militarycorecunt's review against another edition
idk man his books dont do it for me
eloise_bradbooks's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 - I'll add Shaun David Hutchinson to my list of favourite authors, I guess.
He always seems to write such powerful stories:
You laugh. You cry. You have no idea what's going on or what's going to happen, but you stay tuned all the way because he has a way of writing such beautiful, realisticly flawed but understandable characters living in worlds that are so cleverly created.
And this is exactly what this book did. I laughed and I cried and I was confused but I loved it.
I loved the little moments about physics (yeah, I miss not learning about physics...) and even philosophy. As expected there were beautiful metaphors about struggling to find yourself, drowning or breathing under water, moving forward and closing doors...
There was a whole bunch of diverse characters (the queer youth represented in here is great - gender-fluid, gay, bi and even asexual - thank you!). And a whole bunch of important issues too. Mental health, hurting yourself, sexual abuse, domestic violence, financial trouble and more.
Sometimes I thought there were a little TOO many important issues in this one book - maybe some could have been saved for a different story?
It seemed like really shitty things had to happen to every single character, which I don't think was necessary.
Especially as Ozzie, the main character, was going through all the issues over and over in his head so many times, sometimes I just wanted to say 'Okay, we know by now that this this and this is going on, move onto things we don't know'...
But in the end you can't complain for having an array of different people with a wide-range of problems.
I also read the author's note at the end about his own struggles with mental health, depression, cutting and suicide attempts, he urges people to ask for help and how his books show people dealing with mental health in ways that aren't always the best. They are realistic, but you should learn that they are not always the best ways to deal with stuff.
It was very moving.
So basically, I really enjoyed it.
I'm going to compare it to We Are The Ants because that was one of my favourite books of 2016, the reason I picked this one up and had such high expectations. And to be honest it wasn't as good as WATA. But by no means was it bad.
It was great and well worth the read.
He always seems to write such powerful stories:
You laugh. You cry. You have no idea what's going on or what's going to happen, but you stay tuned all the way because he has a way of writing such beautiful, realisticly flawed but understandable characters living in worlds that are so cleverly created.
And this is exactly what this book did. I laughed and I cried and I was confused but I loved it.
I loved the little moments about physics (yeah, I miss not learning about physics...) and even philosophy. As expected there were beautiful metaphors about struggling to find yourself, drowning or breathing under water, moving forward and closing doors...
There was a whole bunch of diverse characters (the queer youth represented in here is great - gender-fluid, gay, bi and even asexual - thank you!). And a whole bunch of important issues too. Mental health, hurting yourself, sexual abuse, domestic violence, financial trouble and more.
Sometimes I thought there were a little TOO many important issues in this one book - maybe some could have been saved for a different story?
It seemed like really shitty things had to happen to every single character, which I don't think was necessary.
Especially as Ozzie, the main character, was going through all the issues over and over in his head so many times, sometimes I just wanted to say 'Okay, we know by now that this this and this is going on, move onto things we don't know'...
But in the end you can't complain for having an array of different people with a wide-range of problems.
I also read the author's note at the end about his own struggles with mental health, depression, cutting and suicide attempts, he urges people to ask for help and how his books show people dealing with mental health in ways that aren't always the best. They are realistic, but you should learn that they are not always the best ways to deal with stuff.
It was very moving.
So basically, I really enjoyed it.
I'm going to compare it to We Are The Ants because that was one of my favourite books of 2016, the reason I picked this one up and had such high expectations. And to be honest it wasn't as good as WATA. But by no means was it bad.
It was great and well worth the read.
irisfigueiredo's review against another edition
4.0
4,5
Eu gostei tanto desse livro e me despertou tantas memórias e pensamentos que não sei colocar em palavras.
Eu gostei tanto desse livro e me despertou tantas memórias e pensamentos que não sei colocar em palavras.
bluej4yy's review against another edition
5.0
Oh. My. God. I don’t even know how to describe how much I adored this book. It was breathtaking. I really want to write a coherent review, but I don’t have words.
The narrative was fresh, and the main story like wasn’t all Coming Out™️. It was a very very nice book and had great lgbt+ rep. Not to mention, as a space nerd, an amazing spacey narrative. It had me wanting to read more and more and never put it down.
All in all: Love. Love. Loved it.
