The Gravity of Us was one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 and with a gorgeous cover, an OwnVoices queer romance, and a promising new author, this ticked all of my boxes.
The Gravity of Us follows young Calvin, a promising journalist who is just about to finish high school when his father, a pilot, gets picked to fill the remaining spot for an upcoming NASA mission to Mars that takes Cal’s plans for the future and turns them upside down. Uprooted from his life in Brooklyn and his raising stardom as a self-made journalist on the FlashFame app, Cal finds himself in Texas, now one of the “Astrokids” and under strict instruction to cease all social media posts and stories—a real blow for someone who has spent the last few years building a portfolio as one of the most honest, no-bullshit political news reporters who just so happens to have scored an internship with Buzzfeed.
While against all odds, Cal continues his social updates and suddenly brings a whole lot more interest and demand to NASA and its mission, not to mention more than their reality show ever did, the traditional StarWatch reality TV show and the ‘new media’ Cal brings to the table go head to head, and the results aren’t pretty for anyone involved.
It takes a special sort of author to make a topic you have absolutely no knowledge of suddenly become the center of your universe as you read a book and Stamper surely delivers on this front. Prior to reading The Gravity of Us, the only encounters I’d had with anything concerning astrophysics or space were TV shows and an ex-boyfriend who could not get me interested despite studying aerodynamics at university for four years. While reading The Gravity of Us, though, I found myself immersed in the lives of the astronauts and the strain that this profession puts on their loved ones, not knowing whether they’d see their spouse or parent again once they’d go up in that rocket left me reeling. Fans of anything relating to NASA or space will devour this book, I am sure of it.
My favourite part—besides the NASA history that is explored—was the way the story tackled social media and the power of altered perception one has when living “online”. It was refreshing to see social media portrayed as a possible career, but also not shying away from exposing the ‘staging’ that comes with the field. Despite the reality show aspect of the book not quite being what I expected and falling a bit flat, I loved the behind the scenes look at what goes into making ratings spike and how real people become actors in their own lives even in harrowing times such as when they are grieving for their loved ones.
It also shed light on the exploitation of young and innovative voices for personal and political gain and that might have been my favourite storyline of the entire book—Cal trying to make his own path while people are throwing stones into it and eventually the very same people end up needing him to keep their mission going at all. It just goes to show how much power there is in honesty and transparency and how modern politics could learn a thing or two from the youth—yes, fame is fascinating. Sure, reality TV is addicting. But getting the real facts and receiving them on a no-nonsense platform from someone you can trust? That’s way better. This book just made me feel cherished as a voice instead of merely someone who’s a vote politicians are trying to sway their way.
The main issue I had with the novel was the relationship between Cal and Leon. I have gotten used to the insta love of YA and certainly understand that it is hard to develop a bond between characters within such a short amount of pages, but Cal and Leon had no chemistry in my opinion. They go from speaking with each other for the first time to starting a relationship within a few chapters, without ever really talking. They don’t get to know each other and instead just seem to have their “fate” already mapped out for them which felt a bit overwhelming. In general, I didn’t really see anything they had in common besides their parents being part of this upcoming NASA mission. I just wish they would have had more substance to them – both their individual characters as well as the people they became in the relationship.
The book was certainly trying to elucidate a lot of topics that YA feeds on and put a twist on it— depression not being the main storyline for a character, the fears of not being able to live up to the standards that your parents have set because you see your future heading in a completely different direction, and staying true to yourself in a world of opportunity and impending failure.
I think it succeeded to a certain extent as I did really enjoy Leon living with depression not being his main characteristic, but I did wish for more development on his personality, nonetheless. We are shown quite a bit concerning his character, a lot of retellings of what other people think Leon is and wants out of life, but not so much from his point of view. And when Leon finally opens up, Cal swoops in with his own expectations and plans instead of accepting that you don’t have to have everything figured out at seventeen. This is remediated in the later pages of the novel but it would have been nice earlier on so one could relate to Leon and Calvin more or form a connection in general.
While their relationship had some adorable moments, I just did not find myself rooting for them because there was unnecessary drama and miscommunications that seemed to be at odds with Cal’s personality (he advertises being an honest guy but then doesn’t really tell anyone anything of substance except for his viewers). Still, it was a refreshing read to see two guys fall in love and not having to deal with coming out and instead focus more on the issues that come with being in the beginning stages of a relationship. It makes me hopeful for this new and improved generation of YA writers where we finally get to see LGBTQ+ characters as the protagonists living their life to their fullest because we deserve that representation and we are finally getting it.
Overall, this was a pretty solid debut novel that brings together a fascinating topic and a sweet queer romance that may take your heart by storm. I think the YA world has gained an intriguing and authentic new voice with Phil Stamper and I for one am excited to see what topic he tackles next.
The Gravity of Us is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of February 4th 2020.
Will you be picking up The Gravity of Us? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
As a successful social media journalist with half a million followers, seventeen-year-old Cal is used to sharing his life online. But when his pilot father is selected for a highly publicized NASA mission to Mars, Cal and his family relocate from Brooklyn to Houston and are thrust into a media circus.
Amidst the chaos, Cal meets sensitive and mysterious Leon, another “Astrokid,” and finds himself falling head over heels—fast. As the frenzy around the mission grows, so does their connection. But when secrets about the program are uncovered, Cal must find a way to reveal the truth without hurting the people who have become most important to him.
Expertly capturing the thrill of first love and the self-doubt all teens feel, debut author Phil Stamper is a new talent to watch.
