This is another of those books I wish had been around when I was a teenager. The romance is cute, the drama isn't too overblown given the context, and the ending is very satisfying. However, this is more than an enjoyable fluff piece, with some interesting critique of modern media and how, in some ways, it's not so modern after all.

Cal, the 17-year-old protagonist of this book, is a feisty 'FlashFame' new media personality whose life is turned upside down by his father's involvement with a NASA mission to Mars. I'm too old to judge fully whether Cal is authentic as a teenage New Yorker and Digital Native, but at times his personality did seem perhaps a little on the nose; he listens to cassettes because he claims they 'sound smoother' and he rolls his eyes at old people and their poor understanding of how and why videos go viral and what that either means.

Having said that, Stamper does a great job of exploring Cal's mind and personality (including his flaws) through the first-person narration and it turns out that there are deeper reasons behind some of his superficially hipstery behaviours. Stamper also engages in a degree of lampshading in regard to Cal's NY hipster vibe, with his romantic interest poking a bit of fun in that general direction.

There's a lot to like about this book. If it has a central theme, I'd say it's the toxic effects of the codependency between the media and scientific agencies like NASA, and the difficulties that come along with relationships in general. While Cal's romance is a major element of the novel, it was highly refreshing to me that neither his sexuality nor that of his romantic interest was a big deal.

Ignoring the usual beats in a queer romance story of finding acceptance of one's true self from friends and family and coming to terms with one's own sexuality was a really good move on Stamper's part. Instead, this novel is more about learning to accept the problems of our partners that we can't change, only help them to deal with in their own ways.

One character has depression. A couple deals with bickering and relationship strife due to their different personalities and ways of coping with things. Someone has to deal with their overwhelming urge to present a strong front and pretend they're okay, to fix everyone else even when they themselves are in need of support.

Everyone (except the villains of the piece, and even one of them is more sympathetic than you might expect) is immensely likeable and I really found myself investing in their relationships and their goals.

The romance is written well, taking me directly back to the heady high of new love in a deeply visceral way. The charge of knee's brushing, a hot hand on your shoulder, first kisses; all are written with great sensuality and attention to detail that make these moments highly effective.

If I were to criticise anything it would be to say that the second act drama surrounding the mission to Mars is perhaps a smidgeon overblown and perhaps resolved a smidgeon too easily, but that's easily overlooked against the sheer enjoyment I got out of this book.

Unfortunately, The Gravity of Us was not for me.

While I really liked the premise, not to mention the fact that the main relationship was LGBT, the story did not really go anywhere, and I thought the dialog came across as unrealistic.

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!

A very fun, light nerdy queer love story. I loved the development of the two main characters' relationship. I loved Cal's curious and analytical nature, and all the references to Astronomy, NASA and space really added to the fun quirky science aspect of the novel! I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoyed The Music of What Happens or Only Mostly Devastated!

3 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

A cute male male romance. Space. Social Media and more.

I liked the characters as they all had their own voice and were fun to read about.

The concept is what drew me in. I wanted a cute queer read and this is what it is.

Unfortunately for me that’s all it was. I didn’t really connect with the boys as it’s pretty insta-lovey. Most of the time I don’t mind that but it seemed to happen instantly without a feel of a connection.

Regarding the space stuff I couldn’t really see how realistic the conclusion is. He’s 17.

I do recommend this for the cute romance.
Just not for me

The concept of this story I really enjoyed, a behind the scenes look at astronauts and their families life all built around social media and reality TV. However I did not enjoy the romantic relationship/storyline I found it rushed and often over the top making it hard to believe in which did grate on me and bring me out of the story. An interesting story that many will enjoy but overall not my cup of tea.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this on NetGalley because I was SO excited about it. I'm lucky enough to have met Phil when we were both studying at Kingston University and we've stayed in touch a little. To see this all over the internet (mostly in the USA at this point) is amazing and there's a reason there is such a buzz behind it.

Combining the idea of a new space project, young love and family tensions The Gravity of Us was an interesting concept. I'll admit that I've never had that fascination with space like a lot of kids did. I think it's cool and I'm down to read Sci-Fi and have a Star Wars marathon but it's never been a big thing for me. The good thing is any worries I didn't need to be!

This book is about astronauts and space missions but not in such a way that I felt like I was dumb or didn't understand. In fact, after reading I really wanted to find out more about NASA and the work that they do.

I was really impressed by how social media is used within the book too, it's really central to the plot and Cal as a person. While Cal is a kind of YouTuber type personality it was really refreshing to see this as a step to reach a bigger goal of being a journalist.

Also, can we talk about the crushing and the romance? GUYS, it put me in such a good mood and I loved the fact that the fact there were gay characters wasn't used as a plot point at all. There was no shocking revelation that they were gay or big coming out moment. We need more of this in books.

