This was a good story. It’s probably better than I’m giving it credit for, but that’s the way it goes when you read a lot of books.
I’m not sure if it’s an across the board meh or just a meh for right now. I know this one will stick with me so maybe it’ll improve with time. I really enjoyed Cal (Jr.) and Leon’s story and adored the nerdiness of the whole work but most of it was overshadowed with the “realness” of the characters. And yes, I feel like a total ass saying I want less real characters.
I get that we want more characters with real life issues and that authors want to write relatable and “real” stories, but it seems that every young adult novel I read now has characters overcome with anxiety and depression (among other things). I. Get. It. However, what doesn’t doesn’t help that a lot of these young adult novels in particular that I’m reading are LGBT or Queer young adult novels and do we really need to add this trope of portrayal to the coming out narrative? What about the self-acceptance narrative? What about the closet narrative? (Replace narrative with trope and you’ll see where I’m going with this.)
I just don’t want all young adult novels, especially LGBTQ novels to get pigeon holed into something this cookie cutter. Maybe it’s the order I read it in, but I stopped reading half way through for almost a week because I wasn’t sure I wanted or needed characters like this in my life when the world is going to shit and I only have a finite amount of time to read. Yes, they’re real, they’re really real, and they show real growth, but at the same time with the escapism of NASA and drama of social media and gossip TV it was a lot.
Stamper is a great observer of people and that goes from the poignant (quote one) to the absurdly hyperbolic (quote two).
“But the line between sweet and creepy is especially thin when crushes are concerned, and there’s only so long two people can stand in silence before it gets weird.” (87)
“I want to tell him I’m here, that he can talk to me if he needs to. Or I can sit here, inches from him, listening to him breathe. In, and out. I want him to know how remarkable it is that, of the billions of people in the world, I am the one who’s sitting next to him, under stars and the champagne’s haze. I want him to know the improbability of two people meeting like this. That it’s astounding, no matter how inconsequential it is. Sure, strangers meet all the time. It’s the universe’s way to say we don’t matter. None of this matters.” (112)
That second quote would not have worked in just any novel and Stamper was able to do it because his book is crammed with wonderful NASA nerdiness and it works. Any other novel I would’ve read it in and groaned out loud.
He’s also great at writing real characters that grow. It helps that the characters are at a crucial junction in their lives (rising high school seniors) and that they’re going through major life changes, but he wrote believable situations (for the most part). The protagonist, Cal Jr., grows a lot in the story and although Stamper walked a fine line with the personal (internal) narrative.
“That’s what makes our relationship so different from any other I’ve had. That’s what makes it so special. I’m learning, not fixing. For once, I’m listening—or at least, I’m trying to.” (192)
“My feet take me away from the van, and I hate how unresolved everything feels. But maybe that’s what real life is like. Unlike when you’re stuck with family or friends for so long you have to make amends. You can end working relationships on a dissonant chord, one that leaves you feeling gross and wrong all over.” (278)
I probably would’ve been harsher on these two internal monologues, but because Cal was a social media journalist and basically vlogs/livestreams various points of his life as journalism you can see the direct connection to him ACTUALLY saying some of these things in his own head to try and process what’s happening.
My Recommendation: I definitely recommend reading this, but my review comes with a caveat: I am not the target demographic for this work. The Gravity of Us is endearing. It’s adorable. It has drama and swoon-worthy moments, but it’s a lot to take in from the characters stand point even though on a trauma level from other stories I’ve read it’s about 3 out of 10! This is in part due to Stamper’s way with words (space novel helps with making galaxy side allusions not seem too absurd) and his creation of real characters, but I’m still not sure if it was for me.
Opening Line: “At home, I’m invisible. At school, I’m bizarre. But to the rest of the world, I’m a journalist.”
Closing Line: “And we enter a new era.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)