Polisner, Gae The Pull of Gravity

Polisner, Gae     The Pull of Gravity     

 Farrar Strauss see macmillan children's pub group     2011  202p  16.99 978-0-374-37193-7     ms/hs VG    Realistic Fiction 

  Nicholas Gardner’s family is falling apart. He has experienced a major move and is faced with the loss of a friend. He finds new friendship in a girl that helps him find answers to his personal crises while carrying out his dying friend’s last wish.                  

      Nicholas Gardner is struggling to cope with his father’s depression over leaving behind a great journalism position in New York. His father continuously lounges on the couch and gains an enormous amount of weight and while is mother is physically and emotionally absorbed in her new career. The only sign of happiness Nick sees in his father is when he mentors the boy next door, Scooter, who happens to suffer from a rare disease.
 As Nick’s dad takes off on a bizarre walk back to New York, to lose the weight he has gained, Nick meets and unlikely friend in Jaycee Amato. She is the daughter of a famous TV News Anchor, who happens to be obsessed with Of Mice and Men. Jaycee helps Nick deal with his family issues and the grief of losing the Scoot by taking him on a journey to New York to fulfill the last wish of their friend. While on this journey, Jaycee often reads and quotes lines from Of Mice and Men as they relate to situations that the pair encounter.
 Gae Polisner has written an exciting and thrilling realistic fiction novel that keeps the reader in suspense. A variety of themes relevant to young readers such as friendship, families, relationships, and death are portrayed. The author cleverly includes quotes from the popular science-fiction movie Star Wars and incorporates text from the classic Of Mice and Men. This use of reference adds to the appeal of the reader as connections can be made to real-life situations. Virginia McGarvey