Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith

Jun 28, 2019 Larry H rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

I'm between 4 and 4.5 stars.

"It's hard to figure out what you're supposed to be when you've never even really known who you were in the first place—that was something I'd realized only recently. Something I didn't think my friends would understand. After all, I looked the same and dressed the same and talked the same as I always had. But I wasn't the same."

Chris and Maia meet for the first time when he almost hits her with his car. Neither one is really paying attention, but both feel some sort ...more

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Jun 17, 2019 destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries] rated it it was ok

Shelves: review-copies, owned-ebooks, z-2019-reads, diverse-reads, owned-physical, tough-topics, contemporary, lgbtqiap, young-adult

Whew. Okay. Let me start with two things:

1) I am genuinely so sorry to any of my trans friends who may have been hurt by my initial positive rating/remarks about this book. I was seeing things through an incredibly ignorant (and cis) lens. This is one of those instances that reminded me that, when it comes to books that are not own-voice, I should really be looking for own-voice reviews before I start recommending these titles to others.

2) Honestly, feel free to stop reading my review here and

Whew. Okay. Let me start with two things:

1) I am genuinely so sorry to any of my trans friends who may have been hurt by my initial positive rating/remarks about this book. I was seeing things through an incredibly ignorant (and cis) lens. This is one of those instances that reminded me that, when it comes to books that are not own-voice, I should really be looking for own-voice reviews before I start recommending these titles to others.

2) Honestly, feel free to stop reading my review here and check out the own-voice reviews here and here, because they touch on points that I would never have thought to criticize this work for (like the improper usage of a binder that seems to not have been well-researched at all on the author's part).

Something Like Gravity strikes me as the perfect example of why many (not ALL, but MANY) authors aren't capable of writing proper representation outside of their own lanes. What I thought was well-intended (if sometimes problematic) trans rep from a cis author is being called out by many own-voice reviewers as being very poor representation, and that hurts my heart, because I know there are own-voice books with trans representation that aren't getting the hype and marketing this book has received.

When I first finished the book, I gave it 4 stars because I had enjoyed it for the most part. Even to my misguided reading, there were some major issues I had (such as the trans character being outed without consent by another character spying on them while they changed clothes - I honestly almost DNFed the ARC at this point because it was so out of left field and infuriated me, but I kept going because I hoped it would be addressed fully later. Now I've come to realize that not only was it not handled well, but frankly, it shouldn't have happened at all, at least not without TWs for trans readers who could be immensely triggered by it). That said, I thought the characters were fairly likeable and I think Smith's prose is really lovely.

After reading multiple own-voice reviews, though, I've come to realize that there are a lot of issues with this book — but that's not the only reason I changed my rating. I finished this book about 2 months ago at the time I'm reviewing it, and it has been so immensely un-memorable that I literally forgot it was on my "RTC" shelf until earlier today. When I sat down to review it, I struggled to even remember what had happened because, in hindsight, these characters and this romance are bland. Maia is low-key awful, Chris' entire personality revolves around 10% PTSD, 90% running (and there are some comments made about Chris' views of his own body that are a struggle), the plot is mostly non-existent, and I couldn't tell you a single thing about any of the side characters if my life depended on it.

All in all, this was a mediocre book made worse by poorly-researched representation. I definitely want to try more of Amber Smith's work because, like I said, her narrative voice itself is really nice and I've heard many people say her plots and characters are usually a lot better than this. But... yeah, this one didn't do anyone any favors.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review! ...more

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Jul 04, 2019 Ivy rated it it was ok

Shelves: arcs, came-soon-18-19

If this book sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend reading Tobly McSmith's Stay Gold! It has a similar set up to this novel but is written by a trans author, plus I thought it was a pretty good read!

Review:

As a person who knows a lot (though not everything) about transitioning, passing and dysphoria, I noted that there were a lot of things related to the character Chris that didn’t make much sense.

For example, it’s never clearly stated whether or not Chris has started hormones, so I atte If this book sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend reading Tobly McSmith's Stay Gold! It has a similar set up to this novel but is written by a trans author, plus I thought it was a pretty good read!

Review:

As a person who knows a lot (though not everything) about transitioning, passing and dysphoria, I noted that there were a lot of things related to the character Chris that didn’t make much sense.

For example, it’s never clearly stated whether or not Chris has started hormones, so I attempted to piece together that puzzle myself and it still doesn’t make sense. Chris says that a year ago his voice was “high and light,” yet later he says he has unawarely been talking low for years, “before the hormones.” Chris also mentions that his dad signed the “stupid paperwork” for him to start on hormones. If Chris had started hormones, his body would be going through many changes that are… never mentioned in this book. We never hear about Chris going to get t-shots or administering them to himself. When he goes to live with his aunt, there is no discussion of where Chris was going to pick up his prescription or get his shots. Maybe this depends on the state, but also I’m fairly certain you can’t just have your parents sign some papers to start hormones. You can’t just sign papers and bing-bang-boom get that good good boy juice. Making it seem that way makes Chris’ transition seem so much easier than it actually would be.

My second confusion is that Chris’ binder is mentioned and is basically the only part of his transition ever blatantly discussed. But, Chris runs. A lot. We’re to assume that Chris binds all the time when outside, or otherwise he wouldn’t pass. He says once that as he runs his chest is aching, the pressure in his ribs almost becoming too much - AND HE KEEPS GOING. If he is binding, he is doing irreversible damage to his chest and ribs. If he truly had watched so many videos about transitioning, I’d hope he’d learned that you shouldn’t bind when exercising, especially when you begin to feel pain in your ribs.

