Review: The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence

Publisher: Redhook
Pages: 407

Received: Received a copy from the Hachette Book Group Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: June 25, 2013
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Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

My Review:

This book had a very interesting voice to it, I really enjoyed Alex's narration telling the story of his life and the one thing that really affected him the most. Alex is a very interesting character who has had some bad luck in his life, when Alex is ten he is hit by a meteorite it changes his life from there. Following this event, Alex is interested in learning about science. Alex is very open to learning about what causes meteorites and from there he wants to learn about the brain, because of what happened to me.

I love reading about characters that are unique, like Alex is. He is unique and has a great wealth of information that he is always excited to learn about and share with others. It's always great to read about a character who wants to learn more than is taught, at school he learns theories, and goes home to learn about this background of the people who came up with these things.

When Alex meets Mr. Peterson his life is changed drastically, Mr. Peterson teaches Alex a lot of things and changes his life. Mr. Peterson is the one who introduces Alex to Kurt Vonnegut, and from there, Alex gains a new philosophy of life. This book has made me even more interested in reading Vonnegut, I'm interested to see this idea that he has throughout all his books.

This book is very much about doing what you believe in, and Alex takes full advantage of that. Alex learns a lot about life and what he thinks is the best for everyone around him. I loved the ending, Alex took a journey of a lifetime to help the one person who has taught him so much about life. I don't know if I truly believe what Alex did was really the right thing, but I can see how he believes that it was the best route to take.

This is a unique story, with a great narrator, I really believe that Alex does a sensational job telling the story of one of the most meaningful points of his life and how it has changed him. There is a lot of great humour throughout the story, there is sarcasm and wit, and yet Alex is still so naive about a lot of things in life.