The Gravity of Us

I love this book, and strongly recommend it. The relationships feel real. The story is exciting. It just flows, and the details are all there, feeling natural. I laughed and sighed. I will probably read this again.

My Uncle Mike was part of the Apollo team and this story brings back many memories of those missions. It was all so exciting. Just as exciting as this book makes it with all the accurate details of the NASA world. This also includes a lot of beautiful emotions especially about Calvin and Leon! Bravo!

"Nostalgia is a blindfold."Nostalgia runs throughout this fine, YA coming of age romance - along with a good dose of super-cool space nerdiness. The narrator, Cal, is a seventeen year old Brooklyn hipster who is into playing old cassettes, but also has a large social media following. His father lands a job as a NASA astronaut, so the family relocates to a Houston-area community designed around a 1960's aesthetic, meant to rekindle the national sentiment surrounding the old Apollo space missions. Once there, Cal meets Leon, the teen son of another astronaut, and the boys start falling for each other. Yet, behind the made-for-television facade, the boys and their families navigate real life challenges and the inherent risks of a space launch.While the first 40% of the book was "so-so" for me, a mildly interesting and efficiently written peek into Cal's life in Brooklyn, the story takes off as Cal gets to know Leon and the complications of the NASA mission accumulate. The efficient writing of the first half begins to sparkle as the plot becomes more complex and the dynamics between the characters becomes more interesting and unique.We see Cal wrestling with when and how to do the right thing, balancing personal boundaries and desires against those of others. It's not always easy; dealing with morally corrupt people is one thing, but Cal finds that those who are morally ambiguous pose their own challenges. This allows the author to show how the boys learn life lessons that are not only important for teens, but also for adults. It's not only the teens that grow in this novel - some of the adults do to.I have to admit a sense of solidarity with the author, Phil Stamper. We both grew up in Ohio farming towns as queer kids, though I'm at least a generation older. I was also a reporter and news director at a local radio station, so I can relate to Cal's journalistic drive, even though social media is an entirely new kettle of fish. A book such as this couldn't have been conceived when I was young, and I'm grateful fine books such as this are finally available for young people.

The book had pages fall out within a month of purchase. The publisher clearly did not take care in putting this book together when binding the pages. Not the seller's fault.

I finished this book in about a day and absolutely adored it. The romance was so soft and syrupy and careful and EXACTLY what people should be reading if they want an escape. The chemistry between Cal and Leon was not only believable, but incredibly compelling. It tackled a few heavy subjects with grace, including anxiety, depression, panic attacks, etc. I really appreciated how Stamper took his time with developing their romantic relationship, as opposed to plunging them straight into a "love at first sight" scenario that I see too frequently in YA. The relationship aside, Cal had a very strong voice, and his development was both realistic and fun to watch! I do wish that we had maybe seen more of Cal and his father, but really, it's such a small nitpick and doesn't detract from the story - if anything, it's another compliment, because I just wanted to read MORE haha. I was so sad when I finished it! Ultimately, it's a wonderful, quick, and fluffy summer read that I will definitely be revisiting in times of frustration or heartache. I highly recommend it!!

I enjoyed this book WAY MORE than I was expecting (seems to be a trend with me lately; yay for low expectations)! I listened to the majority of it (the narrators do a phenomenal job bringing the story to life) and I honestly didn't want to stop listening/put down the book. Cal was vaguely problematic (as most teens are apt to be by nature of that time in their lives) but I still liked him. The book is fast paced and I loved the inclusion of science, as well as the way it touches on modern journalism, social media, and reality television. But more than anything, the way that anxiety and mental illness are dealt with resonated with me. I was especially moved by the way Phil Stamper communicated anxiety through physical symptoms and descriptions - it made it feel very real and palpable way. I definitely look forward to reading more from the author. 4.5 out of 5 wine glasses.

The basic plot of a Mars Mission and a teen with such a high social media following seemed improbable and contrived and I struggled to keep reading.I am glad I did keep reading though.The love story wasn't so much about the story as much as it felt more like an infatuation with little about why they were in love.So much angst and drama and anxiety and depression. It all tended to distract from the story itself.I did read it over the course of a weekend so it was worth getting involved but I did not come away with any real warmth for any of the characters and will likely not reread it.