This one is my biggest problem. There is a scene (spoilers) where Maia is sitting on Chris’ balcony and watches him undress, which wouldn’t be okay even if Chris was cis. As soon as I realized what was happening, I become anxious, my heart rate increasing and a very specific feeling of fear and disgust taking over my entire body. Maia watches Chris take off his binder and ogles at his breasts. She feels no sympathy for Chris at that moment or after. We are supposed to feel bad for Maia, how hard it must be for her to know that Chris is trans and what a saint she when she decides his identity doesn’t change her feelings. This is why cis authors shouldn’t write trans characters - if this book was written by a genderqueer author, not only would this scene not be included, but if it was, Chris would be given sympathy and Maia would have to do something more than send Chris an inspiration photo for him to forgive her.

Those were the main complaints, so here’s the lightning round:
- Chris says he’s scared of becoming “soft and curvy.” I understand that from a dysphoric perspective, but it was unneeded and purveyed the idea prevalent in the transmasculine community that transmasc people need to be muscley and skinny, and that being chubby/fat is feminine, unwanted and lazy.
- The sex scene was awkward and I would rather have cis people just not have sex scenes with trans kids in their books. It’s creepy, period.
- Maia was possessive of Chris, and it never really was addressed, and he had very little agency, and it was gross.

I wouldn’t have read Something Like Gravity if not for the trans “representation,” and it was that “representation” that made me so frustrated with this book. There were just certain scenes and details that proved the author’s unfamiliarity with the reality of being trans: not the feeling/emotion, but the facts of passing and transitioning. Some stuff just felt really unneeded and gross, especially because essentially there were parts where a cis woman was describing a body very similar to my own in creepy ways.

I wouldn’t recommend Something Like Gravity, and would especially deter trans kids from reading it. (This word is overused, but there were a lot of truly triggering scenes that were just stressful and unneeded.) If a cis person is going to include a trans person in their book, that’s wonderful, but I would rather they don't try and tackle topics that involve trauma, details about the kid’s body/genitals, or anything in that personal vein. Rating: two/five. ...more

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Dec 03, 2018 elena marked it as to-read

amber smith writing about a trans boy falling in love for the first time???

~~please just throw this book at my face i need it~~
this book has been thrown at my face today and i can’t wait to start it

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May 27, 2019 Tucker (TuckerTheReader) marked it as other · review of another edition

Recommended to Tucker by: destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries]

Shelves: contemporary, arc-physical, young-adult, lgbtqia

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster Children's Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

After reading some reviews (amazing ones, by the way, that you can check out here and here), I have decided that I won't be picking this one up.

As a cisgender guy, I don't have any experience of what it's like to be a transgender person. Because of that, I want to read books that accurately represent that community which is why I'm passing on this.

Thanks, Simon & Schuster for the ARC. I'm sorr ...more

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Jun 17, 2019 Danielle (Life of a Literary Nerd) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary, favorites, standalones, arcs, cover-envy, lgbtq

Amber Smith has such a mesmeorizing way with words - I'm immediately enraptured and invested. Something Like Gravity is a beautiful love story between two people who are healing after their own personal tragedies. I thought Chris and Maia had some of the best chemistry I've ever read in YA. I was so invested in their relationship and I just loved seeing them spend time together and grow closer. Even beyond the romance, seeing each of them grow as people past their fears was so inspiring. There w ...more

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Jul 19, 2019 chan ☆ added it

Shelves: 2019, ya-contemporary, dnf

i got about 20% into this one before deciding to dnf. definitely not a bad book but i didn't connect with either of the main characters and i definitely don't care about their relationship.

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Jun 06, 2019 Isaiah rated it it was ok

To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.

I got an ARC of this book.

Lets start with the cover. It looks like a lesbian romance novel. Chris does not pass in this picture. Why do I point this out? Chris passes 100% f the time in the book without any questions by anyone. He temporarily moves to a new town and NO ONE ever says or does anything that implies that he doesn't pass as 100% male 100% of the time. One character asks if he is gay, but that is the closest it gets. I know many guys that To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.

I got an ARC of this book.

Lets start with the cover. It looks like a lesbian romance novel. Chris does not pass in this picture. Why do I point this out? Chris passes 100% f the time in the book without any questions by anyone. He temporarily moves to a new town and NO ONE ever says or does anything that implies that he doesn't pass as 100% male 100% of the time. One character asks if he is gay, but that is the closest it gets. I know many guys that passed most of the time as male without hormones, but they passed as much younger than they were as teens. Chris passing as a 17 year old male without hormones is very unlikely when he is 17.

