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A review by madis95
At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson
5.0
**4.8/5**
**TW for: mentions of rape, self harm, homophobia, nihilism, underage drinking, sexual relationships**
Really good. And also really deep. I got the same feeling reading this that I did with We Are The Ants in that I felt like I was either missing or not understanding the deeper meaning that the sci-fi elements of the story held. I think at the end of this one, though, it was more obvious what the sci-fi aspect could stand for.
I thought that, overall, all of the characters were startlingly real. I wasn't a fan of Lua at all throughout the story. I thought they were hypocritical and selfish when dealing with their friendship with Ozzie. I thought Dustin was more of a plot point and that was a bit disappointing because he didn't feel like much other than someone who handled a situation a certain way so that Ozzie could learn from it. He was a little flat so I was let down there. Ozzie himself was also selfish and really self-centered with his problems. But all of these things made them that much more real. Because we, as real people, aren't perfect and we have both good and bad qualities and both help us grow into being better people if we choose to allow it, and that's what the characters in this book did. And high school kids don't have all the answers and they can be ignorant about a lot of things and willfully so because it's easier that way. It's easier to be blissfully unaware.
**Slight Spoiler here**
I read a review talking about how they felt that the reveal being that Tommy had broken up with Ozzie being a cop-out or a let down with how much the book had climaxed, and I have to disagree. When we are in high school we think that the world exists in this bubble of everything that happens to us; like everything is the end of the world when we're upset. I know that's how I felt. And I felt like Ozzie was really consumed with Tommy and that's also realistic of first love and young love where everything exists around that person and we don't really do anything outside of them or exist without them, and we don't really have an individual identity because we want to do whatever we can to hold onto what we have. And Tommy pointed out how damaging that can be in the long run.
But the breakup being the "end of the world" for Ozzie was a realistic kind of portrayal of how love can be all consuming and how when we're in high school we can live in a bubble that only pops as we grow. Because we see the world as small and only existing where we exist. And the point, I think, of the book was to say that life is a lot bigger than high school and a lot bigger than a break up and a lot bigger than our first love and if we just stay where we're comfortable without allowing ourselves to experience other things we stay in that bubble mindset.
I don't 100% agree with that because I think people can stay where they are and be comfortable and be okay and people don't need to go out and explore the universe to be fully happy. I think it's okay to stay where you grew up if that's what you want. The world as a whole is scary and some people won't ever be ready for that jump. I'm glad that I did, but it's not for everyone. And that's okay.
**TW for: mentions of rape, self harm, homophobia, nihilism, underage drinking, sexual relationships**
Really good. And also really deep. I got the same feeling reading this that I did with We Are The Ants in that I felt like I was either missing or not understanding the deeper meaning that the sci-fi elements of the story held. I think at the end of this one, though, it was more obvious what the sci-fi aspect could stand for.
I thought that, overall, all of the characters were startlingly real. I wasn't a fan of Lua at all throughout the story. I thought they were hypocritical and selfish when dealing with their friendship with Ozzie. I thought Dustin was more of a plot point and that was a bit disappointing because he didn't feel like much other than someone who handled a situation a certain way so that Ozzie could learn from it. He was a little flat so I was let down there. Ozzie himself was also selfish and really self-centered with his problems. But all of these things made them that much more real. Because we, as real people, aren't perfect and we have both good and bad qualities and both help us grow into being better people if we choose to allow it, and that's what the characters in this book did. And high school kids don't have all the answers and they can be ignorant about a lot of things and willfully so because it's easier that way. It's easier to be blissfully unaware.
**Slight Spoiler here**
I read a review talking about how they felt that the reveal being that Tommy had broken up with Ozzie being a cop-out or a let down with how much the book had climaxed, and I have to disagree. When we are in high school we think that the world exists in this bubble of everything that happens to us; like everything is the end of the world when we're upset. I know that's how I felt. And I felt like Ozzie was really consumed with Tommy and that's also realistic of first love and young love where everything exists around that person and we don't really do anything outside of them or exist without them, and we don't really have an individual identity because we want to do whatever we can to hold onto what we have. And Tommy pointed out how damaging that can be in the long run.
But the breakup being the "end of the world" for Ozzie was a realistic kind of portrayal of how love can be all consuming and how when we're in high school we can live in a bubble that only pops as we grow. Because we see the world as small and only existing where we exist. And the point, I think, of the book was to say that life is a lot bigger than high school and a lot bigger than a break up and a lot bigger than our first love and if we just stay where we're comfortable without allowing ourselves to experience other things we stay in that bubble mindset.
I don't 100% agree with that because I think people can stay where they are and be comfortable and be okay and people don't need to go out and explore the universe to be fully happy. I think it's okay to stay where you grew up if that's what you want. The world as a whole is scary and some people won't ever be ready for that jump. I'm glad that I did, but it's not for everyone. And that's okay.