The Gravity of Missing Things

The Gravity of Missing Things
Author(s)
Age Range
14+
Release Date
June 07, 2022
ISBN
978-1649372178
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A pitch-perfect and inclusive coming-of-age drama perfect for fans of Kathleen Glasgow.

Flight 133 disappeared over the ocean. No wreckage. No distress signal. Just gone.

Suddenly, everyone on the news and social media is talking about whether the pilot intentionally crashed it—everyone but me. Because I know her. The pilot was my mom, and there's no way she would hurt anyone. No one else knows that before she left, she wrote me a note. Trust me, it said.

Now it 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. I have my secrets, the same way Mom has hers. All I know is falling for him will only make things more complicated.

Just as I start to open up, the answer to what really happened to Flight 133 could rip my world apart all over again—for good this time.

Editor review

1 review
emotional read
Overall rating
 
4.7
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
THE GRAVITY OF MISSING THINGS is an emotional YA contemporary. Violet was the set designer for her high school play, and right before she goes to take a bow, she notices her mother is not yet in the audience. Her mother is a pilot for an international flight and was supposed to be there. After her bow, Violet knows something is wrong - something which is confirmed when her father tells her that her mother's flight is missing.

How does a plane just go missing? The media is ready to pin it on Violet's mother, and their coverage leads Violet to her own investigation. As she uncovers secrets about her mother's life and finds a strange note, she is more determined than ever to find her mother. However, life does not always work out the way we think it will, and her mother's secrets gain a life of their own.

What I loved: This was a really compelling and fast-paced read about Violet and her search for the truth. The situation seems monumental, both to the reader and to Violet. It would be difficult to think about losing a parent, especially when they are only declared missing, and to have people blaming her mother for it all is untenable. Violet is intrepid and determined - she will find out what happened to her mother. Her bravery is shaken by her own struggles with anxiety and cutting.

A boy that she has not noticed much before, Landon, feels like he is the only one on her side, and as she investigates, they become closer. Although she is bi, she is not really in the right frame of mind for anything romantic, and this is really just a strong friendship forming during tragedy. The brunt of the relationship focus is with her family, particularly her older sister but also her father. In their family it has always been Violet with her mother and Savannah with their father. That dynamic challenges their current situation, and the way the family handles all of this felt genuine and full of heart.

Themes around family, secrets/lies, unexpected loss, grief, friendship, anxiety and mental illness, and loyalty make this a really potent read. There are definitely some really heartfelt and beautiful moments as well as some for which you'll need some tissues. It is definitely an emotional book.

Final verdict: An emotional and genuine read about family and grief, THE GRAVITY OF MISSING THINGS is a riveting and heartfelt YA contemporary.
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