My next issue is Chris is trans. Before you grab your pitchforks and scream I am transphobic, I am a trans man. I started my medical transition at 15. I have no issues with trans people being represented in media. I have problems when they are badly written characters that makes it really obvious that the author is cis. Chris's entire trans life boils down to binding, almost being raped, and coming out while in the middle of hooking up with someone. So lets start with binding: the binder that Chris is wearing is one I have seen before and have worn before, basic google image search and you get the image. The issue is when you are binding running is not really the best idea. It inhibits your ability to breathe. Binders are also super expensive, so it is unlikely that Chris has too many binders laying around to go running in them all the time. Sleeping in a binder can be super dangerous because of the breathing issues. There is a scene where Chris takes off his binder and sleeps with someone in his bed. He then sleeps shirtless. Based on how strongly Chris reacted to his chest, it seems super unlikely that he would sleep without a shirt or a shirt and a sports bra (does some binding) while someone else was in the room. His backstory is very much "trans people can only ever be hated, raped, and killed" which is what the media seems to think. I am so done with that idea and I hate that yet another story with a trans lead has that basic plot. It also seems unlikely that Chris would have been unaware that they were trying to rape him, considering how everything went down. Coming out in the middle of a hook-up is dangerous. Chris had not started hormones or had any forms of surgery (never mentioned ever wanting them for that matter). There would be some pretty obvious issues with this plan that even someone who isn't super trans versed would notice (erections for example). The sex scene where Chris is super against his chest being touched, but is all about about his genitalia just read as a lesbian sex scene. There was no dysphoria, which seems so odd considering how Chris was acting throughout the book. Not all trans people experience dysphoria about their genitalia or experience it all the time, but the way Chris was written would imply he would experience dysphoria around his body. So the trans character was not believable at all. Was I still excited that a trans character was dating and doing normal teen things? Hell yeah. Had I wished that a trans author had written this character so I could have actually seen myself in him? HELL YES.

So now that I have ranted, the rest of the book in a few sentences. The characters were flat. I didn't ship them. I didn't care about what was happening. There were cheap tricks to try to elicit emotions (the dog plot). There were too many coincidences at the end that made the story wrap up very nicely, without actually addressing any of the major plot points. It was just an eh story. Why two stars? It wasn't a terrible book. I really enjoyed Maia's character development and how trauma was represented for her and her family. If the story was all from Maia's perspective or Chris wasn't trans then this book would probably have been a better book. ...more

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Sep 04, 2018 Adalee Gellar rated it it was amazing

A beautiful, bittersweet young love story that examines the challenges of grief and otherness that face teens. This novel opens up human experiences and teaches compassion and understanding throughout its pages.

I was given the opportunity to read the final draft of this novel and I highly recommend it to all readers. The overall book follows thematic lines of kindness, understanding and self-exploration that are so vital to the young growing older and the older seeking to understand the younger. A beautiful, bittersweet young love story that examines the challenges of grief and otherness that face teens. This novel opens up human experiences and teaches compassion and understanding throughout its pages.

I was given the opportunity to read the final draft of this novel and I highly recommend it to all readers. The overall book follows thematic lines of kindness, understanding and self-exploration that are so vital to the young growing older and the older seeking to understand the younger. In her true fashion, Ms. Smith does not shy from challenging and unsettling content, but in this work it is tempered toward a message of hope and happiness--resulting in a beautiful takeaway that avoids the sap and histrionic content so common in love stories.

A major driving element in 'Something Like Gravity' is the impressive strength of character. Maia and Chris are both equally unique and relatable. Their humanity is inherent in every page and I found pieces of myself in both of them as I turned the pages. They are the kind of characters you root for, the kind you care about, the kind you find yourself thinking of randomly days later after reading the book. Chris is a charming and honest example of a teen accepting his trans identity--and Ms. Smith makes a strong choice to skip the typical 'coming out' story and instead works with a kid who knows who he wants to become and is working toward becoming his true self. Maia is not a typical griever full of tears and aimed for pity, but a strong woman growing into an unnknown identity that is compelling and at times scandalous.

The backdrop of this book, Carson, is a backwater Southern Town that creates a wonderful blend of isolationism and pastoralism for the characters to grow within. At times the setting almost takes on the role of a character, driving themes and scenes with the unique experience of a rural run-down single stoplight town. Instead of leaning into stereotypical scenery, Ms. Smith develops a unique and compelling world that has new surprises around each turn in the road.

As for plot, I won't spoil any for readers, but Amber Smith shows her usual skill at keeping the reader so engrossed in the story that the pages practically turn themselves. Within this she blends thematic and metaphorical content via astronomy and photography that clench the artistic edge of this novel.

Overall, I'd say it is her definitive work. She has really blown me away with this book and I can't wait to grab the final published version and meet Chris and Maia all over again. ...more

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Sep 04, 2018 Hillary marked it as to-read

Shelves: contemporary, priority-tbr

IT’S AMBER SMITH’S NEW BOOK. I WANT IT NOW.

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Jan 07, 2019 ellie marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2019-release

love, simon + amber smith = the way to my heart tbh

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Apr 17, 2019 maya rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs, lgbtqia, beautiful-covers, contemporary

a soft sweet mellow story about a trans boy finding someone who loves him at the right time and the right place for who he is.

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Jun 10, 2019 Nik rated it it was ok

Shelves: netgalley-reviews

This review contains spoilers. I have formatted the review to hide them, however they might still show up for mobile users, so proceed with caution.

NOTE: I was going to wait for publication day to post this review because of spoilers, however I am pretty angry so I need to get this out.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll admit that this book took me much longer than it should’ve for me to finish, but I believe it directly cor This review contains spoilers. I have formatted the review to hide them, however they might still show up for mobile users, so proceed with caution.

NOTE: I was going to wait for publication day to post this review because of spoilers, however I am pretty angry so I need to get this out.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll admit that this book took me much longer than it should’ve for me to finish, but I believe it directly correlates to the fact that I had to read it on my laptop, as there was no Kindle version for me to download. Anyway.

At first, I was really enjoying Something Like Gravity. I was excited to read about Chris and how he navigates life in a new town after getting beat up due to the fact that he is transgendered. I immediately connected with Chris’s character and loved reading from his perspective. Maia, on the other hand, I lacked a connection with. Maia is dealing with the loss of her sister Mallory, which I assumed would connect me to her as I love reading books that deal with grief. However, it was hard to feel for Maia, and I didn’t understand her motives behind running around with her sister’s camera and trying to “recreate” Mallory’s best shots without actually taking pictures.