There are too many things stopping me from liking this book but I think my main issue is that the author is trying to tackle too many topics at once. It’s entirely jammed with themes surrounding social media, journalistic integrity, how the past is not as fantastic as nostalgia would lead us to believe, family dynamics, understanding people, treating people well - all while trying to weave in a queer love story. It’s a bit much for my liking - almost to the point where it felt like the love story itself wasn’t even necessary - it didn’t really add anything much to the rest of the story.On top of this, I felt like the messages that Stamper is trying to convey are a bit forced and obvious. If you’re trying to teach people something, this isn’t the way to go about it. I got a lot of “reality tv bad - social media good” messages coming through - a sort of “the old ways of doing things lack integrity now” vibe. It was as if the book was saying social media stars these days are in it for all the right reasons whereas old journalists are all about ratings. There wasn’t much explored by way of the harm social media can do - it was all about streaming being more real and raw than scripted and edited “reality” tv shows - but nothing you find online or on tv is a true portrayal of reality. It may be a difference in perspective which made me not really enjoy this book, but this is my opinion.One last grievance is the constant descriptions of outfits... Never have I gotten to the end of a book and thought: “That would have been so much better if I knew what everyone was wearing.” Again, just my opinion, but there you have it.

I really liked the idea of this story - space mission in jeopardy, social media journalism, bit of LGBT thrown in. Instead, what I found myself reading was a Mills and Boon style romance (that develops too quickly), with a bit of sci-fi thrown in. If you like trashy love stories, you might like this. I wanted more sci-fi plot than I got. Actually I wanted more plot - I found it quite an unsatisfying read, but it wasn't so bad that I stopped reading it, so it gets 3 stars. Good idea, poorly executed.

I've read a lot of YA LGBT+ fiction and most of it has been very good to great, so it's a shame that Phil Stamper's 'The Gravity of Us' is the first I've come across that's mediocre. I had several problems with the novel: its lack of distinctive character description, leaving you with little idea what any of them look like (it's kind of like the literary equivalent of coming into a show a few episodes in and not knowing who any of the characters are supposed to be), and character development that feels rather rote; the at times clunky dialogue that just didn't sound like something people would actually say; and the plot, which felt more like something from a children's book rather than a YA novel, even if the burgeoning queer relationship at its heart puts it on a higher shelf. While the intent is there and it deals with some worthy issues, the execution just never really convinced me unfortunately.

Plot:Cal is an amateur journalist living in Brooklyn, he does live reports on the FlashFame app which has won him an impressive following, an upcoming Buzzfeed internship and a foot into the world of journalism. But this begins to fall apart as his father is hired as the final astronaut in a team heading to Mars. Cal and his family are relocated to Houston. A reality show sponsoring the Mars mission has complete monopoly over the astronauts and their families - Cal can no longer make content on FlashFame and he and his family are forced to join this reality show. He meets the son of another astronaut, Leon, and falls fast, all while learning more about the mission and the realities of the media.My thoughts:This book was so good!! I’m not a massive space fan and I really don’t know a lot about the space race back in the 60s but this book has made me so interested in it! It explores more of how the families were treated and puts it in a more modern setting, with reality TV and social media.I really liked the characters, the setting and just the whole story. The writing was so gripping and easy to read. I loved the aspect of Cal’s journalism and what he does with it during the book (I don’t want to spoil what it is but there’s just such a great energy that comes with it and I really loved the atmosphere). I loved the ways this book explored the media and social media, it was really interesting to read and I loved the inclusion of the transcripts of the show.I also loved that Cal and Leon’s relationship was never made a big deal of or outed without their consent through the media. It is something that could have been dramatised and used to cause pain and I’m just so glad it wasn’t (this section is just me having low expectations and nothing against this book!). There was no negativity about their relationship or any homophobia which is something I love and appreciate in books. This book also had rep and discussion of some other things such as mental health (depression and anxiety specifically).My only problem with this book was that I thought the relationship between Cal and Leon could have done with some more development. It felt a bit like love at first sight because it was so quick and we don’t see them really getting to know each other and growing closer much early on. Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely not love at first sight, I just wanted more.Overall, this book was so fun and consuming and sweet and I really loved reading it.*eARC received in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley* (and then preordered through Amazon because I loved it)

I love how this story shows the complexity of people and relationships. Families, friends, partners f - no relationship is straightforward because as humans we are complicated. I wanted to hate Cal's dad for how selfish he was, in truth I did a little bit, but his dream was big and he went for it. Can that be wrong? Was he right to expect Cal and his mum to just accept things? So many questions about motives and characters actions but it all just goes to show, and I know I'm overusing this word but it fits, how complex humanity is. Brilliant story.