The Gravity of Missing Things

In a Nutshell: Fast-paced. Serves its target YA readers well. Read the triggers though. <br /><br /><b>Story:</b><br /><blockquote>A commercial Boeing 747 has gone missing with almost 155 people on board, including the chief pilot Jenn Ashby. There’s no distress signal or mayday alert. It has simply vanished. Soon there are loads of conspiracy theories online, most blaming Ashby for whatever happened.<br />Ashby’s family includes her recently separated husband and their two daughters, 17 year old Savannah and 16 year old Violet. Both the girls are dealing with their own demons, and the plane event has set off things beyond their control. Violet decides to take things in her own hands after she finds a letter addressed to her, written by Jenn the night before the accident, asking her to “trust me.” She is determined to clear her mother’s name. Will she be able to do so? <br /><i>The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Violet. </i></blockquote><br /><br /><br /><b>Where the book worked for me:</b><br />✔ It was wonderfully fast-paced, despite the number of topics it covers. After a long stint of slow-medium paced books, this felt like a gust of fresh air.<br /><br />✔ The chapter titles worked nicely for the story. Rather than only having the plain numbered titles, there are tags such as “Day zero”, “Day one, morning”, and so on. This helps tremendously to know the timeline of the investigation and the aftermath.<br /><br />✔ Though the topic is very serious, there is a lot of subtle humour throughout the story. The book is described in the end as having “humour and heart”, and I agree. <br /><br />✔ Great representation. There’s a bisexual character (who also gets to spout some amazing thoughts on what life is like for bis), and a couple of queer characters. <br /><br />✔ The stages of grief are covered well in Violet’s and her family’s reactions to the incident. The emotions are written very realistically.<br /><br />✔ While YA characters are hardly ever layered, this book makes the characters sufficiently complicated. None of the characters are easy to classify into labels. <br /><br />✔ There is no overload of characters. There are just as many characters as the story requires, and the author makes good use of them. This was also refreshing to see.<br /><br />✔ I never like superfluous romance in non-romance-genre stories. But in this book, the romantic tracks work decently well. Though I could still have done without them, they aren’t SO bad. <br /><br />✔ The cover is stunning, but… (see below.)<br /><br /><b>Where the book could have worked better for me:</b><br />❌ (continued from above)… it doesn’t represent the story accurately. It makes the book sound like some sort of forbidden lesbian romance story. <br /><br />❌ There are too many subplots. While these don’t hamper the pace, it just feels like there’s a lot happening within a few days. Of course, the author doesn’t leave any thread dangling and all the tracks are well-narrated. But the blurb makes it sound like the plane mishap is the sole focus of the book. It isn’t. <br /><br /><br /><b>Triggers: There are quite a few references to self-harming such as cutting oneself and also mental health issues. Won’t recommend this to the younger YA segment. 15+ years, yes. </b><br /><br /><br />All in all, this was a fairly satisfying book. The pace, the suspense, and the family relationship all worked for me. More importantly, it doesn’t feel like a debut as the author seems to have precise control over where they want the story to go. <br /><br />Recommended for those who like YA fiction in a complicated mix of romance + mystery + drama. <br /><br />4.25 stars, considering the target age group. (<i>For readers of my age group, it might be a 3.75-4 star, which is still pretty good.</i>)<br /><br /><br />My thanks to Entangled Publishing, LLC and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Gravity of Missing Things”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />***********************<br />Join me on the Facebook group, <b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeAreReadersForever" rel="nofollow noopener">Readers Forever!</a> </b>, for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.<br />

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This book is going to make you cry until you can't see the words anymore. You will need crying breaks. Such good writing, such a captivating storyline. Didn't see any of the twists coming at all, but I was definitely weeping through the whole ending, 10/10. <br><br>If you enjoy bisexuals, plane crashes, conspiracy theories, books requiring a huge brain and that will make you do this <br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1633734671ra/32026856.gif" width="400" height="250" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><br>This is the book for you.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley &amp; Entangled Teen for an eARC of this book. The following review is my honest reflection on the text provided.</i><br><br><b>2.5 stars</b><br><br>A lot happens in <i> <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/58725084.The_Gravity_of_Missing_Things" title="The Gravity of Missing Things by Marisa Urgo" rel="noopener">The Gravity of Missing Things</a> </i>; unfortunately, nothing seems to get the time it deserves, leaving the narrative feeling shallow and unfinished.<br><br>All the relationships here have potential, but they feel rushed and unfounded. Even the family dynamics are difficult to understand. Violet's father seems to have a different personality every other chapter and was all over the map. He seems to have given up on Violet's mother within hours, and he and Violet's sister, Savannah, just go back to normal life very quickly. And Violet may be young, sure, but she's <b>really</b> selfish. Savannah is exactly right when she says Violet is self-centred; everything - from her mother's disappearance to who Savannah dates - is filtered through a very immature lens of how it affects Violet. Every time it feels like one problem is solved, she latches on to something else that can be turned into a problem. Oh, the joys of being a teenager. I'm not even going to go into the whole romance angle. Let's just say that trying to force a romance within a missing, likely dead, mother plot is just <i>weird</i>.<br><br>This is an incredibly sad story, but the plot is so farfetched it's difficult to connect to the narrative or the characters. <i> <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/58725084.The_Gravity_of_Missing_Things" title="The Gravity of Missing Things by Marisa Urgo" rel="noopener">The Gravity of Missing Things</a> </i> is a very quick read but doesn't leave much to hold on to.<br><br><i>Review originally posted <a href="https://brittsbookblurbs.com/the-gravity-of-missing-things-marisa-urgo/" rel="nofollow noopener"><b>here</b></a> on Britt's Book Blurbs.</i><br><br><a href="https://brittsbookblurbs.com/" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1649334938i/32781904._SX540_.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><blockquote> <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AHRB3QFQYHWJNM2XCON2DSFZVW5A" rel="nofollow noopener">Amazon</a> | <a href="https://brittsbookblurbs.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">Blog</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/brittsbookblurbs/" rel="nofollow noopener">Bookstagram</a> | <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/brittsbookblurbs" rel="nofollow noopener">Reddit</a> </blockquote>