I realized my issue with Maia about halfway through the book. At first, my thoughts on her were similar to my thoughts on Julia from I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez. Julia had resentment towards her sister, much like Maia was bitter towards Mallory, yet became obsessed with uncovering her dead sister’s secret relationship. Maia is obsessed with finding everything Mallory took pictures of and “recreating” them. There’s no rhyme or reason for this obsession. We don’t know why Maia is so obsessed with the camera, other than trying to feel close to her sister. It didn’t feel like a strong enough reason to me. Now, both of my sisters are still alive, so I can’t understand how either characters feel, but I’m pretty positive I wouldn’t suddenly become obsessed with playing the piano or being a wedding planner. But that’s just me.

The biggest issue I had with Maia I came to realize in the last quarter of the book. Maia is a pathological liar. We see this from the very beginning, but it gets progressively worse as the story goes on. (view spoiler)[The biggest offense is when she lies to Chris about her dream. When Chris asks Maia what she wants to do with her life during a car ride, Maia lies and uses her sisters dream, to be a world-traveling photographer, as her own, even though she’s never actually taken a single picture with her sister’s camera in her life. She lies to sound cool, and immediately regrets it. However, instead of coming clean, she keeps the lie going, even going so far as to drag Chris with her to a town an hour away to find a statue in a graveyard to “take a picture of.” It’s such a trivial thing to lie about, and yet it takes over the entire relationship. At one point, Maia sneaks onto the balcony of Chris’s room when he’s out for a run to try and recreate a picture of a stained glass door in his room. Chris comes home early, and instead of being like “hey don’t wanna scare you I’m just taking a picture of this cool door,” Maia hides and spies on Chris, and figures out that he’s trans when he starts changing. This part was so incredibly cringy and I couldn’t stand reading it.

Chris, being the wonderful boyfriend that he is, genuinely tries to take an interest in what he believes is Maia’s passion, but anytime he even mentions or touches a camera, Maia freaks out on him, and at one point makes them abruptly leave an antique shop where they were hanging out with Maia’s friends. Instead of eventually coming clean and owning up to the lie, Chris finds out from Mallory’s ex, Neil, that the camera isn’t Maia’s and that everything was a lie. When Chris confronts Maia about it, Maia tries to turn the situation around and call Chris out for “lying” about being trans. Maia admits to spying on Chris and figuring out that he was trans before he was ready to tell her. Which, by the way, Chris didn’t lie about. Coming out is a very hard and very personal thing. Chris didn’t owe coming out to anyone if he wasn't ready and willing. He told Maia that he was trans the moment their relationship became physical with their first kiss. Yet Maia tries to hold it against him because she’s upset that he called her out on her massive lie.

Maia was so incredibly problematic and I felt sick reading from her POV by the end of the story. Her gaslighting Chris was never even brought up again. Other than Chris storming out and driving the 10 hours back home after their fight, there were next to no repercussions for Maia’s blow up. It absolutely disgusted me.

The ending was possibly the worst offense, in my humble opinion. They didn’t end up together. Which, after Maia’s behavior, I was glad, but that leaves me wondering what the whole point of the book was. We could’ve just had a story about Chris dealing with the aftermath of his attack and living with his aunt in a different state, and maybe he could’ve even still met Maia, but I don’t think Maia’s POV was necessary. It didn’t add anything to the story. Her way of dealing with her grief over her sister was detestable, and caused issues for Chris in the long run. And even after everything, Chris forgave her and ended up giving her the necklace he paid $50 for. (hide spoiler)]

The first half of the story I genuinely enjoyed, and thought that this would be a solid 3.5 star, or even a 4 star novel. However, after finishing it and reflecting, I had more issues with this book than positives, and am giving this book 2 stars. If it weren’t for Chris, I probably would only give it 1 star because I hated Maia that much. But Chris was a fantastic character and I’m glad I got to meet him through this book, so for that I’m bumping up my rating.

Even though I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I was hoping, I’m still glad I read it, and I know there are many people out there who need Chris’s story. My intention with this review is not to deter anyone from reading it, because I do believe that Chris’s story needs to be told, but I can’t ignore the many problems I had with it, specifically Maia’s character development, or lack thereof. I would still encourage people to read it for themselves, but stay wary of the problems it has. I wish the book had addressed Maia’s flaws at the end, but it didn’t, therefor her unexcused behavior causes me distress, as younger readers can be easily influenced. I would hate for anyone to think that Maia’s behavior is okay.

I would also like to mention that I myself am not transgender, so I can’t say for sure if the representation was a tasteful or accurate portrayal. To me it was well done, however it’s not my place to judge that. Just because I personally didn’t find Chris’s struggles with being trans problematic, doesn’t mean anything. I would love to hear the thoughts of transgendered people on this book. I will say that the author herself isn’t trans, but is apart of the LGBTQ+ community. Again, I have no right to say whether her portrayal was accurate or not, so read at your own discretion. ...more

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Jun 09, 2019 The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, young-adult, arc, 2019-releases, netgalley

Full Review on The Candid Cover

Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith is a contemporary novel all about first love. The characters are dynamic, and the topics are hard-hitting. This is a perfect novel for fans of Becky Albertalli to add to their summer TBRs.

