The Pull of Gravity

Nick Gardner’s family is falling apart, and his best friend, the Scoot, is dying from a freak disease. Enter Jaycee Amato, a quirky girl with Siberian-husky eyes and an odd affinity for Of Mice and Men. She’s made a seemingly-impossible promise to the Scoot, and wants Nick’s help to keep it.

Armed only with the wisdom of Yoda, the beauty of Steinbeck, and the vaguest of plans, Nick and Jaycee set off on a secret, whirlwind road-trip to find the father the Scoot has never known. When everything goes awry, will the pull of gravity be enough to keep them together?


The Pull of Gravity is a coming-of-age story about friendship, first love, and the true nature of family.

Frances Foster Books / Farrar Straus Giroux.
Now out in paperback from Square Fish/Macmillan

* Bank Street College Best Children's Fiction 2012
* Nerdy Book Club Award Best YA Fiction 2011
* Pennsylvania School Library Association's List of Best YA Fiction 2011 * YALSA Readers Choice Nominee, 2011
* 2011 CYBIL’s Award Nominee
* National Battle of the Books Pick 2013-14.
 

The Summer of Letting Go, spring 2014 from Algonquin Young Readers (Elise Howard)

Summer has begun. The beach beckons. But Francesca Schnell is going nowhere.

Four years ago during an outing to the ocean, Francesca's little brother drowned, and she was the one who should have been watching him. Now almost 16, Francesca's used to playing second fiddle to her dead brother's memory, and to her best friend Lisette who's blossoming into a beauty and leaving Francesca behind.
 
Stuck at home while Lisette spends her summer days with a boy Francesca wants but can never have, Francesca begins to suspect her father of having an affair. She trails the woman to the local country club where she meets Frankie Sky, a four year old boy with a hole in his heart who bears a striking resemblance to her brother. Hope of an otherworldly connection leads Francesca to places she thought she'd abandoned, as well as to new places she never thought she'd have the heart to go – and it begins to seem possible to forgive herself and move on, whether or not she solves the riddle of Frankie Sky.
 
A stunning follow-up to Gae's debut novel, The Summer of Letting Go considers the darkest moments of tragedy, and how we learn to recover and rediscover life's beautiful potential.

Praise for The Pull of Gravity

“Pulls the heart in all the right places.” —Kirkus Reviews “Polisner’s first novel begins with a bang and ends with another . . . ” —Booklist “Characters feel real . . . and the plot zips along, championing strength in adversity.” —School Library Journal Gae Polisner writes with fluidity and grace. The Pull of Gravity will draw you in and keep you thinking long after you've closed the book." —K.L. Going, King of the Screwups "Part love story, part adventure story, funny and serious, The Pull of Gravity is a delightful read." —Francisco X. Stork, Irises “Scooter, Nick and Jaycee are real, and they're funny. I love how they yearn for something beautiful, warm and true to lift them from the lousy sad absurdity of their circumstances. And I love the unlikely places where they find it: Yoda. A possibly misguided bus trip. Red wax lips. Real lips. And each other. I love that they find it mostly in each other."—Newbery Medal Winner, Lynne Rae Perkins, As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth "The Pull of Gravity is the whole package—realistic, quirky, fun, and weepy—Polisner is an author to watch."—Mary E. Pearson, The Adoration of Jenna Fox "The Pull of Gravity is a clever, masterfully told tale of loyalty and redemption that will pull you in and hook you 'til the last page." —Chris Crutcher, Deadline