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oppesaddle3's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
syraluna's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Transphobia, and Grief
Moderate: Child death and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Deadnaming, and Rape
justjoel's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jaylaa_maee's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
prisci's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
natsbookshelves's review against another edition
I absolutely loved The Way I was before and The Way I am Now, but I feel like this one is so much slower paced and not as hooking, and I felt myself not wanting to pick it up again - not that I wasn’t enjoying it, I just wasn’t enjoying it much. I still think the writing was good though!
ashleycdarling's review against another edition
Something Like Gravity by Amber Smith follows two characters - Chris & Maia - during the summer before their senior year. They’re both running from their haunted pasts, though neither of their own making.
Chris is still healing from a very traumatic event that landed him in the hospital and subsequently barred from school. Like all teenagers, he’s dealing with identity issues. Who is he? What does he want from life? How does he want to present himself to the world? These questions of identity are even deeper for Chris because he’s transgender.
Not being transgender myself, it’s hard to imagine what Chris goes through, though Smith does a fantastic job delving into some of the issues a transgender teenager can face. I can identify with Chris’s feelings of inadequacy and otherness, though certainly not to the extent he faces them. Many teenagers feel the same, though struggling with being in the wrong body adds a layer of complexity many can’t even begin to comprehend.
It doesn’t help that his parents are fighting over him, either. His father is accepting of him as he is, but Chris’s mother is another story. She can’t seem to get Chris’s pronouns right and always seems angry with him. So instead of stewing the summer as a captive in his own home, Chris asks if he can stay with his Aunt Isobel, who lives in a small North Carolina town. After arguments and discussions, Chris’s mother finally relents, though she isn’t happy about it.
Maia is drowning in grief. She lost her sister, Mallory, suddenly and all she has to cling to are her memories and the photographs Mallory left behind. She doesn’t know how to process her grief, and her parents aren’t helping either; before Mallory’s death, they’d separated, though for financial reasons they continued living together. Maia not only deals with her parents separation and the tension that causes in the family, but also faces losing her only sibling.
She doesn’t handle it well, unfortunately. She drinks to excess, pushes away her friends, gets drunk at a party and insults the only other person truly close to Mallory, thus driving away her chance to feel connected to her sister. Maia hoards her sister’s belongings, even going so far as to carry around Mallory’s precious camera just to feel close to her. That’s when she meets Chris when he almost runs her over with his aunts’s decrepit station wagon.
Their love is a super cute testament to the purity of teenage love. And I don’t mean pure in the “no sex” kinda way. Teenage love is pure and full of hope, without all the baggage and jaded cynicism adults carry around. It’s refreshing to see such joy on the page; my usual reads are much darker in tone and theme.
Chris and Maia aren’t off the hook, though. They are not completely honest with each other. Chris is unsure if he should mention he’s transgender, as he never intended to fall in love with anyone in North Carolina. And Maia pretends she’s a photographer, carrying around Mallory’s camera and pretending to snap photographs of places her sister has already been in an effort to feel closer to her.
But inevitably the truth comes to light. It’s in these moments where Smith’s writing truly shines. Maia keeps lying to Chris about photography and eventually pushes him away. Chris runs from the conflict, likely as a coping mechanism from the trauma he faced before. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but I enjoyed the way Smith wrapped things up. The ending has a realistic sense of gravitas that sits with me even now.
I can’t speak to the accuracy of the portrayal of Chris as a transgender character, and I know some people are disappointed that yet another cis gendered writer is co-opting a transgender story for her own. What I can say is I enjoyed this novel. The characters are flawed and multifaceted. The love story is gentle and sweet, and a fitting reminder of what relationships felt like as a teenager. I’ve never read anything by Amber Smith, but I think that will change sooner rather than later.
Chris is still healing from a very traumatic event that landed him in the hospital and subsequently barred from school. Like all teenagers, he’s dealing with identity issues. Who is he? What does he want from life? How does he want to present himself to the world? These questions of identity are even deeper for Chris because he’s transgender.
Not being transgender myself, it’s hard to imagine what Chris goes through, though Smith does a fantastic job delving into some of the issues a transgender teenager can face. I can identify with Chris’s feelings of inadequacy and otherness, though certainly not to the extent he faces them. Many teenagers feel the same, though struggling with being in the wrong body adds a layer of complexity many can’t even begin to comprehend.
It doesn’t help that his parents are fighting over him, either. His father is accepting of him as he is, but Chris’s mother is another story. She can’t seem to get Chris’s pronouns right and always seems angry with him. So instead of stewing the summer as a captive in his own home, Chris asks if he can stay with his Aunt Isobel, who lives in a small North Carolina town. After arguments and discussions, Chris’s mother finally relents, though she isn’t happy about it.
Maia is drowning in grief. She lost her sister, Mallory, suddenly and all she has to cling to are her memories and the photographs Mallory left behind. She doesn’t know how to process her grief, and her parents aren’t helping either; before Mallory’s death, they’d separated, though for financial reasons they continued living together. Maia not only deals with her parents separation and the tension that causes in the family, but also faces losing her only sibling.
She doesn’t handle it well, unfortunately. She drinks to excess, pushes away her friends, gets drunk at a party and insults the only other person truly close to Mallory, thus driving away her chance to feel connected to her sister. Maia hoards her sister’s belongings, even going so far as to carry around Mallory’s precious camera just to feel close to her. That’s when she meets Chris when he almost runs her over with his aunts’s decrepit station wagon.
Their love is a super cute testament to the purity of teenage love. And I don’t mean pure in the “no sex” kinda way. Teenage love is pure and full of hope, without all the baggage and jaded cynicism adults carry around. It’s refreshing to see such joy on the page; my usual reads are much darker in tone and theme.
Chris and Maia aren’t off the hook, though. They are not completely honest with each other. Chris is unsure if he should mention he’s transgender, as he never intended to fall in love with anyone in North Carolina. And Maia pretends she’s a photographer, carrying around Mallory’s camera and pretending to snap photographs of places her sister has already been in an effort to feel closer to her.
But inevitably the truth comes to light. It’s in these moments where Smith’s writing truly shines. Maia keeps lying to Chris about photography and eventually pushes him away. Chris runs from the conflict, likely as a coping mechanism from the trauma he faced before. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but I enjoyed the way Smith wrapped things up. The ending has a realistic sense of gravitas that sits with me even now.
I can’t speak to the accuracy of the portrayal of Chris as a transgender character, and I know some people are disappointed that yet another cis gendered writer is co-opting a transgender story for her own. What I can say is I enjoyed this novel. The characters are flawed and multifaceted. The love story is gentle and sweet, and a fitting reminder of what relationships felt like as a teenager. I’ve never read anything by Amber Smith, but I think that will change sooner rather than later.
queencleo's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A coming of age story of finding yourself after loss, and finding yourself when your outward appearance doesn't match your idea of who you are on the inside. A love story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Child death and Grief
naoml's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
librarydoc's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC for this book from Edelweiss. It’s a really beautiful look at life as a transgender teen and his first live. I enjoyed this one and will probably purchase for my library’s YA section.