By Libby Stille, Publicist
Last spring, cartoonist MariNaomi launched her Life on Earth YA graphic novel series with Losing the Girl: Book One. Losing the Girl followed several teens as they grapple with the usual perils of being a teenager . . . and the mysterious disappearance of their classmate, Claudia Jones.
In Gravity’s Pull: Book Two, Claudia has returned, and she exerts a strange (perhaps otherworldly?) effect on her classmates. We asked Mari to share a note to her readers about Gravity’s Pull and what’s next for the students at Blithedale High School.
MariNaomi on Life on Earth
I’m so thrilled that book two of my Life on Earth trilogy, Gravity’s Pull, is finally out in the world! As you may know, book one (Losing the Girl) ended with the mysterious reappearance of Claudia Jones, whose disappearance was rumored among the students to be due to alien abduction. But rumors don’t mean a thing, right?
In book two, Gravity’s Pull, we see Claudia integrate back into school’s society after who-knows-what-happened. But she’s no longer a social outcast—now, the other students are mesmerized by her, and sometimes even drawn to her. Most notably, one of our plucky protagonists, Nigel Jones, can’t get her out of his mind.
I don’t want to give too much away, but a lot happens in this book, and some of it is pretty rough stuff. In fact, as the author, artist, and creator of these characters, it sometimes pains me to put them through the wringer, to the point that I dole out little kindnesses where I can, such as giving Emily pockets! My favorite part of Gravity’s Pull is that we get to see the world through Claudia Jones’s technicolor eyes. That girl is a trip.
Stay tuned for the grand finale, Distant Stars, which comes out next year. Book three will grant us even more perspectives than the first two books, as well as tie a few loose ends up. I hope you enjoy.
Read a Q&A with MariNaomi about Losing the Girl and her conversation with editor Greg Hunter about “unlikable characters” and graphic novel creation. Plus, stay tuned for Distant Stars, book three of the Life on Earth trilogy! It will be out next spring.
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