The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper - Restarting November 7th 2020

[HeatherH]

As a successful social media journalist with half a million followers, seventeen-year-old Cal is used to sharing his life online. But when his pilot father is selected for a highly publicized NASA mission to Mars, Cal and his family relocate from Brooklyn to Houston and are thrust into a media circus.

Amidst the chaos, Cal meets sensitive and mysterious Leon, another “Astrokid,” and finds himself falling head over heels—fast. As the frenzy around the mission grows, so does their connection. But when secrets about the program are uncovered, Cal must find a way to reveal the truth without hurting the people who have become most important to him.

Expertly capturing the thrill of first love and the self-doubt all teens feel, debut author Phil Stamper is a new talent to watch.

[Heather]

Starting this today!

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

Me too

[Karen]

Will start this today, but not until later. Love the cover and I’ve heard good things about it.

[Aly]

I'm listening now!

[Karen]

Opening chapter begins well. Cal clearly has quite definite plans/ideas, and the dilemma that will inevitably caused by the revelation about his dad hints at future issues.

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

The first couple of chapters had me hooked

I agree with the issues with his dad and their dilemma

[Aly]

Yes I agree!

[Aly]

ch 8 (view spoiler)[ I really feel for Cal and his mom, being uprooted from what they know so the dad can follow a crazy dream. Not that I want a family to split up, but I'm kind of surprised Cal's mom did suggest them staying in New York.
At least Cal met a couple kids and is pushing to continue his social media (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

ch 17 (view spoiler)[ It's really sad that someone died and I'm glad Cal exposed Josh for being terrible. He literally told a widow to get on the ground and cry for ratings. He deserved to be fired, but I am worried about how this will affect Cal.

Also, Cal and Leon are super cute together. (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

ch 24 (view spoiler)[ How terrible of Josh and the crew to trash talk a 17 year old? They exposed his relationship and made him seem like an awful person and seem smug about it. I really hope Cal's video about the project gets good press and changes people's minds. (hide spoiler)]

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

Ch 1-9 (view spoiler)[I really feel for Cal and his mother. I don't if I could do what they did even for my father. One thing is that my dad would never ask us to move. I did love the little fangirl moment that Kat did over Cal that really did make me smile. The only thing I am not really liking is the fast crush on Leon. I get that he followed the news about Leon and the Tucker family. I can't wait to see how Cal keeps doing his videos. (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Lizz wrote: "Ch 1-9 [spoilers removed]"

Yes what a hard situation. (view spoiler)[ Kat is a cute character too (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

finished (view spoiler)[ I do think Cal and Leon fell in love super quickly and it wasn't super realistic, but first love and all I guess. I'm really glad Cal saved the mission and got to stay and things are going well for everyone.

This was a cute read. Didn't love it but an easy audio (hide spoiler)]

[Heather]

Going to start this in a couple hours. Finishing up a book from May

[Ananya]

Heather wrote: "Going to start this in a couple hours. Finishing up a book from May"

samee!!

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

Finished (view spoiler)[I did enjoy this book and I agree with Aly I didn't love it. I thought the character were well written and I didn't like the plot. I just thought there was something missing but I couldn't tell you what that was. I will pick up more books by Phil Stamper. (hide spoiler)]

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

Ana wrote: "Heather wrote: "Going to start this in a couple hours. Finishing up a book from May"

samee!!"

Heather wrote: "Going to start this in a couple hours. Finishing up a book from May"

Hold yall like it and I can't wait talk to yall about it

[Karen]

Up to ch5. (view spoiler)[ Definitely not a good situation to be in, but it seems as if he’ll crush on Leon. Can’t work out the family dynamic here. (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Karen wrote: "Up to ch5. [spoilers removed]"

Yes (view spoiler)[ I thought, should the parents divorce and is Cal's dad a good guy? (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Up to ch10. (view spoiler)[ Really hoping that the reporter doesn’t sabotage the developing relationship with Leon and Cal for the sake of a story. Also find the persona of Mark (one of the original astronauts) a little odd. Is he worried about his place? (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Karen wrote: "Up to ch10. [spoilers removed]"
(view spoiler)[ I'm totally with you. They're young and if a reporter exploited that, it would not be okay. (hide spoiler)]

[HeatherH]

