Blog Tour: Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace

Hello! Welcome to my stop for the Meet Me in Outer Space blog tour!

This blog tour is hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. I received a free eARC from Xpresso Book Tours, NetGalley, and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book:

Title: Meet Me in Outer Space

Author: Melinda Grace

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Release Date: March 12, 2019

Published by: Swoon Reads

ISBN: 1250154332 (ISBN13: 9781250154330)

Smart and unflinching, this #OwnVoices debut contemporary novel stars an ambitious college student who refuses to be defined by her central auditory processing disorder.

Edie Kits has a learning disability. Well, not a learning disability exactly, but a disability that impacts her learning. It isn’t visible, it isn’t obvious, and it isn’t something she likes to advertise.

And for three semesters of college, her hard work and perseverance have carried her through. Edie thinks she has her disability under control until she meets her match with a French 102 course and a professor unwilling to help her out.

Edie finds herself caught between getting the help she needs and convincing her professor that she isn’t looking for an easy out. Luckily for Edie, she has an amazing best friend, Serena, who is willing to stitch together a plan to ensure Edie’s success. And then there’s Hudson, the badly dressed but undoubtedly adorable TA in her French class who finds himself pulled into her orbit…

Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan’s young adult imprint Swoon Reads, Meet Me in Outer Space is a sweet, heartachingly real story of love and college life by debut author Melinda Grace.

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

About the Author

Melinda Grace

Website | Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter

Melinda Grace wrote her first piece of fiction in middle school, but didn’t write a complete story until an introduction to creative writing course at SUNY Oswego, where she earned a BA in human development. She went on to earn a MS E.D. in counseling and currently works as a school counselor. When she’s not guiding the youth of America, she’s planning her next vacation to Disney World, laminating anything she can get her hands on, and binge watching Netflix. MEET ME IN OUTER SPACE is her debut novel, publishing March 2019.

My Review

This book has a beautiful and solid I CAN DO THIS story that will remind you of hope and to never give up on your dreams.

I love Edie. She continues to persevere and does her best despite the obstacles thrown her way. She does not let anything bring her down, and does her best to overcome each challenge. Her dream is her beacon of light, and she’s willing to brave every stormy sea just to reach it. She understood herself, her disability, and she acknowledged the fact that she needed help.

I also love how supportive she is. Wait till you read about the volleyball games. She may have a disability, but nope, this girl’s a lioness when it comes to loyalty.

In the beginning, I did not expect to like Hudson at all. He was a bit insensitive to Edie’s feelings regarding her disability, and overdid himself on catering to her disability, but I think that’s pretty normal for someone who’s never had this. Anyway, he may be cute, but he was a bit dull at first. He turned out to be okay in the end though, so that’s that.

I love the plot, how it was about a girl braving her disability to reach her dreams. But the story itself lacked some ‘high stakes’. It had little to no spice and made it lacking on heart-pounding fun even for a contemporary.

While reading this book, I found ‘fun’ on little things were thrown my way though! I enjoyed the fashion terms and tidbits of foreign languages (I love learning languages!). Seriously, I learned a lot about fashion.

The book was hard to get in to at first mostly because it has slow pacing, but it turned out good.

The writing is great. It made me understand just what is Edie up against. It made me realize how hard it is to have a hearing disorder, to be greatful that I don’t have one, and to admire those who have it but still continue to love life and see the beauty in it.

Meet Me in Outer Space made a great story. I’m just not sure if it is that memorable, but I actually like it. I wasn’t satisfied with the book as a whole. When the ending came, I was so ready for it to be over but it lacked some things and I just didn’t feel a sense of completeness by the time I finished it.

Meet me in Outer Space is a deeply moving novel that will give hope and courage to every reader.