Gravity (Young Adult Novels) [Paperback]

Leanne Lieberman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Young Adult Novels | Publication Date: November 1, 2008

Ellie Gold is an orthodox Jewish teenager living in Toronto in the late eighties. Ellie has no doubts about her strict religious upbringing until she falls in love with another girl at her grandmother's cottage. Aware that homosexuality clashes with Jewish observance, Ellie feels forced to either alter her sexuality or leave her community. Meanwhile, Ellie's mother, Chana, becomes convinced she has a messianic role to play, and her sister, Neshama, chafes against the restrictions of her faith. Ellie is afraid there is no way to be both gay and Jewish, but her mother and sister offer alternative concepts of God that help Ellie find a place for herself as a queer Jew.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Fifteen-year-old Ellie comes from an Orthodox Jewish family that is straining at the edges. Her older sister is planning her escape; her mother’s commitment is frayed by her need for self-expression. Ellie herself discovers a different world when she spends the summer with her liberal Bubbe learning to swim and developing a crush on a neighbor, Lindsay. When Ellie returns to Toronto, she tries to contact Lindsay, who ignores her at first, but soon their afternoons together turn sexual. Lieberman’s involving story would have plenty of plot even without the lesbian angle (the sexuality is more than suggestive, though hardly graphic). The individual characters are so interesting that more about each would be welcome. But Ellie’s strong first-person narration, authentic in its wondering, carries the day as she struggles to fit this new piece of herself into a religion that doesn’t accept who she is at her core. One caveat: the girl on the cover in the sexy school uniform is apparently Lindsay, but those not reading closely will assume it’s what Orthodox students wear. Hardly. Grades 10-12. --Ilene Cooper

Review

"A complex and sensitive read for mature teens." (The StarPhoenix 20080901)

*No details* (Booklist 20080926)

"Heartfelt - a must for Jewish and GLBT collections." (Kirkus 20081001)

"Ellie is a memorable protagonist...any teenager, particularly girls whose family life centres on religion of any sort will connect with Ellie's story." (CM Magazine 20081028)

"Gravity is a compelling, well-written story that... leaves readers wanting more - and, rightly so, leaves them to draw their own conclusions about whether orthodoxy and homosexuality can coexist." (Cynthia Ramsay The Jewish Independant 20081122)

"This novel explores the world of Orthodox Judaism...[a] powerful book." (Resource Links 20081201)

"Gravity is so spot-on in plot, character and motivation that it could be both a novel and the screenplay it's very likely to become. This is a fascinating book - provocative, accessible and taking you where you probably haven't gone before." (CD Syndicated 20081101)

"Lieberman's confidence is impressive. She is in complete command of her material. Her work is like origami, in which meanings gently unfold. She treats Ellie's emerging eroticism with taste and delicacy." (Globe and Mail 20081230)

"There are few books that deal this frankly with the inner conflict of a religious teen trying to come to terms with her or his sexuality." (VOYA 20090101)

*no details* (KLIATT 20090101)

"Lieberman writes her protagonist seamlessly, in a first-person voice that is so raw and awkward and confessional that it's hard to imagine it isn't a memoir, let alone fiction." (Forward 20090201)

"A remarkably sensitive and credible portrait of a girl whose faith collides with her sexuality, and who refuses to compromise either." (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 20090101)

*no details* (Tucson Unified School District 20090401)

"Lieberman successfully develops her characters, and does not shy away from the lust commonly experienced by teenagers...An excellent work." (TeensReadToo.com 20090401)

"Presents us with several questions that we all have about growing up, and so, we make connections even if we are not Jewish...One searches for books like these in which one turns each page to find answers to age-old questions." (Tri State Young Adult Book Review Committee 20090201)

*no details* (School Library Journal 20090510)

"Lieberman is a unique author who ably accomplished writing about a topic that isn't easy to discuss...The book was very appealing and I found it hard to put down." (What If? Magazine 20100601)

"How [Ellie] copes with the internal conflicts is beautifully and compellingly written by first time novelist Leanne Lieberman. Ellie's character is well rounded and refreshingly different from many female teen protagonists...As a Canadian novel focusing on coming out as a lesbian, this book should be included in a high school library collection." (The Bookmark (BCTLA) )

"In Gravity we ascend dizzying orgasmic heights and descend to the depths of adolescent agony. It is a novel one can only hope will find its synchronistic way into the hands of the many young people, especially gays and lesbians, who struggle in silence to reconcile their spiritual faith with their hearts' desire." (The Rover )

"A page-turner in which vivid description furthers the development of character and plot In advocating for a heightened ecological emphasis in Judaism, Ellie displays genuine caring and shows that conscious, rather than automatic, responses are what keep any practice alive." (Canadian Literature )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers; First Edition edition (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1554690498
• ISBN-13: 978-1554690497
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, January 31, 2009

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gravity (Young Adult Novels) (Paperback)

This book by Canadian first-time author Leanne Lieberman centers on the coming-of-age of Ellie Gold.

