Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions of my review in any way.

Synopsis (From Goodreads):
Chris and Maia aren’t off to a great start.

A near-fatal car accident first brings them together, and their next encounters don’t fare much better. Chris’s good intentions backfire. Maia’s temper gets the best of her.

But they’re neighbors, at least for the summer, and despite their best efforts, they just can’t seem to stay away from each other.

The path forward isn’t easy. Chris has come out as transgender, but he’s still processing a frightening assault he survived the year before. Maia is grieving the loss of her older sister and trying to find her place in the world without her. Falling in love was the last thing on either of their minds.

But would it be so bad if it happened anyway?

Review:
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.

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). 

                   
via GIPHY

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.
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.

Rating: 




Release Date:  June 18th, 2019

Author: Amber Smith

Publisher: Margaret K. McEderry Books

Genre:  YA LGBTQI Romance Fiction

Page Length:  400 pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  Electronic PDF

Recommendation:  A solid romance between complicated characters.  You'll fall in love with Chris and Maia!