This book tells the story of Chris, a transgender boy who falls in love for the first time, and Maia, a girl who has recently lost her sister. Both characters deal with hardship, and the story is ultimately about their self-discovery and journ Full Review on The Candid Cover

Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith is a contemporary novel all about first love. The characters are dynamic, and the topics are hard-hitting. This is a perfect novel for fans of Becky Albertalli to add to their summer TBRs.

This book tells the story of Chris, a transgender boy who falls in love for the first time, and Maia, a girl who has recently lost her sister. Both characters deal with hardship, and the story is ultimately about their self-discovery and journey to find their place in the world. I enjoyed the use of dual narration, as it is interesting to experience their first meeting and their view of the world from differing perspectives. As well, this is one of the few books I have read in which the main character is transgender, and this representation is so important. I can’t speak to the book’s accuracy myself, but while the author is not transgender herself, I feel like the book does a great job conveying the plot and addressing related topics with sensitivity.

❀ WELL-DEVELOPED CHARACTERS

Both Maia and Chris are developed characters, and I enjoyed reading both of their narrations. Maia has just lost her sister, and she is obsessed with recreating Mallory’s photos I could really sympathize with her as the depiction of her grieving process is quite emotional. Personally, I liked Chris more than Maia because I didn’t agree with some her Maia’s decisions. Chris is a very patient character, and he doesn’t tell lies, unlike Maia. He is realistic, and watching him fall in love is so wholesome. I adored Chris, and I would definitely read a companion novel about him.

❀ BALANCE OF SOFTNESS AND SERIOUSNESS

One of the book’s strengths is the way it handles topics like assault and grief. There is a nice balance of softness and seriousness, and the mix of emotions brings a lot to the plot. Chris’s assault is not the main focus of the book, and I enjoyed how this event is not just used for the sake of adding a problem to the story. Instead, it highlights intolerance and brings awareness to the issues that the LGBT community continues to face. Ultimately, these hard-hitting topics are well-executed and thoughtfully written.

Something Like Gravity is a book that is both cute and meaningful. There is great representation, and the main characters are complex. As well, the book discusses more serious topics, and it does so in a delicate manner. This is such an important read, and I would recommend it. ...more

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Feb 04, 2020 Sara (A Gingerly Review) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, audio-book-2020

Here's the deal...

At the same time - I liked this but I did not like this. I cannot put my finger on why exactly but maybe it was because I couldn't connect to either character... or maybe I just felt sections of the story went on five miles longer than they should have... either way, I'm not upset I read this, I'm upset I didn't enjoy it more.

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Mar 17, 2020 Sia Goel rated it it was amazing

Truly one of the best books I’ve read in a while. I could not put it down. It reminded me of the strength and courage it takes one to truly discover themselves. This book demonstrated that everyone takes time to accept their truth. I highly recommend everyone to read it.

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Jun 09, 2019 Aly rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, 2019

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 mo ...more

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Jul 13, 2019 - ̗̀ jess ̖́- rated it it was ok

Shelves: contemporary, standalones, young-adult, diverse-books, romance

Unfortunately, Something Like Gravity wasn't for me. I'd picked up this book because of the trans rep, and not only did I find that the rep was potentially harmful, neither Chris nor Maia's stories were particularly captivating to me, and I was bored for most of the book.

The book is told in alternating perspectives from Chris and Maia, two teenagers living next to each other in a small town. Both Chris and Maia are dealing with two very life-changing events, which is what brings them together: Unfortunately, Something Like Gravity wasn't for me. I'd picked up this book because of the trans rep, and not only did I find that the rep was potentially harmful, neither Chris nor Maia's stories were particularly captivating to me, and I was bored for most of the book.

The book is told in alternating perspectives from Chris and Maia, two teenagers living next to each other in a small town. Both Chris and Maia are dealing with two very life-changing events, which is what brings them together: alienated from the rest of their community, they find comfort in each other because they understand what it's like to be alone without knowing the history behind it. That they don't know each other's histories is, I believe, the driving point behind their relationship, and it also makes their whole conflict possible: namely, both characters keep secrets from each other throughout the book.

Personally, I found Chris and Maia both to be quite frustrating during the book. I did sympathize with both of them, however: both are going through a lot, and it makes a lot of their behaviours understandable. Both of their storylines reflected each other in a very poetic way, which I liked: it definitely lent more weight to the story.

I was, however, definitely the most disappointed by how Chris was written. I'm not transgender, but a lot of the content surrounding Chris made me really uncomfortable. There's a couple ownvoices reviews that echo these thoughts here and here and I suggest you read those because they say it better than I could ever. But there is a scene where Maia spies on Chris as he changes, which is how Maia finds out that Chris is trans, and I feel like that's such a common yet harmful trope which was really uncomfortable to read about. Both Chris and Maia are hiding things from each other, but Chris being trans is treated with as much gravity as Maia lying about her hobbies, and it felt very wrong to me to equate the two. In addition, I'm just ... tired of reading about queer pain in contemporary novels, and tired of queer identities being held as hostage, so to speak. I know that the author is a lesbian, but she's cis and so is Maia, and I felt like Maia acted like Chris being transgender was something she used against him. Which isn't something I particularly enjoy reading about.

This is also a very character-driven novel, which meant that because I wasn't too into the characters, I was not into the plot, either. Amber Smith's writing is beautiful, and I've heard a lot about her previous books -- so I was disappointed that I couldn't get into the rest of the book like I wanted to.

I feel like Something About Gravity had a lot of potential behind it, but I didn't find either of its main characters particularly interesting. In addition, the portrayal of Chris as a trans person played into a lot of harmful plotlines and tropes about trans people that made me really uncomfortable.

