Relativity by Antonia Hayes. Advance Reader Copy (ARC) from the publisher, Corsair, included. No affiliate links used. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Sometimes you come across a book that is so completely worth the hype you half suspect anyone who doesn’t like it is deliberately going against the grain. It seems almost impossible that everyone wouldn’t fall in love with it as much as you. Relativity by Antonia Hayes is that book.

Relativity is a story about family bonds, the lengths we’ll go to for the people we love and physics. Yes, you read that correctly. 12 year-old Ethan loves physics and astronomy. His talent for and obsession with physics are stitched into the narrative in a way that draws even the least science minded, namely myself, in.

Claire is protective of her son, but she can’t shield him from the truth forever especially when he starts asking questions about his father.

I went into the book knowing nothing about it apart from the blurb on the back. I recommend you do the same, which is why this review is short on synopsis. The characters are as complex as the plot and Hayes’ inhabits them all with skill. That the story is told from multiple perspectives only adds another layer to this rich and absorbing tale.

Hayes’ debut novel is a gorgeous exploration of how the past is a place we can no longer visit. But it still plays a part on our future, even if we’d like to be able to leave it behind completely.It was only afterwards I discovered that some of the events in the novel mirror something Antonia Hayes experienced.

Relativity is as thought-provoking as it is compelling. A must read.

Relativity by Antonia Hayes is published by Corsair an imprint of the Little, Brown Book Group and is available in hardback and ebook format. The paperback edition is published on the 19th January.

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