I gave this book 4.5 stars, I really enjoyed the plot, the romance and Cal himself. This is clearly a book that has had a lot of heart put into it but also a great deal of research to back up the space element. This book deserves all of the hype it gets and of course I recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Phil for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Although there was nothing specifically wrong with this book as a whole, the writing style didn't quite merge well with me as a whole. The arching story was an interesting light Sci-fi, with lgbt elements making it an entertaining quick read. However, some elements of the story (the non-sci fi parts) seemed a bit unrealistic. A random student who hasn't even finished high school is somehow offered an internship at buzz feed and has thousands of followers on his news journalism account? Possible but seems highly unlikely. I did however like the illuminae vibes that came off of the story setup with the mixture of story, and TV show excepts.

This being said this is by no means a bad book, it did keep me relatively entertained throughout, and I would recommend the book to people that like the genre.

Believe the hype! The Gravity Of Us is one of the best YA books I have ever read. A beautiful queer love story, Hunger Games levels of world building around space/NASA/StarWatch and a realistic portrayal of mental health.

The Gravity of Us is a story about Cal, a teenage boy who is finishing his last year of high school: he wants to become a journalist. He has a platform where he posts regular live videos about Brooklyn, politics and NASA's newest mission, Orpheus V.

Cal's father is selected to be involved in the mission, which means that they are relocating to Texas, away from his best friend, and promising internship. The only silver lining is that he meets Leon, the cute ex-gymnast son of Grace, another astronaut on the project.

I found the concept really interesting, combining reality TV with NASA. The novel didn't hit you over the head with science and I loved that while the reality show focused on drama, Cal focused on getting the facts about the mission out there.

The romance between Leon and Cal was cute, but a touch insta-love. It was set up for them to be together before they had even met. I wanted to see more of a slow build than going from friends to lovers in a few chapters. The other problem I had was Cal himself, he seemed selfish at times, especially when his friend Deb wanted to talk about what was going on in her life, and he made it about himself. I always wish we saw more interaction with Kat, Leon's sister. She seemed like nice fun character who was interested in coding, but we didn't get to see much of her.

The discussion about mental health was interesting, and that you can't just "fix" people, there is no simple solution that will suddenly make someone happy and healthy again. We got to see how Cal's mother and Leon were affected by their depression and anxiety and their coping mechanisms.

I did struggle with reading this novel mostly because I couldn't relate to the main character but it did have a good narrative about mental health.

Thank you NetGalley and BloomsburyYA for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big spaced nerd, kind of like Calvin Snr so I was immensely interested to see how much of the space centre stuff this book would cover.
To be honest it covered a lot and I was very happy that my nerd side got some gratification in that area.
One key thing that stood out in the book for me was the impacts of social media. How it can bring us closer but also how it can become fickle and fake. We all love drama, and are quick to judge people on the screen but this book did show the negative side. How it can be produced and skewed and can be detrimental to teens and important programs.
The media has always been a double edged sword but it was good that we saw this in the book.
Finally it was interesting to see the relationship between León and Cal. And mentions of mental health throughout the pages. They were small but depression and anxiety can impact people’s lives and relationships and I think the way it was handled was interesting.
Overall this was a good book. It was always on my 2020 TBR and I am glad I got to read it now to really get a sense of what it was all about

Such a cute read. When Cal’s dad unexpectedly becomes an astronaut, forcing his family to move across the country, it lives Cal’s life in turmoil. I loved hearing about life at NASA, and it’s great to see STEM in books more, and I thought especially there was good rep from female scientists. The move also sparks a narrative about family dynamics, and shows that no family is perfect. The m/m romance is sweet, if not a bit insta-love. But I can’t turn down a queer story with a happy ending. The influencer angle is an interesting one and I think the author gets it spot on. Yes it is fluffy and light-hearted but The Gravity of Us is intermingled with real-life scenario and issues that make the story come to life.

The Gravity of Us was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I'm so glad I got to read an early copy! The romance felt sweet and believable, and I loved that our main character had glaring flaws that he... slowly became aware of (because whomst among us, right?), and the use of social media felt very real, which is always a nice surprise! A solid three star read that I would definitely recommend to friends.

The Gravity of Us is a very good title of this book. Cal is a famous teen living in New York with his argumentative parents. When whoosh, his Dad gets accepted onto the NASA programme to go to Mars. The only catch is, the programme wants his whole family to live in Texas. The NASA programme is alongside StarWatch a reality TV show based on the NASA families, this prohibits Cal making his videos. It's also a good title because of the instant attraction of the two main love characters.

I liked the book, it was an easy read. Not sure on the main character though... yes he's yoinked out of his life, however he's not a great character - he's horrible to his friend he left behind in New York and he's quite a controlling person. However, he does grow as a character in Texas. I didn't like his relationship with his Dad too. It's not until the last few pages where he sees his Dad as an astronaut... ummm... the whole book has been about his Dad being an astronaut, how could he not see that his Dad is one?!

