The Universe Versus Alex Woods

Gavin Extence

Summary:

A rare meteorite struck Alex Woods when he was ten years old, leaving scars and marking him for an extraordinary future. The son of a fortune teller, bookish, and an easy target for bullies, Alex hasn't had the easiest childhood.

But when he meets curmudgeonly widower Mr Peterson, he finds an unlikely friend. Someone who teaches him that that you only get one shot at life. That you have to make it count.

So when, aged seventeen, Alex is stopped at customs with 113 grams of marijuana, an urn full of ashes on the front seat, and an entire nation in uproar, he's fairly sure he's done the right thing...

Introducing a bright young voice destined to charm the world, The Universe Versus Alex Woods is a celebration of curious incidents, astronomy and astrology, the works of Kurt Vonnegut and the unexpected connections that form our world.

Plot:

This is one of the more original stories I’ve read, I’ve never seen a story that has two extremely unusual plotlines and yet make them both seem believable. It is very entertaining to read, and definitely not boring. However, I couldn’t really get into it. While the author managed this very unique storyline really well, I just wasn’t as drawn in as I would’ve expected to be by a story like this.

Characters:

The characters are all very quirky, unusual and some might even be slightly insane. I really like the main character, but I feel like he’s the only one you really get to know well enough to develop an opinion on. The other characters are really interesting and all, but I honestly don’t feel like I know very much about them. All you know is what Alex knows, as the book is written from his perspective, and so you get a limited view on what they’re really like. I found Alex to be quite relatable, even with his decidedly odd circumstances, but I don’t think everyone will be able to relate to him.

Who should read this:

13+, this is almost completely because of the use of language in this book. One character in particular curses in almost every sentence she speaks. The other topic that might disturb some people is death, I cannot say any more, because I don’t want to ruin the story, but it is a slightly different aspect of death that is seen in this story. Mr Peterson uses drugs, and there is some violence, although it is not extreme. There is very little to no sexual content, mainly because Alex is almost completely anti-social, and doesn’t know much about human contact in general. If you’re looking for something completely different and unique this might be the one for you, but I don’t know if it’s something I would personally recommend to anyone.

My rating:

While I found the idea of this book fascinating, and the storyline very original, it didn’t draw me in like I’d hoped it would. It took me way too long to finish this book, and that usually means something is off about it. I’ll give it a 3/5, I would’ve gone for a 2 if it hadn’t been such a unique read.

Quote:

There are so many to choose from so I’m giving you two:

‘A pariah is someone who’s excluded from mainstream society. And if you knew that at twelve years of age, you’re probably an inhabitant of Pariah Town.’

‘Despite its faults, my brain, I decided, was not the worst place to be.’