I tried very hard to get into this book but it wasn’t working for me. I had difficulty connecting with the main characters. I hope the release goes well, best of luck.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this review copy.

There may be some SPOILERS in this review. You've been warned.

TL;DR: Worth the read, but not my new favorite.

First reaction upon finishing: "Oh my god I am so ANGRY! with the ending! that is not okay!!"

This book was slow to get started, but once it did, it was fantastic. Until the end. I’m sure the end was meant to feel resolved and what not, but it did not give me that feeling. This book felt like it was building up to a romance novel - end up together and super happy - ending. And SPOILERS: it didn’t. Yes, they seem happy and their relationships with their families seem to be repaired, but those were not the relationships that the majority of the book focused on. Also killing the family dog as a plot device is just SO. NOT. COOL. Just saying.

The below is just some thoughts when I finished this. These haven't been fleshed out so forgive me if you disagree.
I’m also a little iffy on this presumably not being an #ownvoices story. Largely the idea that Chris is completely stealth passing maybe a year after starting hormones is a little unrealistic. Actually, thinking of it, the author didn’t describe him using hormones at all. There was ample description of his feelings toward mirrors and such, but none of him taking T which would be a fairly important part of his life. The author also made vague reference to his legs being able to handle running now in a way they couldn’t before T and it just felt a little disparaging towards women. That women's legs are somehow weaker or less capable? I understand that you would notice differences in your body on hormones, BUT Chris had been *the fastest* in his school before transitioning so the concept that his legs were weak before and are magically better on T is a little ridiculous.

Overall I enjoyed this book. The author is obviously a good writer and having authentic queer characters is so important and while I didn't feel it was perfect, this definitely felt authentic.

“…life doesn’t wait until you’re perfect, or better, or out of pain for you to be alive.”

This book is much more than a simple transgender love story. The struggles that both Chris and Maia go through in this book is a great representation of being a teenager. This felt real and true. The unabashed selfishness that all of the teens have (including Hayden, Gabby, Mallory, and Neil) is something that I know teens go through without realizing it. There is nothing wrong with being selfish at times, which is what I loved about parts of this book.

The parents also had some great development in this book. It seems that parents are often either overlooked in YA books or problematic to further the story. I think both Chris and Maia’s parents are dealing with their own struggles and it’s important for YA books to discuss those struggles to raise awareness to youths that they aren’t the only ones going through struggles.

While I do think some of the topics in this book can be difficult for some to deal with, I think it was handled in a great way and does tread lightly. This book probably has the least heavy subject matter I’ve read in this regard but there can be some triggering material. Personally, I do think Amber Smith could have pushed some of the issues a little further. I felt that a lot of the issues were dealt with just on surface level.

With an intriguing set up, and strong characters, Something Like Gravity, by Amber Smith, is sure to remind readers of other books such as Love, Simon. Chris and Maia are two complicated teens. Chris is transgender and still recovering from a vicious physical attack. Maia is trying to make sense of her life since the passing of her older sister. Both have fractured family lives. They are instantly drawn together. But will their secrets tear them apart?

The characters don't have all the answers, but they do want to grow as people. Although at times the pacing is slow, this book was romantic and ultimately, satisfying.

What I Liked:
Characters:

I really enjoyed the characters of Chris and Maia. Each of them have some serious baggage. Chris is in denial about his attack, trying mightily to handle his assault by burying it deep inside. He bristles when his family and friends make a fuss over him. Maia feels alone after her sister dies. It doesn't help that her parents are self-absorbed and seem oblivious to her sorrow. When she strikes out at other teens, the reader can see how even negative feelings are welcome. It gets her to feel less invisible.

Romance:

The relationship between Chris and Maia is very romantic. As with any summer romance there are fireworks, road trips, hot days, and sneaking out of the house at night. There is a powerful physical attraction between them as well. Their make-out scenes are tactful, but realistic (These are teens with raging hormones, after all).

Story:

This is definitely a character driven book rather than an action driven one. The story takes its time getting us to know Chris and Maia, and for Chris and Maia to get to know each other. The big mystery, about when Chris was attacked, is revealed slowly. I was both wanting to know what happened and dreading knowing the truth. This element of the story could be a trigger problem for some people.

I really like the scene where Chris and his mom finally have an honest discussion about their deep tensions since his coming out. His mother is not some awful trans-phobic person who finally learns to accept her son. She explains how she feels in a realistic way that is beautiful and made me cry. I have rarely seen parents portrayed in a book with so much empathy and understanding.

What I Was Mixed About:
Story:

Maia's story is a bit of a puzzle for me. Maia has been telling Chris that she is a photographer. But that was the big interest of her deceased sister, Mallory, not her. It is a strange lie, but not earth-shattering as the book wants me to believe. I think she has a simple explanation for projecting herself onto Mallory's accomplishments (she missed her sister). But the book built this up to be a giant betrayal of Chris's trust.

This was the part of the book I liked the least. In romantic books there always has to be a reason to break the happy couple apart (otherwise there would be no story, right?). But Maia not coming clean about being a photographer seemed like a manufactured situation. I just don't think Chris should have been that upset by it.