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Dec 09, 2019 Genevieve rated it liked it

Shelves: lgbtq, romance

I really liked this book, I've liked all the books that I've read by amber smith. I was looking through the comments and saw very different opinions on this book. It may be true that Amber Smith is not transgender but that's not the point. What she's trying to do is bring more awareness to the LGBTQ+ community. And I can't say I am gay or transgender so I definitely would not be able to recognize mistakes or flaws about Chris transgender(ness?), but I do agree with people who are saying that som ...more

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May 31, 2019 Dylan rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019-most-anticipated

3 stars.

3 stars is NOT a bad rating for me. I think this book has a ton of merit to it, but it needed some more editing (too much details about things that don't really matter) and I didn't really feel like there was much of a plot?? and there was a plot point that made me feel a bit icky, but I'm probably just being picky.

I can't say for sure if the trans rep is good since I'm not trans, but I didn't see any glaring problems.

Trigger warnings for slight transphobia, death of a family member, ass ...more

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Jul 28, 2019 Kayleigh rated it it was ok

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult, 2019, romance, unfortunate, standalones, lgbt

2 stars.

“If you’ve always been defined not as a full-fledged person but solely as another person’s polar opposite, and that person no longer exists, do you also cease to exist?”

Something Like Gravity follows Chris and Maia in alternating perspectives, who are two teenagers that live next to each other in a small town. They’re both dealing with their own issues—Chris has recently come out as transgender and Maia’s dealing with the loss of her sister and trying to find who she is without her. Fall 2 stars.

“If you’ve always been defined not as a full-fledged person but solely as another person’s polar opposite, and that person no longer exists, do you also cease to exist?”

Something Like Gravity follows Chris and Maia in alternating perspectives, who are two teenagers that live next to each other in a small town. They’re both dealing with their own issues—Chris has recently come out as transgender and Maia’s dealing with the loss of her sister and trying to find who she is without her. Falling in love was the last thing either of them expected, but a near-fatal car accident brings them together. However, Chris's good intentions backfire and Maia’s bad temper keeps getting the best of her. But neither of them can seem to stay away from the other, and they manage to find comfort in each other during their hard times.

I’m going to go ahead and say Amber Smith isn’t the author for me. I’ve only read The Way I Used to Be by Smith before, but I also ended up disliking that one, as well. I appreciate the fact that she’s not afraid to write about serious topics, but I never end up enjoying the way she writes about them, unfortunately. That being said, I do think she has a lovely writing style, and her books always have so much potential. That’s generally where the positives end for me, though, because I think this book has a lot of harmful tropes in regards to transgender people, and it was really uncomfortable to read.

Going off of that, I will say this story relies heavily on the characters, and when those characters are written how Chris and Maia are, it ends up being incredibly disappointing. I’ll start out by saying I’m not transgender, so I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but I do think so much about Chris’s character is more harmful than helpful. Isaiah’s review is one that explains how I was feeling through this book, and it’s coming from a trans man instead of a cis woman, which is much more important. As for Maia, I understand that she’s grieving, and everyone acts different when they lose someone they love, but I don’t like that it was excused and that she got away with treating Chris the way she did.

Overall, Something Like Gravity just wasn’t for me, and I think Amber Smith’s stories in general just aren’t for me. This book had a lot of harmful tropes and actions in it, and I didn’t feel like there was much of a lesson behind it (as in, it all felt very excused). I thought Chris as a character had so much potential, but it’s very clear he was written by a cis woman that didn’t do a whole lot of research. Maia was not a good character, either, and she frustrated me quite a bit. The plot was also... not there, which was probably the last thing that could’ve saved this book for me, honestly.

representation ↠ transgender main character.
content warnings ↠ body dysphoria and loss of a loved one. ...more

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Jul 17, 2019 ↠ dan ↞ rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, lgbtq

2.5 stars. i wanted to like this so bad :( but there was hardly any plot, the main characters were problematic and unrealistic... and it totally didn't feel like a love story

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Jan 09, 2019 Kelsie Pates rated it it was amazing

For Maia, Summer means working at her crappy job, dealing with her divorced-but-still-live-together parents, and trying to reconnect with the memory of her older sister, Mallory, who passed away unexpectedly. But then Chris shows up, moves in next door, and makes her fall in love with him. Or at least, that's how it seems. Chris is staying with his aunt for the Summer because living in a small town for a few months is definitely easier than facing his parents who can't seem to fully accept the f ...more

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Mar 28, 2019 ☼Shannon☼ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-stars, arc, lgbtq, falling-in-love, graphic-or-sexual-violence

Without the dead sister and being transgender, its a cute summer romance. With it though it becomes something extraordinary.

Told from both the POV's of Maia and Chris we get to see their romance blossom and hide their secrets. I loved getting in Chris's head, I don't really know all that much about being transgender. I also liked watching Maia take her sister's camera and try to see what she saw, in an effort to feel closer to her.

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Aug 20, 2018 ❄Elsa Frost❄ marked it as to-read

Shelves: young-adult, must-read-soon, contemporary, lgbt, enby-trans

LGBT+ rep? Particularly representation of a transgender person who's the main character of this book?? I repeat: the main character?? I'm down! It's about time the wide diversity of the LGBTQ+ community (among all of our marginalized communities) is represented in literature, movies, etc.

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May 27, 2019 Sam rated it did not like it

Shelves: queer, netgalley, 2019-read

Original review removed due to reading ownvoice reviews and realizing that this book does have many things wrong with it. My initial review came from a place of ignorance and I apologize if that hurt anyone.

