The Gravity Of Us – Phil Stamper

Hi everyone! I’m Lois from Lois Reads Books and I’m taking over The Little Contemporary Corner today. Whilst lockdown has been happening Sarah and I wanted a pick-me-up. This came in the form of The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper. This post is going to be my review of the book and you can pop over to my blog to see Sarah’s review very soon!

Seventeen-year olde Cal is a successful social media journalist with half a million followers and is used to sharing his life online. But, when his pilot Father is selected for a highly published NASA mission to Mars. Cal and his family relocate from Brooklyn to Houston and are thrust into a media circus and the public eye.

Amidst all the chaos, Cal meets sensitive and mysterious Leon, another ‘Astrokid’. Cal find himself falling head over heels and fast. As frenzy around the mission grows, so does the connection Leon and Cal have. But when secrets about the program are uncovered, Cal must find a ay to revel the truth without hurting the people who have become most important to him.

Over the past few months I have seen and am still seeing this book hyped up all over the internet. So, when my Mum went to New York with her friends, I asked if she could pick me up a copy. Let me tell you, the hype around this book is well deserved. It is such a refreshing read and the pick-me-up I was searching for. I found myself smiling so much whilst reading this.

The Gravity of Us combines the idea of a new space project to Mars, young love and family tensions and I loved it to pieces. It is full of light-hearted moments but also tackles some hard hitting topics. It is mostly a contemporary novel but has some sci-fi and dystopian elements weaved throughout. There is something in this book for absolutely everyone. For a debut novel it was wonderful and I cannot wait to see what else Phil Stamper writes in the future.

The characters in this book are all so wonderful and I loved them all a lot. Cal and Leon are just adorable and I would love to read more about them. For some people the romance between them may be a little too much too soon, but it is the sort of thing that I adore. The pair together are so cute and sweet and just felt like a real life couple to me. I would love to see more of Cal and Leon in the future if this is something Phil Stamper would like to do.

I have to talk about Cal’s parents in this book because they were written amazingly. They were open, honest and they felt very real. I loved that this book showed Cal’s fathers journey to being an astronaut and the complications that come with it. Also, the way that Cal’s mothers anxiety was showed felt real and it is the first YA book I think I’ve read where the parents have mental health issues. This book doesn’t shy away from hard topics or tough relationships between friends, family and higher corporations in the world. It highlights issues with friends when one moves away, the way higher corporations can exploit people under them and more.

One more thing I throughly enjoyed was the little installations of the reality program the characters were a part of ‘Shooting Stars’. It made me feel like I was actually watching the show and like I was a part of the novel.

When this book is published in the UK I highly recommend getting yourself a copy. It has something for everyone and it is truly something you can get lost in and finish feeling happy and with a smile on your face. I throughly enjoyed The Gravity of Us and I cannot wait to see what Phil Stamper writes next!