The story begins during the summer vacation: Ellie goes to her grandmother's cottage in the midst of immaculate natural beauty, a place that she has looked forward to returning to since her first visit. This trip ends unexpectedly, as Ellie ends up falling in love with a girl her age, realizing her homosexuality.

However, Ellie has been brought up with strict religious values and traditions, which do not accept homosexuality, and she is forced to choose between shunning her community or denying her true sexuality.

Ultimately, through the multiple conflicts illustrated between tradition and modernity, Lieberman establishes that there is a place for all types of people, including Ellie, in society and religion.

I definitely enjoyed this story. Lieberman sucessfully develops her characters, and does not shy away from the lust commonly experienced by teenagers. And, coupled with the homosexual storyline, this story provides for a very interesting read, and is friendly to those who are not familiar with Judaism, specifically Orthodoxy.

GRAVITY is a good read for any, and despite my initial questions of how Lieberman would create such a challenging story, my concerns were for naught, as the story is an excellent work.

Reviewed by: Andrew S. Cohen

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful Coming of Age Novel About a Jewish Teen Grappling with Her Sexuality, November 6, 2009

By 

Rachel Kramer Bussel "Cupcakes Take the Cake ... (New York City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Gravity (Young Adult Novels) (Paperback)

I came across Gravity randomly at my local library and was immediately intrigued. Lieberman places Ellie in her Orthodox Jewish Toronto home, with an older sister impatient to rid herself of the trappings of her religion, a mother going through a spiritual crisis, a father trying to keep a hold on his family and a grandmother who is devil-may-care with her brightly polished nails and disdain for the rigors of Orthodoxy. Ellie spends a summer with her grandmother while the rest of the family is in Israel, and it's there that she discovers, for real, that she is attracted to girls. Namely, Lindsay, a siren whose mom isn't around that much, who tells Ellie that she wants to be a stripper when she grows up.

It's clear to the reader that Lindsay is, in many ways, using Ellie--to feel loved and wanted, to up her experience, but she also has some genuine feelings for Ellie. Unfortunately, they are not as strong as Ellie's, and Ellie is also grappling with her growing concern that the religion she loves may not welcome her. Her efforts to find out what Orthodox Judaism thinks about gay people, and especially lesbians, are rendered extremely well by Lieberman. Ellie feels like she has no one to turn to, though her sister, knowing her so well susses out her secret.

This is a book about both coming out, or rather, coming to terms with one's sexual orientation, and trying to find a role for your newly different self within a familiar, and sometimes close-minded, environment. Ellie has to learn that she has the power to make her own decisions and choices and that there isn't always some authority to tell her what the right thing to do is. This is a moving, thoughtful look at a teen's sexual coming of age as well as religious thought process.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gravity: The Incredible Attraction of a Stellar Novel, May 12, 2009

By 

Kingham's Kids "Ms, Kingham's 7th Grade" (Bedford, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gravity (Young Adult Novels) (Paperback)

Gravity, Leanne Lieberman's masterful and remarkable debut novel, tells one of the most profound and powerful tales of coming-of-age and exploring and understanding one's self that I have read. Leanne Lieberman conquers the heavily trodden path of teen self-discovery and sexual orientation and manages to interpret in an unprecedented and creative fashion. Ellie Gold, an orthodox Jew, has never doubted or resented her beliefs, but now, over the summer of her 15th year, she struggles to define and understand herself within the rigid lines of her religion. She encounters wild and liberal Lindsay, whose abandon and flamboyant nature provoke feelings and stirrings that challenge Ellie's perception of her self and cause the great difficulty of dealing with her emerging homosexuality. Ellie is lost, guilty, and unsure about to approach now a religion that tells her that her sexuality is a mistake or childish tendency, even a sin is followed. Ellie must choose between abandoning her perception of God and her beliefs of what is truly right and wrong, or bury and hide the feelings and personality that she cannot deny. The realistic fiction genre is not one of my favorites; however, I felt that Gravity was exceptional. Ellie's attempt to judge and really comprehend her religion is one that I can understand. If God loves everyone, why does he disown the homosexuals or those who don't keep Sabbath or follow strict religious practices?

I thoroughly enjoyed Gravity and hope that all teens, going through a time of self definition, as well as those who are coming out, or confronting a part of themselves that have not, will also. Ellie, Lindsay, and Ellie's diverse and rich family are all highly developed and deep characters, each with their own quirks, yet able to maintain personalities that one can relate to or connect to people in our own lives. Their deep nature adds to the already extensively original and unique plot, concluding in a surprising yet wrenchingly realistic ending. Although the Gravity was admittedly not written very complicatedly, the blatant honesty of Ellie and her childish innocence reversed any detraction from the text. I would encourage people of all ages and religions to begin the splendid journey and mental trek that one will certainly experience upon ordering Gravity. ~~ C.S.H.