Aly wrote: "ch 8

(view spoiler)[ I did definitely feel for them having to move. Especially knowing that his mom has such bad anxiety issues. (hide spoiler)]

[HeatherH]

Aly wrote: "ch 17 (view spoiler)[It's really sad that someone died and I'm glad Cal exposed Josh for being terrible. He literally told a widow to get on the ground and cry for ratings. He deserved to be fired, but I am worr..." (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[ Both the flight crash and Josh trying to play the situation for ratings broke my heart a bit. Was so happy when Cal stood up to him but yeah, that isn't going to play in his favor. (hide spoiler)]

[HeatherH]

Lizz wrote: "Ch 1-9 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Kat fangirling was so awesome! (hide spoiler)]

[HeatherH]

Aly wrote: "finished

(view spoiler)[The love was a bit insta-love-ish which is not my fave but overall I agree, super cute and it was such a fast read! (hide spoiler)]

[HeatherH]

Karen wrote: "Up to ch10. [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Reporters are the worst. This book overall did not change my mind there. (hide spoiler)]

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

This was the right book I needed right now to get my mind off the real word.

[Ananya]

"I click the button lock and dash to my headphones. I press
play on the cassette deck and let the sounds pump through,
blocking out the shouting and the expectations and my
frustrations.
I block it all out."

ironically enough i just did this lol...except spotify...

[Aly]

Nice! Way to relate lol

[Ananya]

"There are some pains even ice cream can’t fix."
oomph :(

[Karen]

Up to ch13. Totally agree that this is a nice break from the real world right now. Not totally convinced by the Cal/Leon thing.

[Aly]

Karen wrote: "Up to ch13. Totally agree that this is a nice break from the real world right now. Not totally convinced by the Cal/Leon thing."

Yeah I agree, they're a little too quick to start a relationship

[Karen]

Up to ch22. That revelation doesn’t surprise me, but Cal’s naïveté really seems to come from nowhere. Wouldn’t you be just a little suspicious?

[Karen]

Finished. Review on home page. More to this than I expected. Cute for the most part, but the backdrop was not what drew me in.

[Karen]

Aly wrote: "ch 8 I really feel for Cal and his mom, being uprooted from what they know so the dad can follow a crazy dream. Not that I want a family to split up, but I'm kind of surprised Cal's mom did sugges..."

I was rather surprised at the dynamic - who would apply for something like this without discussing it first?

[Karen]

Aly wrote: "ch 24 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ It was hard to feel much sympathy for the situation Josh and Kiera ended up in, when they were so happy to reap the benefits of their awfulness earlier. (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Karen wrote: "Up to ch22. That revelation doesn’t surprise me, but Cal’s naïveté really seems to come from nowhere. Wouldn’t you be just a little suspicious?"

Totally agree

[Aly]

Karen wrote: "Aly wrote: "ch 24 [spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

Yep. (view spoiler)[ Especially her for pretending to be his friend (hide spoiler)]

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

Ana wrote: ""I click the button lock and dash to my headphones. I press
play on the cassette deck and let the sounds pump through,
blocking out the shouting and the expectations and my
frustrations.
I block it..."

I do this too with Amazon music or music on Youtube

[Ananya]

Lizz wrote: "Ana wrote: ""I click the button lock and dash to my headphones. I press
play on the cassette deck and let the sounds pump through,
blocking out the shouting and the expectations and my
frustrations..."

yep yep ....best way to zone out :)

[Ananya]

guys m so sorry m not able to properly participate in the BR...
just dealing with some stuff...
havent been able to keep up that much...
again so sorry :(
i'm trying my best though :)
hopefullly i can read some more and discuss it asap 🤞🤞

[Ananya]

Chp 6
His gaze meets mine, and an ache pulls at my chest, reminding me of Jeremy, of Deb. Of crushes, and of falling.

cuuuuuuttteeeee 😍❤❤

[Ananya]

chp 7
But the line between sweet and creepy is especially thin when crushes are concerned, and there’s only so long two people can stand in silence before it gets weird.

lmaaaooo

[Ananya]

“Wow … it must feel good to know exactly what you want.”

well someone said it.......has to be the most relatable thing everr

[Maddie]

Starting tomorrow :) And hopefully finishing then as well