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A review by thebookbloggess
Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith
5.0
Amber Smith’s Something Like Gravity chronicles the story of Chris, a transgender boy who’s coming to terms with his shifting family dynamic and a horrific assault, and Maia, a girl who is grieving her older sister and attempting to understand how she makes sense in the grand scheme of life. It’s a heartwarming, beautifully written story that had me smiling, laughing, and of course, crying.
Chris and Maia are wonderfully rounded, beautifully flawed characters. Told in a dual perspective, we get the chance to live inside both of their heads through the course of the story, providing a solid connection to the two and cementing their individual journeys in the story. And that is something about this book that I loved-- though Chris and Maia’s storys obviously intertwine, they still are on paths to acceptance and closure by themselves as well. Instead of being the entire grounding point of their growth, their relationship is an additional factor, a nudge in the right direction for both of them.
We meet Chris and Maia at very uncertain points in their lives-- they both have this mindset of “If only X would happen then things would be almost normal.” It’s a very common issue teenagers deal with, regardless of the factors that lead to it, and Smith identified and handled this so brilliantly that their believability as living, breathing people is absolute. For myself, I saw so many of my thoughts and feelings I had at these tender years in Chris and Maia. Though I haven’t experienced their situations, their pain was so real and honest that I could somehow relate.
Beyond the characters themselves, the plot was executed wonderfully as well. Though, as common with a lot of YA contemporaries, there weren’t massive bombs being dropped or jaw-dropping revelations, I never felt bored with the pacing or wished that something bigger would happen. At its core, this is a story about healing and finding your place in life, and the plot did just that. We moved at the pace that Maia and Chris were as they experienced these three months of their life.
This book handles a wide range of hard-hitting and oftentimes triggering topics-- the development and acceptance of gender and identity, grief, toxic masculinity, loss, and parental trauma. Smith handled all of these issues with careful, precise hands and in just under four hundred pages managed to deliver a story that was charming yet poignant, heartbreaking yet hopeful. In a world where representation in media is still far too slim for the LGBTQ+ community, this type of story is so incredibly important to share.
DISCLAIMER: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Chris and Maia are wonderfully rounded, beautifully flawed characters. Told in a dual perspective, we get the chance to live inside both of their heads through the course of the story, providing a solid connection to the two and cementing their individual journeys in the story. And that is something about this book that I loved-- though Chris and Maia’s storys obviously intertwine, they still are on paths to acceptance and closure by themselves as well. Instead of being the entire grounding point of their growth, their relationship is an additional factor, a nudge in the right direction for both of them.
We meet Chris and Maia at very uncertain points in their lives-- they both have this mindset of “If only X would happen then things would be almost normal.” It’s a very common issue teenagers deal with, regardless of the factors that lead to it, and Smith identified and handled this so brilliantly that their believability as living, breathing people is absolute. For myself, I saw so many of my thoughts and feelings I had at these tender years in Chris and Maia. Though I haven’t experienced their situations, their pain was so real and honest that I could somehow relate.
Beyond the characters themselves, the plot was executed wonderfully as well. Though, as common with a lot of YA contemporaries, there weren’t massive bombs being dropped or jaw-dropping revelations, I never felt bored with the pacing or wished that something bigger would happen. At its core, this is a story about healing and finding your place in life, and the plot did just that. We moved at the pace that Maia and Chris were as they experienced these three months of their life.
This book handles a wide range of hard-hitting and oftentimes triggering topics-- the development and acceptance of gender and identity, grief, toxic masculinity, loss, and parental trauma. Smith handled all of these issues with careful, precise hands and in just under four hundred pages managed to deliver a story that was charming yet poignant, heartbreaking yet hopeful. In a world where representation in media is still far too slim for the LGBTQ+ community, this type of story is so incredibly important to share.
DISCLAIMER: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.