The narrative was fresh, and the main story like wasn’t all Coming Out™️. It was a very very nice book and had great lgbt+ rep. Not to mention, as a space nerd, an amazing spacey narrative. It had me wanting to read more and more and never put it down.
All in all: Love. Love. Loved it.
reptilianreader's review against another edition
5.0
this is one of my main comfort books. i just love it so so much.
theprioryofpages's review against another edition
4.0
Wszechświat się kurczy. Ale NAPRAWDĘ się kurczy. Ktoś ciagle zmienia życie Ozzy’ego. Zniknęło słońce, nie ma gwiazd, nie ma księżyca. Znikają wspomnienia, znika świat.
A mnie zaintrygowało zniknięcie Tommy’ego - byłam tak ciekawa o co może z tym chodzić! I nie spodziewałam się tak obszernej historii o alternatywnych rzeczywistościach, wymiarach kwantowych i że wszechświat rzeczywiście znika. A w centrum tego wszystkie był Ozzie; zagubiony chłopak, który z dnia na dzień stracił najbliższą osobę w swoim życiu i okazuje się, że tylko on ją pamięta.
Cała historia była niesamowita. A zakończenie? Wow. Wbiło mnie w fotel. Tyle czekałam na rozwiązanie tego wszystkiego, a dostałam jeszcze więcej pytań. Uwielbiam tę książkę.
A mnie zaintrygowało zniknięcie Tommy’ego - byłam tak ciekawa o co może z tym chodzić! I nie spodziewałam się tak obszernej historii o alternatywnych rzeczywistościach, wymiarach kwantowych i że wszechświat rzeczywiście znika. A w centrum tego wszystkie był Ozzie; zagubiony chłopak, który z dnia na dzień stracił najbliższą osobę w swoim życiu i okazuje się, że tylko on ją pamięta.
Cała historia była niesamowita. A zakończenie? Wow. Wbiło mnie w fotel. Tyle czekałam na rozwiązanie tego wszystkiego, a dostałam jeszcze więcej pytań. Uwielbiam tę książkę.
eloise_bradbooks's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 - I'll add Shaun David Hutchinson to my list of favourite authors, I guess.
He always seems to write such powerful stories:
You laugh. You cry. You have no idea what's going on or what's going to happen, but you stay tuned all the way because he has a way of writing such beautiful, realisticly flawed but understandable characters living in worlds that are so cleverly created.
And this is exactly what this book did. I laughed and I cried and I was confused but I loved it.
I loved the little moments about physics (yeah, I miss not learning about physics...) and even philosophy. As expected there were beautiful metaphors about struggling to find yourself, drowning or breathing under water, moving forward and closing doors...
There was a whole bunch of diverse characters (the queer youth represented in here is great - gender-fluid, gay, bi and even asexual - thank you!). And a whole bunch of important issues too. Mental health, hurting yourself, sexual abuse, domestic violence, financial trouble and more.
Sometimes I thought there were a little TOO many important issues in this one book - maybe some could have been saved for a different story?
It seemed like really shitty things had to happen to every single character, which I don't think was necessary.
Especially as Ozzie, the main character, was going through all the issues over and over in his head so many times, sometimes I just wanted to say 'Okay, we know by now that this this and this is going on, move onto things we don't know'...
But in the end you can't complain for having an array of different people with a wide-range of problems.
I also read the author's note at the end about his own struggles with mental health, depression, cutting and suicide attempts, he urges people to ask for help and how his books show people dealing with mental health in ways that aren't always the best. They are realistic, but you should learn that they are not always the best ways to deal with stuff.
It was very moving.
So basically, I really enjoyed it.
I'm going to compare it to We Are The Ants because that was one of my favourite books of 2016, the reason I picked this one up and had such high expectations. And to be honest it wasn't as good as WATA. But by no means was it bad.
It was great and well worth the read.
He always seems to write such powerful stories:
You laugh. You cry. You have no idea what's going on or what's going to happen, but you stay tuned all the way because he has a way of writing such beautiful, realisticly flawed but understandable characters living in worlds that are so cleverly created.
And this is exactly what this book did. I laughed and I cried and I was confused but I loved it.