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Jun 09, 2019 Lindsi (Do You Dog-ear?) rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, netgalley

"If you've always been defined, not as a full-fledged person, but solely as another person's polar opposite, and that person no longer exists, do you also cease to exist?"

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I thought Something Like Gravity would have some scientific elements regarding space and the stars, but those references were few and far "If you've always been defined, not as a full-fledged person, but solely as another person's polar opposite, and that person no longer exists, do you also cease to exist?"

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I thought Something Like Gravity would have some scientific elements regarding space and the stars, but those references were few and far between. Chris enjoys looking through his telescope, and it's a passion he wants to pursue in the future, but it isn't a main focus of the story. He'll share facts with Maia, and those were interesting (especially about the binary stars), but I wish there had been more.

Amber Smith has written a beautiful story about self-discovery. Chris is finally figuring out and committing to who he is, and Maia is learning how to exist without her sister. It took tragic circumstances for both of them to start really living, and we see how they use each other to overcome their sadness and fear. They didn't immediately click from the start, because Maia is a very angry person, but it felt like a realistic portrayal of feelings and emotions. She was hurting and she lashed out, and Chris was endlessly kind and patient.

I know I've said this before, but I dislike it when the main conflict is based on a lie. Maia lies to Chris at the very beginning of their friendship, and then it snowballs out of control. She didn't need to lie, and she had plenty of opportunities to tell him the truth. Honestly, I thought she would have come clean long before everything blew up in her face. Chris's reaction was understandable at first, but then he took it too far. He let his pain and anger cloud his judgement, and he was unnecessarily cruel and unforgiving. What Maia lied about really had nothing to do with her relationship with Chris, but he took it very personally, and it altered both of their lives in a big way.

Additionally, I think this book could have been a little shorter. It lagged in some places and I never felt compelled to pick it back up. The pacing is incredibly slow, and there's very little action, but I know some of you enjoy books that focus more on character development (which there is a lot of). However, if some of the story had been condensed, I think it would have made for a quicker and more enjoyable read.

The ending was both satisfying and disappointing.

I believe Something Like Gravity tells a story that needs to be told. I think it's a book a lot of people will be able to relate to, and not just because one of the characters is transgender. Although, I do think it's awesome that they are getting more representation in YA books. Something Like Gravity is about falling in love, and learning how to love yourself. It's also about knowing when to let go, and when to hold on.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on June 11, 2018. ...more

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Jun 04, 2019 Cindy rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, young-adult, netgalley-reads, romance, advance-reader-copy, lgbtqa, 2019

There is so much going on in here. A bit too much! Death, grief, parents who can't parent, lying, actual trauma. Do we have to have YA novels filled with so much conflict that it leaves you dizzy trying to figure out who the protagonist is. I think that's part of the problem. I felt like I was being forced to want to root for Maia. So many hints were dropped about "who she used to be" but we never get to see which that was. I ended up feeling like she was living a life and had this poor me attit There is so much going on in here. A bit too much! Death, grief, parents who can't parent, lying, actual trauma. Do we have to have YA novels filled with so much conflict that it leaves you dizzy trying to figure out who the protagonist is. I think that's part of the problem. I felt like I was being forced to want to root for Maia. So many hints were dropped about "who she used to be" but we never get to see which that was. I ended up feeling like she was living a life and had this poor me attitude throughout. Yes, she was grieving the death of her sister, but it didn't connect for me.
On the flip side, I felt that Chris was a more realistic character. I would have preferred an #ownvoices author though. Much of it felt real and true. The dysphoria, conflicted emotions, tension. But other bits felt odd. Maybe it's my own cis viewpoint, but at times I felt that he was characterized as a cis Male with cis Male privilege, and then the author would occasionally add in--oh, I know how that felt as a girl, so I have to be mindful of how I present as a Male-to not make it seem that way. Chris was a mix of what I thought were authentic reactions/actions/emotions and not.

Now onto the parents.

I am tired of the parents fall apart and leave the kid to take care of themselves trope. It doesn't do justice to the grieving process, and makes me wonder if all teens feel like their parents are going to "disappear" if tragedy happens. It does nothing to show that there are many faces of greif and the process of grieving. If you are going to introduce such a huge arc of sibling death, then in expect more.

Chris's dad seemed right on appropriate. But his mom???? Again, let's throw in a story arc because it's what is expected- trans kid not supported by their parent(s). Yes, that is a reality. I see it every day. But to have mom be supportive of everything in Chris's life until the point he realizes his truth??? And then a year of her being in opposition and them he is gone two months and comes back and she is all good?? It just doesn't add up. Her point about grieving who Chris was as a girl and the projected future she had put on him is real. From personal experience that is a true process. But this went to an extreme that didn't seem in character. I didn't buy it.

As a parent of a trans kid, I pick up these novels to try and help me understand and relate. While I appreciate the story line of a normal teen relationship for all, my over all impression is that there was too many story arcs that distracted from that.

