THE PULL OF GRAVITY by Gae Polisner

I'll be honest, I was attracted to this one by the cover. The blurb on the back also promised a "freak disease", a "quirky girl", and a connection to Of Mice and Men, that sealed the deal. I quickly added it to the shopping cart and decided it would be at the top of the TBR pile.

Nick Gardner's best friend is dying.  The Scoot has actually been dying since the day he was born with the rare disease called progeria syndrome which causes accelerated aging.  Even though the Scoot has made it clear he is at peace with his premature death, Nick has never been able to accept that his friend won't always be there.  Maybe that's why they have grown apart over recent years.

Jaycee Amato sort of filled in the gap in the friendship between Nick and Scoot.  She got to know Scoot in a mutual class, and they became close enough that he trusted her with a dying request.  Scoot wants Jaycee to locate his estranged father and return a valuable book.  Jaycee agrees, and when Scoot takes a turn for the worse and dies, she enlists the help of Nick.

There is plenty of material in THE PULL OF GRAVITY to make it a thoroughly depressing read, but author Gae Polisner adds just the right amount of adventure and humor to make it inspirational instead.  The power of friendship and the desire to make the best of life's situations make this book a must-read.  I'm so glad the publishers decided on the eye-catching cover.