravity Is the Thing by Jaclyn Moriarty

Gravity Is the Thing

by Jaclyn Moriarty

'Clever and magical' - Women's Weekly

'Author Jaclyn is the sister of Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies) and has the same talent for great plots. This unusual novel tugs at the heartstrings.' - Good Housekeeping

Twenty years ago, Abigail Sorenson's brother Robert went missing one day before her sixteenth birthday, never to be seen again. That same year, she began receiving scattered chapters in the mail from a mysterious guidebook, whose anonymous authors promised to make her life soar to heights beyond her wildest dreams.

These missives have remained a constant in Abi's life - a befuddling yet oddly comforting voice through her family's grief over her brother's disappearance, a move across continents, the devastating dissolution of her marriage, and the new beginning as a single mother and café owner in Sydney.

Now, two decades after receiving those first pages, Abi is invited to learn 'the truth' about the book. It's an opportunity too intriguing to refuse - she believes its absurdity and her brother's disappearance must be connected. What follows is an entirely unexpected journey of discovery that will change Abi's life - and enchant readers.

Gravity Is the Thing is a smart, unusual, wickedly funny novel - heart-warming and life-affirming.

Reviewed by Martha G on

4 of 5 stars

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I was torn between 3 and 4 stars because I found it hard to get into. I’d read a few pages and put it down. I won’t restate what the book is about but I will say the story of the mysterious “Guidebook” and the retreat was interesting. When I found out what the purpose of the Guidebook was about it was just such an odd thing that I thought it was stupid. It took me a while to get past the belief the characters do what they do after they know what the intent of the Guidebook is. The way it was written was also interesting with little blurbs here and there. I’m honestly not sure if I liked that or not. Some parts were just so weird that they were funny and I think it took me a while to just figure that out. In the end I’m giving it four stars because I loved how it all came together. It actually warmed my heart so much that I didn’t want it to end. I laughed, I had a few tears and I found it all together lovely. Sometimes books take a little while to get going and this one did for me about 1/3 of the way in and then it had me and my heart.

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  • Started reading
  • 24 September, 2019: Finished reading
  • 24 September, 2019: Reviewed
  • Started reading
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  • 24 September, 2019: Reviewed