I loved the little moments about physics (yeah, I miss not learning about physics...) and even philosophy. As expected there were beautiful metaphors about struggling to find yourself, drowning or breathing under water, moving forward and closing doors...
There was a whole bunch of diverse characters (the queer youth represented in here is great - gender-fluid, gay, bi and even asexual - thank you!). And a whole bunch of important issues too. Mental health, hurting yourself, sexual abuse, domestic violence, financial trouble and more.
Sometimes I thought there were a little TOO many important issues in this one book - maybe some could have been saved for a different story?
It seemed like really shitty things had to happen to every single character, which I don't think was necessary.
Especially as Ozzie, the main character, was going through all the issues over and over in his head so many times, sometimes I just wanted to say 'Okay, we know by now that this this and this is going on, move onto things we don't know'...
But in the end you can't complain for having an array of different people with a wide-range of problems.
I also read the author's note at the end about his own struggles with mental health, depression, cutting and suicide attempts, he urges people to ask for help and how his books show people dealing with mental health in ways that aren't always the best. They are realistic, but you should learn that they are not always the best ways to deal with stuff.
It was very moving.
So basically, I really enjoyed it.
I'm going to compare it to We Are The Ants because that was one of my favourite books of 2016, the reason I picked this one up and had such high expectations. And to be honest it wasn't as good as WATA. But by no means was it bad.
It was great and well worth the read.
reeseyyy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I personally really enjoyed this book. It was VERY similar to We Are the Ants, but because I loved we are the ants so much, i loved this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Suicide and Physical abuse
gee_reads_books's review against another edition
2.0
I've been championing SDH's works for a long time now - about 5 years? -, so I was really looking forwards to enjoying "At The Edge Of The Universe". The premise in and of itself is quite compelling; a boy called Tommy has vanished from existence, and nobody seems to remember him other than our main character Ozzie Pinkerton. Tommy was Ozzie's boyfriend, so he's determined to find him; but the universe keeps shrinking, history keeps changing, and a classmate by the name of Calvin has been hanging out with him lately.
Only, it wasn't very well executed. I'm a bookworm through and through, so I'll gladly read almost any story with all my delight and passion, but this one almost put me to sleep several times. The narrative felt extremely repetitive, and although some people will definitely enjoy the über-metaphor that this book aims to be, I personally found it underwhelming and boring. After having read and loved "We Are The Ants" a few years ago, it felt like I was reading the exact same thing, only with a change in the characters' names, the kind of sci-fi weird stuff, and the quality of the prose. It also was quite a dark read at many points, with all the mental illness rep and the toxic interactions between characters, but it didn't work for me. While I can see how these really sad vibes would appeal to a lot of readers, it simply made me dizzy and reminded me of very ugly feelings I definitely didn't want to revisit. Which would've been alright if, once again, the plot itself hadn't been as underwhelming. It felt like stumbling across a particularly thick patch of fog with my socks wet. It would've been fine if it had decided to ditch the sci-fi, and remain a coming-of-age story; or vice versa. But the way it is right now, it's kind of too much, and it becomes static noise.
Another thing that really irked me was Lua, a genderfluid character (he/him/she/her) that's supposed to be Ozzie's best friend. While I'm extremely happy that we got to see genderfluid rep for once, I couldn't have disliked Lua more. Firstly, it's both explained and shown that they're a very abusive person towards her partner, Jaime. In one scene, she throws a glass bottle at him; in another one, he yells at him and calls him horrible names; and all along we learn that this is the standard dynamics she has with Jaime. The IPV Lua exerts on Jaime is never questioned, and I was livid seeing such flagrant abuse go unchallenged. He was also quite a shitty friend to Ozzie for most of the book, his repertory going from calling him crazy and blowing a fuss at him to blaming Ozzie for her own problems, and acting the part of the victim to avoid taking responsibility for her own awful actions and his awful way to treat Ozzie. At one point, during an extremely uncomfortable situation, he tells Ozzie "you're mine", and it made me want to scream.
Calvin, on the other hand, was a really good character - I cared about him heaps more than I cared about Ozzie, in all honesty. After a horrible thing happened to him, Calvin has suddenly fallen from grace; from golden boy to the snoozer, and from popular and bubbly to isolated and depressed. I found his story to be quite well-written, and I was thankful to see such a fleshed-out character development arc as his. He was definitely one of the best things in the book. Still, I wasn't all too convinced about the romantic subplot. We're talking about a victim of sexual abuse, and I couldn't help reading the Christmas? scene as pretty dubcon. I also think that Ozzie cared exactly zero shits about his abuse, which made me dislike him as a main character so much.
