Lately I’ve been obsessed with books set in Melbourne. The two main characters in Life in Outer Space are Sam and Camilla. Sam Kinnison is a self-confessed nerd and he’s fine with that. He’s a believable nerd who’s constantly referencing the video games, movies, books and magazines. His internal monologue is also very hilarious. I’d say this book is almost casually hysterical because Sam’s witty humour was prominent in every scene. He loves slasher horror film and, writes screenplays about Killer Cats from the Third Moon of Mars. Surrounding Sam are his best friends, Adrian, Allison and Mike. Like him, they’re misfits, bullied by the popular kids, also called the A crew, and resort to hiding out in the IT lab during lunch. Allison is the only female in the group before Camilla. She has wispy blonde hair, the body of ‘a twelve year old boy’ and is obsessed with Hello Kitty.
“She grimaces a lot.
I don’t always understand why. But in spite of the Hello Kitty, I know that a
habitual grimacer is one of my people.”
Mike and Sam have been friends for a long time and were said
to be very close before the year started. Mike also happens to be gay. When he
tells his friends this, they embark on an ‘Extremely Gay Weekend’ in order to
try and confirm it. He is also obsessed
with karate.
“Mike has been
obsessed with karate since year seven, when he discovered that kicking people
in the face was a legitimate sport.”
Adrian is described as very short and having a very scruffy
beard. He gives some much needed comic relief and made me laugh out loud
multiple times. Besides from that not many things stand out about him for
besides that he’s a loyal friend. You would have to be a loyal friend to forgive
your best friend for punching you in the eye that severely discolours it.
Everything changes for this group of friends when a new girl
shows up in Sam's English class. Her name is Camilla, her father is a famous
rock journalist and if she wanted to, she could easily set herself up to be the
most popular girl at school. Instead, she hangs out with the geeks and also the
popular kids. He and Camilla share a love
of World of Warcraft and start talking through it. He then figures out that
strange Camilla can bounce from clique to clique and back again without
repercussions. Thanks to Camilla's friendship, this group of misfits goes from
being bullied, to being ignored, to being sort of accepted and this book is
mostly about their journey along the way and how it changes them as individuals
as well as their friendships.
Sam is a funny character but some moments just make my blood
boil because Sam is just a jerk. For example this: “Allison is as good as I'm likely to get. I dunno. I've tried,
experimentally, picturing her shirtless; I suspect she looks like me when I was
twelve.” That
part just made me so angry. It was just uncalled for and nobody should be
judged like that. I understand it’s just a book and fictionally view but it
didn't stop me from feeling mad.
This book was a breath of fresh air because I haven’t read
many books about nerds that accept who they are and not constantly seeking
popularity. I adored Sam and his nerdy crew. On whole, this novel was not
perfect, but had many shining points that are worth of mention. Life in Outer
Space is sweet, awkward, believable and raw. There are messages thrown around
and topics being addressed throughout that I believe got a fair amount of
attention. I would recommend this book to teens who like to read contemporary
books.
-The girl with her head in the clouds
-The girl with her head in the clouds
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