Trigger Warning for physical and sexual violence.

My favorite part of the story is that it isn't stated bluntly upfront that Chris is transgender. If you haven't read the summary, you would know something was going on but it takes awhile to understand what has led up to him spending the summer at his aunt's house and the uncomfortable situation at home. I enjoyed how his and Maia's relationship unfolds though I'll admit, it felt a bit too rose-tinted glasses. I would have like a few more chapters with a few more hurdles and a more stretched out relationship build to make this book feel a bit more realistic. However, in a universe where diverse characters are few and far between, this book is a nice addition.

This book was extremely farfetched and unrealistic. I'm all for trans love stories, but this one just didn't work for me. I had high hopes for this, but I was completely disappointed.

Something Like Gravity is, ultimately, the story of two teenagers grieving the loss of the version of themselves that existed prior to a traumatic event. It is also about love. And about figuring out how to be comfortable in your own skin.

What I found to be stunning about this book is that it is one of the first books I have read that is about a trans boy falling in love. It is not about him figuring out he was trans, but instead his life being trans.

This book was heartbreaking and important and another step in the right direction toward having every kind of story for every kind of person.

I told myself, try something new, Queen B. Something Like Gravity is definitely not my normal read. Our two main characters are a transgender boy and a teenage girl struggling with loss and grief.

But it just didn’t really work for me. So much was unbelievable and unrealistic.

Chris is our 17 y/o transgender boy, and despite being pre-testosterone treatment, no one ever questions his gender? While I applaud the author for tackling a difficult (and not often discussed) subject matter, it just felt poorly researched.

And Maia? She was a piece of work. She’s actively trying to recreate her dead sister’s photography in order to…what? Understand the sister she didn’t seem to like or love?

Full of forced angst, characters overreacting, and an abrupt ending, Something Like Gravity dragged on and did not hold the reader’s interest. Potential to be great, but not well executed.

I originally requested this book because I try to read books with representation of the LGBTQIA community and recommend them to my students. While this book dealt with some realistic issues, it is an example of a completely unhealthy relationship that is not discussed in a way that would benefit the reader. This book is full of trauma, but doesn't illustrate healthy ways to deal with the situations. I would not recommend this to students. This book seems to be for readers that enjoy trauma and emotion in their stories.

When a book is compared to Simon vs. The Homosapiens Agenda, count me in, okay? Of course, not all books can be Simon and I feel like this one was far from it.



Chris is an interesting character, but there's little depth to him. He's transgender, but there isn't much to it other than him saying it. I'm not saying I wanted a parade or anything, but there isn't a lot of Chris talking or thinking about the situation. There are hints to an event that happened, there's the strained relationship with his parents, but, to me, it lacked depth.



Honestly, it was the same with Maia. She lost her sister and spends her days basically pretending to be her, in a way? She walks around with a camera with no film pretending to take pictures of things that her sister took pictures of.



To me, neither one of these characters have any depth to them. The relationship happens quickly, even though Maia knows Chris is transgender because she spied on him, not because he told her. Maia is good at keeping secrets, however. I felt like there wasn't a lot of time within the start of the relationship and the "I love you" so I was definitely caught off guard with that.



So many things come out towards the end and everything just kind of blows up in everyone's face. The end of this book is, in my opinion, very dramatic: teenagers traveling hundreds of miles to prove points but also not making much character growth.



Truthfully, this was an easy read. It had some good points and I feel like it had a lot of potential, but just didn't bring its best.

Chris and Maia literally are brought together in a car crash, and can't seem to escape each others' orbits over the course of a summer. Each have their problems to cope with, which doesn't make that easier. Chris is transgender and had survived an assault he survived the year before. Maia is grieving the loss of her sister. Though they weren't expecting it, they do find themselves falling in love in the midst of grief.

We open with Chris arriving in South Carolina with his parents to visit his aunt; his father has accepted his transgender status, but his mother hasn't and resents him for it. He'd been sure that "girly" things didn't fit him since he was young, but being beaten badly enough to require hospitalization and painstaking physical therapy cemented that he needed to transition. Maia's sister Mallory had been smart, interested in photography and had still wanted to do more with her life before her sudden cardiac death while playing volleyball in school. In comparison, Maia felt lacking, and her sister's former friends all said that Mallory had hated her. Both are outcasts of a sort in a small town of fewer than six thousand people and as neighbors can't help but keep interacting even when there isn't a clear connection.

The flirtation between them is the uncertain, half-spoken sentences that teens often use while feeling out intentions from the other person. Maia, to her credit, isn't immediately turned off from learning more about Chris when she accidentally sees that he wears a binder. It's also wonderful to see how supportive Aunt Isobel is, cautioning Chris not to avoid relationships, but to be careful with his emotions and to be his authentic self. That's something incredibly difficult for teens, let alone trans teens, and leads to the inevitable conflicts when lies are exposed.

