At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson 4.5/5 stars

Hey, guys! After reading the majesty that was We Are the Ants, I was desperate to read Shaun David Hutchinson's next book. I thought it looked interesting and managed to get my hands on a pre-released copy of At the Edge of the Universe.

The Cover:

The Cover:

It shows a blurry boy who seems to be neither in nor out of reality. This could be either Tommy or Ozzie, both would make sense, but I think that he is Ozzie. The cover conveys the book's overall theme of fitting in and what reality even is in a way that I find particularly compelling. A+ cover.

Official Description:

Tommy and Ozzie have been best friends since second grade, and boyfriends since eighth. They spent countless days dreaming of escaping their small town—and then Tommy vanished.

More accurately, he ceased to exist, erased from the minds and memories of everyone who knew him. Everyone except Ozzie.
Ozzie doesn’t know how to navigate life without Tommy, and soon suspects that something else is going on: that the universe is shrinking.
When Ozzie is paired up with new student Calvin on a physics project, he begins to wonder if Calvin could somehow be involved. But the more time they spend together, the harder it is for him to deny the feelings developing between them, even if he still loves Tommy.
But Ozzie knows there isn’t much time left to find Tommy–that once the door closes, it can’t be opened again. And he’s determined to keep it open as long as possible.

My Review:

At the Edge of the Universe was very similar to We Are the Ants in its storyline. A boy believes in something that everyone else thinks is fake (aliens/old boyfriend) and tries to figures out a solution with another boy who he may have a crush on. It's not repetitive, but if you liked We Are the Ants, chances are that you would like this book as well. 

The characters were interesting and well developed. I liked the characters but found that I couldn't 100% connect with them. It didn't disrupt the story at all, but it also didn't blow me away. 

The plot was engaging. I was really curious about how the mystery of Tommy's disappearance would be solved, as well as what the next twist in the other storylines would be. The story definitely grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go. I couldn't put it down until I knew how everything would be resolved. 

At the Edge of the Universe also had a few unique details that I really enjoyed. For example, one of the main plot-points is that Ozzie goes to a new therapist every week, chosen by the alphabetical placement of their names on a list. Ozzie will speak about his problems-of-the-moment first with Dr. Brown, then Dr. Cameron, etc. It was a little detail that, while quirky, I just loved. There are plenty of little moments like this in At the Edge of the Universe.

The only reason that I am not rating this book a full 5 stars is that I built my hopes up too much. I was expected to be blown away as much as I was with We Are the Ants. I still enjoyed this book, but I think I would have loved it even more if I hadn't already read We Are the Ants. It gave me an unrealistic standard to compare it with; I know what Shaun David Hutchinson is capable of!

Overall, I would recommend reading At the Edge of the Universe. It was a really interesting book with a neat premise which is executed wonderfully. The characters were definitely unique and the writing style is engaging. It's definitely worth a read! 
(Note: this book contains homosexual relationships as well as a genderfluid best-friend-character. If you are not into that, be aware.)

This book comes out February 7, 2017.

Phrase:
Designing a roller coaster

If You Liked This Book, You May Also Like:
We Are the Ants
The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Winger
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

If you're looking for a good book, check out my Suggestions Page!

Happy Reading!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BookshelfSecret

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BookshelfSecret

2015 A Year in Books

Hey, guys! As 2015 draws to a close, I thought I'd give you guys my top ten favorite books of the year (not that came out, but that I read).  Here's the list!

(Last Year's you can find here)

Challenger Deep

The Long Walk

Boo

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Stand Off (Winger #2)

Five Stages of Andrew Brawley

The Young Elites

Red Queen

The Martian

Angelfall

Happy Reading!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BookshelfSecret

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BookshelfSecret

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun Hutchinson 5/5 stars

*Note: I received this book in exchange for an honest review*

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley was a truly fantastic book! I loved every minute of reading it, which, sadly, wasn't very long because I was so interested!  It was a whirlwind of love and hate, joy and despair, and life and death.  I haven't been able to stop thinking about it and hope you will give yourself the opportunity that is this book (i.e. you should read it).

The cover:

The Cover:

Andrew (Drew) is on the cover.  I like this cover, for some reason, but there really isn't much to say about it, though it works.  I'm not even annoyed by the "A Novel".  (That's a pet peeve of mine.  I don't get the need for clarification.)

My Description:

Drew is a teenager who lives at the hospital, though he's not a patient.  He works in the cafeteria and never leaves, sleeping in an abandoned wing of the hospital.  He entertains himself by writing a comic book, Patient F, and through the friends he's made at the hospital, such as a few kids with cancer and the ER nurses.  Drew won't let anyone know him too well, otherwise they might notice that he's not who he says he is.  

However, when a boy, Rusty, is brought into the emergency room after being burned alive, Drew finds himself wanting to help the other boy in any way that he can, and he slowly realizes that he can't stay in the hospital forever.

(I thought that the official description had a few too many minor spoilers in it, but if you want to read it... Link to Official Description )

My Review:

I really like The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley, but I have to warn you that it is depressing.  It isn't a book that entirely focuses on tragedy.  There are points of pure happiness, but the sad moments, while less in number than you would anticipate, can be pretty sad.  (I imagine you picked that up from the title, but one can never be too careful.)  Aside from the tragedies, this book was actually really sweet.  There were multiple romances occurring in the hospital that were insanely cute at certain points.

I loved all of the characters.  There weren't just unique, but they were like-able!  I felt every character's pain and joy like it was my own.  They were complex and very, very complicated.  They also had this amazing thing, character development! Drew ended the book as a completely different person than he was at the beginning.  Even smaller characters, like Drew's boss, Arnold, had extreme character growth over the course of the novel.

The plot was amazing.  It kept me in complete suspense.  Shaun Hutchinson kept just the right amount of details from the reader to make the characters' backstories a mystery that was worth solving.  

At the end of every couple of chapters was a one or two page excerpt from Drew's Patient F comic book.  I really enjoyed this small aspect, as the life of Patient F mirrored Drew's life perfectly and added to the experience of reading this book. Still, there was not too many comic book panels, so it did not detract from the story.  (It was done in a way that kind of reminds me of Winger by Andrew Smith, it supplemented the story.) 

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley was both sweet and heartbreaking, but it was mainly wonderful.  I would highly recommend it! To be warned, it does contain some adult themes such as death, so don't give it to your seven year old niece, but for the rest of you, I strongly recommend that you try to read The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley.  It was a really great read.

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun Hutchinson comes out January 20, 2015

Phrases (I can't decide):

Andrew. Andy or Drew. Whatever.

AND

Death likes scrambled eggs