4.5 starsBeautiful, heart felt story with a bit of second chance romance mixed in with a adorable kid. This will tug of heart strings, make you think about how you deal with obstacles and things that are unexpected. The bond between Max and Mason, Mason and Avery's dad was definitely a highlight. With a touch of rock and roll and of course a swoony front man definitely enjoyed this.I like Ginger's writing style a lot, from the ones Ive read. Here the depth of emotion and way it's not typical characters but has a spin of them that makes them likeable and relatable. The feelings are genuine and scenarios not far out there but still real and down to earth. A read that will make your heart warm up, feel good but still you see the conflicts and heart aches of characters. A while ago, I bypassed this title because it just didn’t seem up my alley. Recently after being thoroughly charmed by This Is Falling I decided to give this a go and what I discovered is another gem from Ginger Scott.The tone is absolutely heavier than some books I’ve read of late. The first chapter opens with Abby at a grocery store trying her best to console her son Max as he’s having a public meltdown. Those few pages capture the very real hardship of being the parent of an autistic child. And it’s not just learning how to work with their autistic child, it’s also having to endure the judgmental attitudes of people who couldn’t bother to understand that it's not a simple behavioural issue. I was shocked by some of the things Abby describes.Abby’s whole world is her son. Everything she does and works towards is to make a better future for him. She sacrifices a lot to do that and relies heavily on her father and her best friend for support. Both of them give willingly and it’s comforting that they both adore and love Abby and Max so much. Simply put, they're awesome and Abby is truly blessed to call them family. Mason comes back to town to recover from his band’s disaster of a tour. He expects to just lay low and reevaluate things but he’s thrown when he runs into Abby. They have a history, one of being friends only but seeing her now, Mason would like more than that.Initially, Mason is a bit of a jerk but something about Abby causes him to refocus his priorities. Hearing of her divorce and what her life is like now, and seeing how special Max is, he finds himself delicately infiltrating their lives. Abby in the meantime is skeptical. The Mason she remembers was a self-centered knucklehead and she has no room for someone like that in her life. She and Max are a package deal and anyone who wants in has to accept that Max and his needs will always come first. Is Mason up to the task? And is Abby willing to find out? As I read along, I found myself internalizing a lot of things. Parenting is hard. I’m the mother of three kids and I wonder some days how I manage in between dealing with three very distinct personalities, homework, shuffling them off to their various activities and social events, managing a household and having a job too. Having a child with special needs requires ultimate strength. Getting a glimpse into this life that requires strict order, routine and a bottomless well of patience and humility opened my eyes to the daily challenges that special needs children and their families face.This is what Mason is exposed to and for the first time in his life, he’s thinking beyond himself. He comes a long way from the beginning of the book to become someone important to Abby and Max. When another career opportunity presents itself, he has to weigh the pros and cons of accepting it. This doesn’t mean that mistakes don’t happen. Screw ups are part of being human and Abby, who knows she doesn’t have it all figured out, is acutely aware of that.How We Deal With Gravity is revealing and hopeful. Reading is the best kind of magic where you’re transported into a different world. In this case, it’s the world that we live in. But we get to see it through a new lens thanks to Ginger Scott's beautifully crafted and sensitive story.
What do You think about How We Deal With Gravity (2000)?
Another great Ginger Scott book. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
—Brooke
I really enjoyed this book. Then ending was bitter sweet though.
—aillichov