The plot in and of itself seemed to drag a lot, and I couldn't really find any reason to care that the universe was shrinking, that Tommy was missing, or that Warren was going away. Supposedly Ozzie going to therapists is important, but it felt like an excuse to slip more pages in, and have some banter on the page with which to diffuse the overall doom and gloom. In theory, he's determined to find Tommy, but in truth it felt choppy and, more than love, it came across as a very unhealthy obsession I couldn't make myself root for. We're told that Ozzie has a drive, but all along he's really passive and bland. And the amount of times we're told about Tommy is just too much.
It was sad to be left so unimpressed and bored by a book I wanted to love so much. Still, I'm clearly in the minority here, so most probably other people will adore it!
Only, it wasn't very well executed. I'm a bookworm through and through, so I'll gladly read almost any story with all my delight and passion, but this one almost put me to sleep several times. The narrative felt extremely repetitive, and although some people will definitely enjoy the über-metaphor that this book aims to be, I personally found it underwhelming and boring. After having read and loved "We Are The Ants" a few years ago, it felt like I was reading the exact same thing, only with a change in the characters' names, the kind of sci-fi weird stuff, and the quality of the prose. It also was quite a dark read at many points, with all the mental illness rep and the toxic interactions between characters, but it didn't work for me. While I can see how these really sad vibes would appeal to a lot of readers, it simply made me dizzy and reminded me of very ugly feelings I definitely didn't want to revisit. Which would've been alright if, once again, the plot itself hadn't been as underwhelming. It felt like stumbling across a particularly thick patch of fog with my socks wet. It would've been fine if it had decided to ditch the sci-fi, and remain a coming-of-age story; or vice versa. But the way it is right now, it's kind of too much, and it becomes static noise.
Another thing that really irked me was Lua, a genderfluid character (he/him/she/her) that's supposed to be Ozzie's best friend. While I'm extremely happy that we got to see genderfluid rep for once, I couldn't have disliked Lua more. Firstly, it's both explained and shown that they're a very abusive person towards her partner, Jaime. In one scene, she throws a glass bottle at him; in another one, he yells at him and calls him horrible names; and all along we learn that this is the standard dynamics she has with Jaime. The IPV Lua exerts on Jaime is never questioned, and I was livid seeing such flagrant abuse go unchallenged. He was also quite a shitty friend to Ozzie for most of the book, his repertory going from calling him crazy and blowing a fuss at him to blaming Ozzie for her own problems, and acting the part of the victim to avoid taking responsibility for her own awful actions and his awful way to treat Ozzie. At one point, during an extremely uncomfortable situation, he tells Ozzie "you're mine", and it made me want to scream.
Calvin, on the other hand, was a really good character - I cared about him heaps more than I cared about Ozzie, in all honesty. After a horrible thing happened to him, Calvin has suddenly fallen from grace; from golden boy to the snoozer, and from popular and bubbly to isolated and depressed. I found his story to be quite well-written, and I was thankful to see such a fleshed-out character development arc as his. He was definitely one of the best things in the book. Still, I wasn't all too convinced about the romantic subplot. We're talking about a victim of sexual abuse, and I couldn't help reading the Christmas? scene as pretty dubcon. I also think that Ozzie cared exactly zero shits about his abuse, which made me dislike him as a main character so much.
The plot in and of itself seemed to drag a lot, and I couldn't really find any reason to care that the universe was shrinking, that Tommy was missing, or that Warren was going away. Supposedly Ozzie going to therapists is important, but it felt like an excuse to slip more pages in, and have some banter on the page with which to diffuse the overall doom and gloom. In theory, he's determined to find Tommy, but in truth it felt choppy and, more than love, it came across as a very unhealthy obsession I couldn't make myself root for. We're told that Ozzie has a drive, but all along he's really passive and bland. And the amount of times we're told about Tommy is just too much.
It was sad to be left so unimpressed and bored by a book I wanted to love so much. Still, I'm clearly in the minority here, so most probably other people will adore it!