Review: Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil – a #LoveOzYA novel

Sam is a geek movie-buff with a ragtag group of loser friends who have been taking abuse from the popular kids for years. But when the super-cool Camilla moves to town, she surprises everyone by choosing to spend time with Sam’s group. Suddenly they go from geek to chic, and find that not everything boils down to us and them.

With their social lives in flux, Sam and Camilla spend more and more time together. They become the best of friends, and Sam finds that he’s happier and more comfortable in his own skin than ever before. But eventually Sam must admit to himself that he’s fallen in love.

If he confesses his true feelings to Camilla, will everything change again?

Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
Buy link: Hardie Grant Egmont site

 

I guess some people enter your orbit and get stuck, and there’s nothing either of you can do about it.

 

Life in Outer Space has to be one of the cutest and nerdiest books I’ve ever read. This contemporary #LoveOzYA novel quickly burrowed its way into my heart within the first few chapters, and by the end of the novel, had became a favourite. Do yourselves a favour and read this wonderful book immediately.

The protagonist of Life in Outer Space is sixteen-year-old Sam, who goes to a typical Australian high school with his three best friends (and his bullies), and spends his nights watching old Hollywood horror films and writing his own screenplay. His most current screenplay is Killer Cats from the Third Moon of Jupiter (which I low-key want to watch). Sam quickly became one of my favourite YA protagonists: he is apathetic about a lot in his life — he just wants to fast-forward through the next 20 years of his life till he’s successful —  but he clearly cares from his mother and friends. He’s a realistic Australian boy who plays video games, watches bad movies and drinks way too many energy drinks.

The supporting characters were just as amazing as Sam, especially his best friends Mike, Adrian and Allison. Mike is gay — just recently out — and doesn’t deal with emotions much; in fact, Sam is the only one who’s able to read him. Sam’s relationship with Mike was one of the sweetest I’ve come across in YA fiction — we really need more supportive friendships between boys. Adrian was hilarious and I kind of wanted to give him a hug? He’s not taken seriously by many people, including his friends at times, but he made me laugh the entire time he was on the page. Allison was a lovely character, but not given as much page time as Mike, although I quite liked her — she was quiet, but strong, too.

One of my favourite characters, however, was Camilla, the new girl at school who Sam falls for, although it takes him a while to figure that out. Camilla is wild and intelligent, and genuinely amazing. She is friendly with everyone but doesn’t make strong bonds, because of how often she and her father move around. I adored her friendship with Sam, how different they were but similar as well. They really complement one another, and I shipped them from their very first interaction. Sam and Camilla’s friendship and potential romance was incredibly sweet, but awkward in the cutest of ways.

The plot was out of this world … see what I did there? Anyway, the storyline followed naturally and was equally entertaining. There wasn’t one moment where the story dragged. In fact, I found myself flipping through the pages quickly, desperate to find out what would happen next.

Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil is a book that needs to be on your TBR as soon as possible. If you’re a nerd like me, you will relate to everything in the book!

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