Engaging, well written, and sad. ( )

I wanted to like this book but was disappointed overall. Finished with the feeling Ethan's journey to learn about himself wasn't over and not sure I cared. ( )

Based on a copy from NetGalley.

I remember enjoying this one at the time I read it, but the basics are all that have stayed with me. It was a good, and I think beautiful story. And that cover is pretty awesome. ( )

Ethan captured my heart so very quickly as he's such an inquisitive and gifted little boy but, like every child who is different, he is a magnet for bullying. He can see physics: sound waves, shifting air and light refracting that is invisible to the naked eye. The boys at school call him Stephen Hawking, which is certainly not an insult, although the boys are not bright enough to realise this. It is perhaps in Ethan's genes as his dad, Mark, was a theoretical physicist but Ethan has never met him. His mum, Claire, protects him from his own history, a history where Mark was accused and convicted of an unthinkable act and served time in prison. Now Mark has returned and he and Ethan are drawn to each other like they have their own magnetic field.

Antonia Hayes completely enveloped me in such exquisite narrative that I couldn't bear to put the book down and found myself reading far later than planned. Relativity is filled with beautiful poetic lines such as: "pink light scattering through the window, making the white kitchen tiles blush", leading me to double check that this was actually a debut novel. The common thread running throughout is physics and I actually felt like I was learning things along the way, with subtle explanations and examples of physics being woven into the story.

Relativity is a book that is as special as the boy who stars in it. As Ethan's story unfolds and we find out what really happened with Mark, it sometimes becomes difficult to read. I did involuntarily gasp out loud and felt an icy grip around my heart at the pain and horror this little family had to go through when Ethan was a baby. So heartbreaking, beautiful and poignant yet terribly funny at times, Relativity is an amazing debut that once you pick it up, has its own gravitational pull causing you to hold on and never let go.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. I am releasing my review as part of the blog tour. ( )

I love a novel that allows me to feel like a fly on the wall of someone’s life and this book does just that! The characters are truly brought to life throughout the novel - you are given puzzle pieces of who they are as the plot unfolds. The story brings up a variety of physics concepts (something my mind has never readily grasped) and yet they only added to the beauty of the story. ( )