I literally just finished this one, and I can’t wait to share this with you guys! Here is my review about Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil. There might be some spoilers, so read at your own risk!
The story
We follow Sam, a sarcastic, horror-movie buff who gets bullied by the popular kids, trying to survive high school (all very relatable). He has a group of friends: chubby Adrian who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut, gay Mike who doesn’t open his mouth at all, and Allison the shy anime weeb who often chews on her hair. They all hide during their breaks in the IT room (also, very relatable).
One normal day, everything changes when a new girl, Camilla, joins their class. She is popular, but not like the typical girls, she is pretty and nerdy, and gets along with everyone. She tries to become friends with Sam and his friend group as they seem to share the same interests. After hours of WoW and chatting, they are starting to get to know each other and their families. Camilla becomes part of the friend group and helps Sam with the troubles he is struggling with.
The Post-it says “AltheaZorg.”
I stare at the Post-it.
Did she just ask me to play Warcraft? Is she a noob that I’m going to have to walk through a simple quest? Or have Justin and the Vessels of Wank put her up to something? Will there be a cast of the school’s biggest arsehat hanging out over a computer this evening plotting some brainless, but no doubt still humiliating, practical joke?
I have no idea. But there is only one solution.
I am never playing Warcraft again.
The characters
Every character has its own quirks, characteristics, and troubles. They all grow as the story progresses. There is this thing about Mike, where he suddenly stops with his biggest passion ever: karate. He won’t tell anyone what is going on, and even his best and oldest friend Sam, can’t seem to get it out of him. Sam, trying to figure out his own problems, is pretty worried about his friend. A thing I really liked, is that the story about Mike doesn’t feel overly focus on the whole gay thing. He is just like any other normal person with that has their own inner demons to fight.
My problemThe only thing that did kind of bother me was the character of Camilla. She pretty much sounds like a Mary Sue: she is nice, very pretty, everyone likes her, has a sexy British accent, gets the whole school back together, is a daughter of a former model and a famous writer AND she likes all the nerd stuff. She magically cures Sam’s depression, and gets this whole class to stop bullying them, eventually sort of becoming friends?
There was this part where she mentioned that, because they had to travel so much, she had many other schools where she figures out how most people worked. This way she could get easily merge in with the new class. I was really intrigued about getting to know more about those past experiences of hers… but we never did. I tried to get over the whole Mary Sue act as quick as possible so I could enjoy the rest of the book.
OverallA very light and happy fluffy book filled with great nerd puns and humour.
The sarcastic humour of Sam’s internal monologue is absolutely hilarious. There were so many parts that were just so relatable and made me laugh. Sam’s favourite movie: the original Halloween. (HELL YES, great choice!)
I suggest this book to any fellow nerds out there who are looking for a light read, filled with comedy and a bit of romance. There are MANY great movie references which is amazing! I am looking forward reading more if Melissa Keil. I am especially excited for The Amazing Adventures of Cinnamon Girl.
If any of you have suggestions some great reads I need to know about, let me know in the comments! And if you read Life in Outer Space, let me know what you think about it!
