The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper

This one was adorable! I usually don't like young characters who are influencers, but I kinda liked Cal. Maybe because even though he was as self-centered as one might expect from a teenage influencer, he had serious journalistic ambitions instead of exclusively vapid pursuits. It also helps that he grew as a character and ended up using his powers for the greater good.

However, when the book starts Carl's life is turned upside down and his social media career seems doomed. You see his father was chosen as one of 20 people who  will undergo astronaut training to become one of the first humans to travel to to Mars. How exactly does that affect Cal? Well, because he has to relocate to Texas immediately. The problem is that he is known for shooting around New York City, his Buzzfeed internship is in NYC, and NASA has a contract with a reality TV Show called Starwatch; a contract which restricts Cal's ability to post to his own social media without Starwatch's approval.

What Cal finds in Houston is a space program that is trying to relive its halcyon years during the Space Race. A desperate institution that wants to be liked and respected (not to mention funded) so much, that it panders to Starwatch to the point where the astronauts' houses themselves look as if they are stuck in 1960s. 

What Starwatch does is manipulate the astronauts and their families to create the drama that reality TV viewers crave and drama is the opposite of what Cal's viewership wants. They turn to Cal for the truth and he takes his role as truth teller so seriously, that the first thing he does when gets to Houston is go live and break a story that NASA was going to announce later that day. It has immediate consequences for Cal and his family.

As the book progresses we meet other astronauts and their family members including Leon, who is to become Cal's love interest. There are two things the author wants us to know about Leon: The first is that he was an accomplished gymnast who could have made it to the Olympics; the second is that he struggles with depression. Leon is a character that could have been written by  Adam Silvera. In fact, Leon is a character that should have been written by Adam Silvera. He could have been more three dimensional. Unfortunately, in Stamper's inexperienced hands, Leon falls a bit flat.

Even though I was not a fan of the characters, the plot itself kept me riveted. (Though this may have been because I love reading about the Space Program's past, present, and future.) Nevertheless, it was a cute read.