Review: Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil

Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil

February 1st, 2013 · Hardie Grant Egmont
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 316

Sam Kinnison is a geek, and he’s totally fine with that. He has his horror movies, his nerdy friends, World of Warcraft – and until Princess Leia turns up in his bedroom, he doesn’t have to worry about girls.

Then Sam meets Camilla. She’s beautiful, friendly and completely irrelevant to his life. Sam is determined to ignore her, except that Camilla has a life of her own – and she’s decided that he’s going to be part of it.

Sam believes that everything he needs to know he can learn from the movies ... but now it looks like he’s been watching the wrong ones.

Since stumbling across Life in Outer Space, I knew I was going to enjoy it for many reasons; from its awesome title, to the cute, light sounding premise, simple cover and the fact it’s an Aussie YA. So while those smaller details pleased me, did the inside? Why yes, it did. With characters you’ll wish were real, a great set of TV/movie references, Sam’s list making skills and more, Keils’ debut is a refreshing one at that.

Sam and his group of fellow geeks make an awesome bunch. I liked them all but for me it was Camilla Carter who absolutely stole the show. Right from when she steps onto the scene until the very end, Camilla leaps right off the page and without even trying, grabs your attention and makes it impossible for you to not like her. As I was reading, one of Oscar Wilde’s most famous quotes kept leaping out at me: be yourself; everyone else is already taken. It just screams Camilla and if I had to sum her up in just one quote, it would be that one without question. With her Princess Leia buns, op-shop dresses and mega-sized headphones, she truly is one of a kind and where others would fail miserably if they tried (and they do), Camilla pulls off the cute-quirky look and makes it look effortless. She’s a character I wish existed in reality rather than just amongst the pages and in Melissa’s imagination just so we could be friends. Also, she has a British accent. *insert squeal* Seriously, can the girl get anymore awesome? I think not (though knowing her, it’s highly possible).

Life in Outer Space is described as a ‘YA romantic comedy’ and I’m pleased to report that it delivers with the laughs. Just like I thought I would, I enjoyed Life in Outer Space in all its geeky glory and I’m looking forward to seeing what Melissa Keil, along with the Ampersand Project do next.

3/5