The Law of Inertia

Title:

The Law of Inertia

Author:

Gonzales, S.

Subject:

Orphans & Foster Homes

Depression

Family

Social Themes

Young Adult Fiction

Description:

Mysteries have a way of gaining momentum. When James's boyfriend dies by suicide, a foster kid with a checkered past, no one asks too many questions. "Ash always had problems," they say. But to James, the so-called facts are just the first of many mysteries. And when the very person who can answer his questions skips town, James wonders what else is being hidden. A YA novel of suspense and shifting viewpoints, for readers of Adam Silvera and Gone Girl.

Publisher:

Chicago Review Press

Date:

2018-10-16

Digital Format:

HOOPLA E BOOK

Summary

Mysteries have a way of gaining momentum.

When James's boyfriend dies by suicide, a foster kid with a checkered past, no one asks too many questions. "Ash always had problems," they say. But to James, the so-called facts are just the first of many mysteries. And when the very person who can answer his questions skips town, James wonders what else is being hidden.

A YA novel of suspense and shifting viewpoints, for readers of Adam Silvera and Gone Girl .

Author Notes

S. Gonzales is a twenty-five-year-old Young Adult author who originally hails from Whyalla, South Australia (Where the Outback Meets the Sea™), and currently lives in Melbourne, Victoria (Where there's no outback, or sea for that matter, in sight). She graduated from the University of Adelaide and currently works as a psychologist.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

Multiple narratives twist around a slowly revealed mystery in this Australian import.In September 2018, Louise, who is of Spanish descent, watches a YouTube video made by James, a half-Filipino/half-German boy looking for Elliot Taylor. "I wanna talk to him about his brother, Ash," he says. "Elliot disappeared right after Ash's funeral...I'd sure as hell like some closure." Louise's best friend is also named Elliot Taylor, but as far as she knows he doesn't have a brother, dead or alive. The next chapter, dated March 2017, is narrated by Ash, a bisexual teen living with an indifferent foster family. The plot whips back and forth in time, narrated mostly by Ash, who is assumed white, but at times by Louise or James. Uninspired prose matches the trope-filled plot, which reads like a long-winded original fanfiction. Ash struggles with an eating disorder, depression, and, of course, self-injury. His brother is addicted to drugs. With his mom dead and dad unfit, Ash's one lifeline is his relationship with James, which goes from friends with benefits to boyfriends with an entirely predictable amount of melodrama. The dramatic twist at the end is laughably far-fetched, and the happy ending comes only after the author drags the queer protagonists through all manner of traumas.Only readers who relish in hurt/comfort stories and sad gay plots will enjoy Gonzales' debut attempt at fiction. (Mystery. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.