On the plus side I did like the fact the parents are constantly there throughout the book. There are lots of twists and turns in the NASA side of the story. I also appreciated that there was a love story between two boys but there weren't any labels it was just presented as a love story. Also lots of mental health talk especially for anxiety and depression.

There were many highs and lows in this story and I loved every bit of it. The drama, the fights, the relationships, every part of this story was incredible. I enjoyed reading about the astronauts and NASA, and was frustrated by StarWatch. Cal Jr was a very interesting and flawed character, he certainly wasn't perfect but he was likeable all the way through and the character development at the end was perfect. Leon was also a loveable character, I would love to read a spin-off about Leon's life in Texas before Cal arrived. The relationships between Cal and the other characters - particularly his parents, Kat, Deb, and of course Leon - were so well-written. The friendships in particular were really refreshing to read, platonic love is a wonderful thing.

I enjoyed this book, it wasn’t exactly everything I hoped it would be. I know its a young adult romance but everything seemed so convenient it felt like there wasn’t any actual conflict with the characters. I want to feel them go through things not be told they went through things.
I did enjoy the writing style and thought that Cals voice matched perfectly with the tone. I wasn’t overly impressed about how easy thing seemed to be even through the conflict. I did enjoy the romance though and would be interested in a contemporary romance plot based novel from this author.

Overall pretty good read, I enjoyed the characters and the writing although i wish the plot was a little more and went a little deeper. Glad I gave it a chance and I do absolutely adore the cover art!

I had really high expectations for this book but it did nothing for me.

Cal annoyed me from the very beginning and I got bored with the story very soon. The writting style was also not for me.

I did like the NASA aspect of it, though.

Initially a DNF at 55%, I have to admit that it did keep niggling at me and I had to pick it back up a fortnight later.

The latter part of the book was faster paced (I found the first 5o% is very slow) and I am definitely glad that I went back and finished it. I did enjoy the premise, I've always been pretty interested in space. The social media aspect wasn't the best part for me, and as it was a large part of the book, this is probably what pulled it down in stars.

The 'love' story was cute, I really enjoyed reading about Cal and Leon; and the addition of Kat was a nice touch too, she brought some much needed humour into the sadder parts of the book. Mental illness was a big factor throughout the book, for several characters and this was handled well I felt.

Overall 3.5*

I'm totally here for any LGBTQ+ YA romance. Throw in space too, and you know I'm going to read this. It's at the lower end for mature content for YA and is all the better for it. Too long have sweet younger YA romances been dominated by boy-girl combinations and a lighter read in the genre is always welcome - representation is always positive.

That being said, the pacing can be a little uneven and the emotional depth of certain plot points later on might not be fully explored, but it's a heartfelt, confident novel, and Stamper is an author to watch as he creates more books - and I for one will definitely be getting anything else he does.

Didn't expect to like this as much as I did because of all the astronaut stuff but honestly, it's not as overwhelming as I thought it would be. What's more, the drama around it has more to do with the media than anything else and I actually liked it very much because it makes sense and I can see it happening for real. (could be a real thing and I'm jsut oblivious as always)

Anyway, this was a very good book. At first I thought I want its target audience and while I don't fit it perfectly, I definitely was that audience. It's gay, it has good mental health rep (at least in my opinion) and it was CUTE
Also, K-pop was mentioned so ofc I'd like it.

Cal is a typical teenager which meant that he could be annoying at times but I lik d his portrayal. He has a big social media following and is also a citizen journalist who's building his portfolio through his channel in order to persue a career in journalism. As a journalism student, I wish this was more relatable to me but I realised that I'm simply not suited for it. Anyway, he did his job right and I liked that aspect because I feel like at this point I know enough about journalism to see if it's written right 😂😂

Anyway, Cal has his own problems and struggles with his mental health and his family has its own problems. I loved the way it was written bc I felt like it was relatable to an extent and it includes mentions of different kinds of therapy.

Leon likes Kpop and this is all I needed to start to like him. However, since the book is written in the first person, I wish I could've seen more of his personality than I actually did. He isn't necessarily a flat character but he isn't at all that developed and I would've loved it if he was more solid in my mind. However, his struggled with mental health was done well and I feel like it would be relatable but take that with a grain of salt.

Leon and Cal also learn to have a healthy relationship and Cal tries to be more considerate of others. I found some of his views relatable, especially when he said that he was a planner and likes it when people know what they want to do with their lives even if it's not set in stone.

I found his mother's depiction of anxiety and my own headcannon of her social anxiety to be relatable to me personally and that's why I liked it. I think a big part of why I enjoyed this book, besides Cal and Leon, was the mental health in it. Now, I don't read contemporaries often so don't fully trust me on that.

I enjoyed it overall and I'm ready for some fantasy.