Gravity by Melissa West
The Taking #1
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Source: Bought
Goodreads Stars: 3
Rating: Enjoyable
In the future, only one rule will matter:
Don’t. Ever. Peek.Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.
Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war. - Goodreads
ALIENS! Does anyone else love aliens?! Because I do. A hell of a lot. My love for aliens is what drove me to get this book in the first place, and that part of the novel definitely didn't disappoint. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of the main characters.
Ari, the main female protagonist, was kinda slow and kinda dumb. She didn't have that spark that I like to see in YA female leads, and as a result I found her boring. Ari was really slow on the uptake, making her look unintelligent and also lacking the basics of common sense. It was really disappointing, because I LOVE strong females in the novels I read. Alas.
Then there's Jackson, the arrogant alien spy turned love interest. This is going to sound weird, but he wasn't arrogant enough for me. I mean, if you're going to pitch a love interest as an arrogant bad boy, at least give him some witty dialogue and some funny scenes. Instead, he kept secrets from Ari to the point that I wished she had the balls to punch him in the face. In some scenes he was really sweet, and in others he was just sort of there. There was no substance.
The world building and the political dispute were my favourite parts of the novel. I loved the idea of World War IV ruining the Earth and aliens having to swoop in to save the day, and then one side not keeping up their end of the bargain. I wish we could have seen more of the alien planet, and also more explosions. I love explosions!
There was one twist in the novel, and it wasn't that shocking. I had been expecting something like that to go down, and so when it happened I rolled my eyes. It didn't help that this twist involved Jackson and, well, I've made my feelings for Jackson pretty clear!
Overall, Gravity was an enjoyable, although pretty average read. I love the aliens and all that jazz, and I was really pleased with that aspect of the novel. I'll be reading the sequel to see where it goes, and I'll be hoping that the characters improve.