An especially poignant quote is mentioned multiple times throughout the story, and the one that actually did the graffiti isn't who you're led to believe it is. The words "meant whatever I wanted them to mean. They meant that anything, everything, only means what you say it means. You are who you believe you are, no more, no less." This is an important truth for any teenager, but especially for those ostracized because of the very things that make them special.

Chris and Maia are two teenagers in a small town who meet, try to ignore their mutual attraction, fail miserably at it, and fall headlong into love as only teenagers can. Both are still haunted by recent traumas in their lives: Maia, the sudden death of her older sister; Chris, a vicious attack by classmates after coming out as transgender.

Author Amber Smith writes the characters separately, but the dual narratives flow, entwine, and diverge effortlessly. She treats these characters with respect, fleshes out their hopes and fears with nuance, and creates a love story readers can't help but root for.

Man, comparing this to Simon kinda isn’t fair. That was a book that I truly loved. It struck a chord in me and it’s a story I won’t soon forget.

But this just didn’t have the same feel. I appreciate the author’s attempt at diversity and representation, but I just don’t think it worked. Note: I cannot say for sure being a straight female, but I don’t know that it reads correctly.

I also don’t think it was necessary to acknowledge him as being trans right away. It could’ve been a subtle reveal. Or just something sort of glossed over...not to be made a big deal of. I do think we need to see repercussions of issues the LGBTQIA community deals with. But again, perhaps their own voices work best.

This was such a great read! I loved that the story didn't start with Chris's coming out but rather the aftermath of it. I definitely liked Chris's character more than Maia's and often found myself wondering what in the world she was doing. I hoped to see more of the development and change in Chris's mom as well. I also liked the end wasn't wrapped up in a neat little bow.

Unforuntaleyt I was unable to view the book, becuase of a problem with the download link. I tried to find the button that allows you to not give feedback but this book does not have that option so now I have to write this as a review.

I haven't read a lot of books with trans characters as the main character, so Something Like Gravity was interesting to me because I really want to see diverse characters in books. This book does deal heavy with Chris' challenges in being trans and tackles a lot of the struggles he goes through. It also tackles him falling in love for the first time, with a girl like Maia who is having her own struggles with grief.

I'm not trans, so I can't speak to if the rep in this book is good or not. The author isn't either, but I felt like the way she tackles the topic is done really well. It felt realistic, even though parts of it really broke my heart for Chris who just wanted to be accepted for who he is. He's going through a tough time, and so it Maia, but they hide secrets from each other until it all blows up in their faces.

Maia was a difficult character for me to understand. She is going through a lot because of the death of her sister, and I can't claim to understand that, but I felt like she just pushed everyone away. I guess that is realistic, but it made her a super frustrating character to read about. She ends up making bad decisions that it causes friction between her and Chris, which I found annoying. I think this part was realistic because when you are a teen everything is do or die. I think adults reading YA something forget about that when it comes to relationships and breakups. Mistakes happen and your emotions run high.

I liked this book and thought it was a good book that tackles topics such as grief, first love and figuring yourself out. I just wasn't totally thrilled with the ending. It felt a little flat to me, but definitely not a deal breaker.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an E-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

3/5 stars

I didn't mind the overall story of this book. I liked where it was trying to go and the representation it was trying to promote, however there were a few things I just didn't like about one of the characters. While they are little things and It may very well be a personal issue, I just couldn't stand the characteristics and the thought process behind Maia. This was a very average book, while I enjoyed it, it just fell a little flat for me.

I literally read "for fans of Eleanor and Park" and requested it. I'm on a YA kick right now and I felt I could go for a novel of that sweet, but poignant feel. I was all in. I read it was a love story featuring a transgender character and hoped for the best. I love seeing representation of trans characters in fiction, but didn't realize until I started reading that this author is not transgender herself.

The story is about Chris, a transgender boy, who goes to stay with his aunt for the summer in a small town where he meets Maia, a girl who lost her sister and is still grieving. The two connect and then (no spoilers) things happen... The story felt a little forced in some ways to me. I think both of the main characters could've been better developed, which would've helped make the plot feel more authentic and organic. As it is, it was one of those books where you're like, okay, that could've happened, I guess? (I prefer stories that feel so real you question if they did indeed happen and read the author's bio to see if there's a hint that the story is not actually fiction.) Overall, it was a fairly quick, light read that struck some nice emotional notes. I don't regret reading it, but wouldn't necessarily recommend it either.

In 2019, I have been making a conscious effort to read more diverse. This month, in honor of pride, I am reading diverse romances. Something Like Gravity is my first transgender romance - and it was beautiful and heart-breaking and amazing at the same time. I loved seeing a minority community represented, and more importantly accepted, in a YA romance book.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, especially because it had a FtM transgender character. I feel like there aren't enough books with transgender main characters and the way this was written was great. The rocky relationship Chris had with his mom felt real, obviously not all parents accept their trans kids, but Chris's mom had the potential to come around.
Also the relationship between Maia and Chris was great, they both had secrets they were afraid to share. The alternating points of view helped give this more depth and it flew by.
Great writing and pacing, I recommend this book to anyone looking for a good LGBTQ read!