ARC REVIEW: The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence

Title/Series: The Universe Versus Alex Woods
Author: Gavin Extence
Publisher: Redhook
Expected publication: May 21st 2013
Format: eBook | Pages: 320
Genre: YA, Contemporary, British Literature
Source: NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
★★★★ (4/5) Stars!

Gavin Extence | Twitter | Goodreads

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.

It all starts with the end. You know you've seen it in movies sometimes. It starts out with maybe someone running through the woods, something is chasing them and when they burst through the trees they skid to a halt right at the edge of a cliff, only to be brought around form an earlier point to show how they ended up there. While there's no cliff, no woods, except maybe Alex ;), and nobody chasing him. What we do have is a young man, an urn of ashes....and quite a bit of marijuana being stopped at the border in a somewhat intense situation. This is how we meet Alex Woods.

Alex Woods comes across to me as that of someone with Asperger's Disorder might. There's that social disconnect. Like he doesn't have a filter at times. He has a thought, and he voices it. How ever (in)appropriate it may be. The way he tells us the tale of his life thus far was very heart warming and humorous at times, even a bit heartbreaking. His life hasn't been easy. And I find it difficult to put my thoughts into words without giving anything away, so this will probably be rather short.

It really is a quite charming story, from a memoir sort of stance. It isn't fast and action packed, though there are a few sort of intense situations like how he met Mr. Peterson to begin with or in his dealing with local bullies, and It isn't filled with stories of love and romance. It's just quite simply a very interesting story of a young man's, for the most part, very unlucky and unlikely life. Very thought provoking and heavy at times but enjoyable nonetheless. I look forward to reading more from Gavin Extence in the future.