I was fortunate enough to beg the author for an early copy and receive it. This book broke my damn heart and sewed it back together. It's deeply moving in the most authentic, teenager way. When a plane disappears, all signs point to foul play by the pilot, Violet's mother. As Violet searches for answers to clear her mother's name--and find the plane, bc mom HAS TO BE OK--the evidence becomes more personal and more damning. <br /><br />There's a bi mc, a cute boy, super relatable family dynamics, and a LOT of heart in this book. Cannot recommend enough.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. <br /><br />✨ Marisa Urgo has written a masterpiece ✨<br /><br />This is her debut novel and she should be damned proud of herself. <br /><br />This book was nothing like I expected but so much more than I knew I could ever want. <br /><br />Flight 133 disappears over the ocean. All fingers point at Violets Mother with accusations of a murder-suicide being thrown around. The story follows Violet navigating this traumatic event, all the while struggling with other life-altering events. <br /><br />The characters are written beautifully. Violets trauma and experiences are so relatable (I mean her feelings btw, not the events.. my mother didn’t disappear in an airplane thank the gods and goddesses that be) and I found myself captivated by how well Marisa tackled the thoughts and ideas in her book. There was enough world building that it wasn’t just about a plane going missing, you could see the MC and her family’s lives as a whole. <br /><br />I especially loved the Dad, he is a giant sweetheart and such a strong man. <br /><br />I was captivated within pages. Before long, it was one o’clock in the morning and the book was over. And I couldn’t bare to go to bed without leaving my review because the world needs to know that this book exists. <br /><br />I can’t wait to see what the Marisa brings us next. I know, I’m impatient.

DNF @ 27%<br /><br />I didn't really like this. At first, I thought it was because its YA and I had gotten used to reading NA and adult and then I did some self-reflection and remembered how I love many YA books so that wasn't the issue with this one.<br /><br />Frankly, I just found the main character pretty annoying and erratic. For a girl who:<br /><br /><i>"feels like someone split my world—and me—in two, and the only person who believes me is Landon. I want to trust him, to let him see who I really am, but I can't. All I know is falling for him will only make things more complicated."</i><br /><br />it's pretty strange how she trusts Landon from the first day having a conversation with him and has no trouble commenting on how attractive he is and how much she wants to kiss him AND asking him for help meeting one of her mother's old friends to get info.<br /><br />And her family is a little insane because who gives up on their mother within a couple of hours of her missing? And just normally goes about their lives? Makes zero sense.<br /><br />Plus the real-life references of tik tok and covid were too much to handle. I hate real-life references in books more than anything. I'm reading to escape my life not to discuss my issues.

Loved! It’s suspenseful and I was in the edge of my seat, but it also had a real emotional depth. The characters feel so authentic that I was really invested in them. One I’ll definitely reread.

Wow! This book really surprised me, but in a good way. Both the cover and title are nice, isn't they? The book is really good too. YA debuts are killing it lately.<br /><br />｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡<br /><br /><b>☆</b> <i>Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for providing me the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review. All the opinions are my own. </i><br /><br />Full review to come.....

Violet's life is fairly normal on the outside. Loving mom and dad, close sister and creative talent that extends to design sets for her school's performances. What most don't see is her personal struggle with pain and the small slices that make things bearable. <br /><br />"Every time I cut, the burning pain felt like a deserved punishment for feelings that were too big for my body."<br /><br />Her mom is the one person in her life that understands the darkest part of her. When her mom and her 155 passengers go missing on Flight 133, Violet's life upends. Her mom becomes the focus of vicious media attacks that reveal hidden family secrets. <br /><br />This young adult fiction novel is emotionally riveting with twists I didn't expect. Violet is a bisexual MC who takes coming of age and destroys its foundation all while building it back up on the intensity of family drama, internal strength and sisterly bonds. <br /><br />"How sometimes I felt like I was in a crowded room, screaming, and no one looked up."<br /><br />Even though this has elements of romance, what I loved most was that it wasn't focused on Landon and Violet and gooey interludes. It was a more realistic representation of someone emotionally invested in another during a time of crisis. Representation you don't see often in YA. The real focus is so much more than the synopsis and my review alone. It'll be one you'll definitely have to read to know more about. <br /><br />If I had a drawback, it was the inner monologue. There's a good bit of this but it's understandable considering the context. I felt I could've still connected deeply with less overall. <br /><br />I highly recommend this to all young adult fiction lovers. I also recommend checking out the content mentions on Entangled Publishing's website: https:// entangledpublishing.com/ books/the-gravity-of-missing-things<br /><br />Thank you Entangled Teen for the gifted digital copy. All thoughts are my own. True rating 3.5/5. <br />