A clumsy boy named Oscar finds an old, abandoned caboose. Inside the caboose, he discovers some bottles of Dr. Oopsie’s Amazing Gravity Repellent and begins a series of anti-gravity adventures. Through those adventures, he begins to learn what it means to own up to his actions.

“On a Thursday morning one month after he’d started third grade, Oscar Schmidt’s teacher, Mrs. Faust, wrote a word on the board that would change his life forever – GRAVITY.”

Oscar and the Amazing Gravity Repellent by Tina L. Peterson is an adventure story for tweens. Oscar is only a third grader, so this is not quite a coming of age story but it does involve learning about yourself and what you can and cannot do. Being clumsy, Oscar was shy and bullies targeted him. The gravity repellent helps him not be as clumsy in general, which he obviously likes. He learns to own up to his own actions after he and his friend spray themselves with the potion and climb a tree, with disastrous results. Later, he pours a whole bottle of gravity repellent on a bully, who begins flying upward.

This book would be good for readers ages 8 to 10 who are looking for an easy adventure read. It reads very quickly and keeps your interest.

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