Life in Outer Space

By Melissa Keil

This young adult romantic comedy is a sharp, hilarious, and perfectly observed story of high school geeks falling in true love.

Seventeen-year-old Sam Kinnison is a dork, and he's totally fine with that. He has his horror movies, his nerdy friends, and World of Warcraft. Sam believes that everything he needs to know can be learned from watching movies. Until Princess Leia turns up in his bedroom, Sam just isn't concerned about girls.

Then Camilla Carter arrives on the scene. She's beautiful, friendly and completely not on his radar. Sam is determined to ignore Camilla, except that she has a plan of her own—and Sam seems to be a part of it!

Author Melissa Keil will have readers head over heels with these relatable characters. Sam's exceptional voice gives a hilarious and painfully accurate take on high school life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Apr 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781561457908

Melissa Keil

Melissa Keil has lived in Minnesota, London and the Middle East, and now resides in her hometown of Melbourne. Her YA novels, Life in Outer Space and The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl have both been shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year and the Gold Inky awards. 

Reviews for Life in Outer Space

[sasham-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great australian YA book about coming of age and surviving in high school. Set in Melbourne and surrounds it was particularly good as i was familiar with many of the locations mentioned and Keil did a great job of brining those locations to life. Very readable with themes of friendship / first love and putting yourself out there. Very Low level violence and some kissing but no swearing or sex. totally suitable for 13 age group. Plus a heap of great movies and bands mentioned throughout the book. I finished reading it and wanted to go to the video store and watch a few.

[rivkabelle_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review originally published on my blog: AWordsWorth.blogspot.comARC provided by publisher for reviewLife in Outer Space is an entirely refreshing and exceptionally entertaining novel about a group of high schoolers who are geektastic. And I do mean geektastic.The ring leader of this little tribe of nomadic geeks (okay, so not really nomadic, but it felt like a fun thing to say) is Sam. If anyone has ever fully embraced his geek-level status, it is Sam. He is a walking guru on all things horror movie and related ("real") movie trivia. Girls? Nah, Sam's not worried about the lack of feminine interest in his geektasmic self -- he's never met a girl who can hold a candle to Princess Leia. Until ... The day a new girl breezes into class, with a funky sense of style and the ability to make friends with everyone. Camilla appears to be everything polar opposite of Sam and his buddies -- but she also really enjoys hanging out with them. Especially Sam. And this means that life as Sam knows it, is officially over.Even though it's an Australian novel, set in Australia, Life in Outer Space is such a teenager story. I think there are huge chunks of growing up that are universal, and some experiences that we can all relate to whether it happens in San Francisco, Middle-o-Nowhere, or Australia. It's just part of life, and that helps bring the human family closer together, ya know? Okay, philosophical wandering aside, we all know what it's like to be a high school student, a teenager, and deal with other teenagers. It's crazy. And wonderful. And terrible. Sam and Camilla, and the whole teen cast of this novel? They're real. They're walking down halls in schools around the globe. And this feeling of realism and authenticity takes this fun and quirky story and gives it added depth. Don't get me wrong, it's still a hilarious read -- I snickered out loud a few times -- but it's not just another high school musical (don't hate: I love those movies).