I received an ARC copy of this book via NetGalley. ...more

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May 28, 2019 Te De rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. EDIT - I'm dropping my stars from 3 to 2. I had to admit to myself that I rated this book a little higher than I normally would have because it was my first digital advance from NetGalley and I was determined to be positive. But the more and more I think about this book, the more it irritates me that someone who isn't trans wrote the book, not specifically because the author isn't trans, that's fine, if you do the research and know your stuff, go ahead and write whatever you want, but because th EDIT - I'm dropping my stars from 3 to 2. I had to admit to myself that I rated this book a little higher than I normally would have because it was my first digital advance from NetGalley and I was determined to be positive. But the more and more I think about this book, the more it irritates me that someone who isn't trans wrote the book, not specifically because the author isn't trans, that's fine, if you do the research and know your stuff, go ahead and write whatever you want, but because this specific non-trans author clearly doesn't understand the issues that teenaged trans guys face and does not have that life experience and evidently has only done very superficial research, substituting her own assumptions about what being trans must be like, rather than reality. The book is written like it's about a lesbian MC, not a trans guy. I'm sorry it took me this long to voice what this gross creeped out feeling inside of me was. It's because this author did not do a good job researching. The book is not accurate.

Anyway, here is the rest of the review, unchanged:
I was very excited to receive a digital advanced copy from NetGalley. It's my first one that I requested and was granted access to so it's a big deal to me. Of course this doesn't mean I'm going to give a book 5 stars or anything, I'm still going to give an honest review. Here goes:

I was eager to read this book when I found out it would be about a trans boy who has an actual romantic and sexual relationship with a girl. The topic has been trendy in YA for the last few years but this is the first book I'm aware of that focuses on a trans BOY rather than a trans girl. Neither I nor the author are trans, I am a bisexual woman and she identifies as a lesbian woman as per her note at the end of the book. I'm mentioning all this just for context.

Unfortunately I was very bored while reading the book. It had 402 pages (but really like 380 pages of just the story) but it should have been edited down to 250 or less. There was so much ~~~absolutely nothing~~~ going on and it was not fun to read. The book was written in alternating 1st person POV with Chris (the trans guy) and Maia (the girl next door.) The POV ratio was 50%-50%.

Here's the thing, I'm not a mind reader or anything but I assume that most of the readers are picking this book up because Chris is a trans guy and we want to read about his life and his experiences. Filling half the book with Maia and her trauma felt like a bait-n-switch. To be fair, it DOES say in the blurb that the book is about both Chris AND Maia but it's not like Chris can have the romance by himself so we needed Maia to exist. I just didn't need her to exist to the degree that her boring story that I don't care about takes up half the book.

It's in the blurb so it's not a spoiler. Maia's sister dies, which causes Maia to have some sort of depression/PTSD thing (it's never labeled in the book) her dysfunctional parents don't help. She runs around with her sister's camera doing boring things that make me miserable. What I found interesting is that she dissociated a lot and very realistically. It was never labeled as 'dissociation' in the book and I don't even know if the author knew what she was writing was dissociation. (Dissociation is basically when you go numb and your brain goes a million miles away because the world is too much right now. I mean... Google it for the actual definition, but... yeah.) Unfortunately the author did nothing with this.

Chris did not feel realistic to me. He is 17, is not on T, has not had any cosmetic surgeries or medical interventions to look more masculine, and yet passes PERFECTLY almost 100% of the time (one person mistakes him for a gay dude, which was really weird.) Chris does use binders to hide his breasts and he is a runner so we can assume he has a lean and slender build, but still do you know how hard it is for a trans person to pass 100% like that? I would have liked for people to be suspicious at least, or for Chris to make an effort to pass. he just took for granted that he will pass, he never seemed to even worry about it. He never had Impostor's Syndrome. He never worried "What if this man can tell?" He never feared for his safety. it wasn't realistic. A LOT of teen trans boys have to just navigate through their teen years knowing that no matter how they are dressed and styled, everyone looking at them sees a human who currently has a female body and some of them think he's just a butch lesbian, and some of them aren't sure if he's trans or what pronouns he wants, and some of them don't care what he is because they don't respect LGBTQ+ people (they might not be sure which letter he is, but they don't care.) Chris didn't have to deal with any of this.

Which would have been fine if it was an escapist fantasy where trans people are just treated like people, but this book also did something annoying that many trans girl and non binary books I've read do: have the MC be physically and/or sexually assaulted by bullies. I'd like to read one book where the trans/non-binary person isn't a victim.

There was a sex scene. Honestly I found Maia's reaction unrealistic as well. She never had an "OMG am I bi? Am I pan?" kind of reaction before, during, or after she was touching Chris's vagina. I'm bisexual so I don't know how straight women feel about touching other people's vaginas so it's just confusing for me. I also wasn't sure that Chris would want his vagina touched in that way or be aroused by that (especially because he didn't want his breasts to be touched?) I felt like the author didn't feel comfortable about exploring those topics so the book and the characters felt very superficial to me. Like the kind of book where no one poops.

Complaints aside, when I was a kid, there were no books like this for kids like me. I had to sneak around the adult section and usually all there was was weird literary stuff about old white gay dudes. Finding a novel about two women was tough, and finding a YA book about two girls my age was literally impossible. Kids these days have the internet and Youtube but it's still nice to know that they have books written specifically for them too.

What I really want though is to see YA Novels about trans people written BY trans people. Then I won't be able to say "OmG dOsN't FeEl aUtHeNtIc!" anymore. ...more

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Sep 08, 2019 Book Soul9 rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019, romance, ya, contemporary, lgbt

✦ MY THOUGHTS ✦

Chris and Maia meet each other in quite unusual circumstances. Chris almost hits Maia with his car and 'it's not a big deal'. They don't care about each other, but they feel some sort of connection. Somehow they always come back to each other. Unfortunately, Maia and Chris don't understand each other because every single thing that Chris does, Maia reads it wrong. It's like they two speak entirely different languages.
I see them suffer. I really feel sorry for Maia and her loss - ...more

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