The Gravity of Us book review [e-ARC]

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper
Published by Bloomsbury YA on February 4, 2020
Pages: 314
Source: Netgalley
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.

I was so excited to get approved for an e-ARC of The Gravity of Us, so thank you Netgalley for letting me review this book.

I loved the idea of this book, and it was a solid 3 -star read. Something that was enjoyable but to be honest not completely mind blowing. I struggled to connect with the characters and I wish the story would have focused more on the space element and the mission. I enjoyed watching the ins and outs of the mission become clear and I loved learning about the different main characters, I just wish there had been more development of ALL the characters and we would have met more of the astronauts.

I wish I had better things to say about the characters in The Gravity of Us. I felt as though the relationships that developed all the way through this book felt a little cheap and shallow. There were no other teenagers in the story so therefore the two lads fell in love, it just felt a little forced and cheesy at times. I wish there had maybe been a few more in the friendship group, some other driving forces to get to know each other. I think my resounding thought in this book was that everything happened extremely fast and it felt like insta-love. Which isn’t to say that the characters weren’t interesting but we just didn’t get to see any of that because it immediately fell into relationships and the drama that came along with that. I really wanted to love the main relationship in this book but I just couldn’t, I just didn’t see enough for me to think that it was worthy of my attention.

For me the best bits of The Gravity of Us was definitely all the bits to do with space and the mission. I loved the fact that we saw how NASA had effectively thrown themselves into reality TV to ensure that the funding was there. I thought it was a really good play on today’s world and really highlighted how fickle people can be. I appreciated also that they showed the downside of reality shows and how they can be manipulated for views rather than have them being the heroes.

I think for me the worst bits of The Gravity of Us, as mentioned above was just how quick everything moved and how underdeveloped everything was. I think there were moments in this book where the characters could have really shone through and it was a little underwhelming as a whole. I also wasn’t thrilled at the way depression was handled in this book, it felt stale and it focused more on how it affected everyone else rather than the person with depression which annoyed me just a little.

I would recommend The Gravity of Us, as long as you have lower expectations heading into it, I enjoyed it as a light and fluffy read and it was something quick and fun. I just don’t think it was as great as all the hype.

Have you read The Gravity of Us? What did you think? Let me know!