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A review by eesh25
At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson
4.0
4.5 Stars
You know how, when you read a high fantasy, you start off confused because you don't know the world yet and then slowly, as you read, you find out more and more stuff and by the end, you familiar with everything (given that the book you're reading doesn't suck). Well, imagine that scenario, but the opposite.
Going into the novel, I though I had a fair idea of what I was getting myself into, a YA contemporary with featured a protagonist with a mental illness. After finishing, my reaction is on the lines of 'What just happened?'.
The author left a lot for the reader to speculate and while a part of me likes that, I have so many questions. But synopsis first: The protagonist is Ozzie and his boyfriend has disappeared. Like, not run away or gone missing, but erased from existence. No one remembers him and all traces that there was ever a guy names Tommy have vanished. But Ozzie remembers him and he's determined to find him. Even if everyone thinks he's delusional and the universe is rapidly shrinking.
Yes, you read correctly. The universe is shrinking. At least according to Ozzie it is. But that's not something I'm going to talk about. Just go with it, okay? This is a really good book with an increasingly intriguing plot. Of course, some might be bothered by the open-ended-ness of it and if you're one of those people who like their fiction to be more concrete, I'd suggest avoiding this one. But if you like strange stuff, this is a good choice. Still, I wanna know at least one thing because I do kinda like concrete stuff.
It's about Cal and Trent. Cal is the guy Ozzie teams up with to find his boyfriend and starts to like, despite not wanting to like him. Trent is a major douche. What I wanna know is what happened between the two of them. There's history there and I there were hints that stuff happened, but I don't know and it's bothering me.
And I'm sorry to those who haven't read the book to whom the above paragraph probably didn't make sense. I just have questions. And, before I turn the review into even more of a mess than it already feels like, let's talk characters.
We have Ozzie. Sarcastic, resilient Ozzie who can be a little self-absorbed but still cares deeply and is quite likable. We have Cal who is kind of broken. There's Trent the douchebag and two of Ozzie's friends, one of whom, Lua, is especially interesting. We also explore Ozzie's relationship with his parents, who are getting a divorce, and his brother, who's joining the army. Then, of course, there's Tommy, the maybe-imaginary boyfriend. We get chapters of moments that Ozzie remembers between himself and Tommy. Safe to say, there are a lot of people in Ozzie's complicated life and they're all balanced really well.
Also, this isn't a short book, but it doesn't feel long because it pulls you in. There are many unexpected turns. You could even say that all the turns are unexpected. It's really interesting, seeing what's going on and trying to guess what will happen next.
Overall, I've already told you to whom I'd recommend the book. It's a really good one and definitely worth checking out.
You know how, when you read a high fantasy, you start off confused because you don't know the world yet and then slowly, as you read, you find out more and more stuff and by the end, you familiar with everything (given that the book you're reading doesn't suck). Well, imagine that scenario, but the opposite.
Going into the novel, I though I had a fair idea of what I was getting myself into, a YA contemporary with featured a protagonist with a mental illness. After finishing, my reaction is on the lines of 'What just happened?'.
The author left a lot for the reader to speculate and while a part of me likes that, I have so many questions. But synopsis first: The protagonist is Ozzie and his boyfriend has disappeared. Like, not run away or gone missing, but erased from existence. No one remembers him and all traces that there was ever a guy names Tommy have vanished. But Ozzie remembers him and he's determined to find him. Even if everyone thinks he's delusional and the universe is rapidly shrinking.
Yes, you read correctly. The universe is shrinking. At least according to Ozzie it is. But that's not something I'm going to talk about. Just go with it, okay? This is a really good book with an increasingly intriguing plot. Of course, some might be bothered by the open-ended-ness of it and if you're one of those people who like their fiction to be more concrete, I'd suggest avoiding this one. But if you like strange stuff, this is a good choice. Still, I wanna know at least one thing because I do kinda like concrete stuff.
It's about Cal and Trent. Cal is the guy Ozzie teams up with to find his boyfriend and starts to like, despite not wanting to like him. Trent is a major douche. What I wanna know is what happened between the two of them. There's history there and I there were hints that stuff happened, but I don't know and it's bothering me.
And I'm sorry to those who haven't read the book to whom the above paragraph probably didn't make sense. I just have questions. And, before I turn the review into even more of a mess than it already feels like, let's talk characters.
We have Ozzie. Sarcastic, resilient Ozzie who can be a little self-absorbed but still cares deeply and is quite likable. We have Cal who is kind of broken. There's Trent the douchebag and two of Ozzie's friends, one of whom, Lua, is especially interesting. We also explore Ozzie's relationship with his parents, who are getting a divorce, and his brother, who's joining the army. Then, of course, there's Tommy, the maybe-imaginary boyfriend. We get chapters of moments that Ozzie remembers between himself and Tommy. Safe to say, there are a lot of people in Ozzie's complicated life and they're all balanced really well.
Also, this isn't a short book, but it doesn't feel long because it pulls you in. There are many unexpected turns. You could even say that all the turns are unexpected. It's really interesting, seeing what's going on and trying to guess what will happen next.
Overall, I've already told you to whom I'd recommend the book. It's a really good one and definitely worth checking out.