Hello! Welcome to the next stop on the Meet Me in Outer Space blog tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. This is an informational post that will also contain a small excerpt from the book. There's also a giveaway at the bottom!
Title: MEET ME IN OUTER SPACE
Author: Melinda Grace
Pub. Date: March 12th 2019
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Genres: Contemporary, YA
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.
Author Bio:
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.
“It’s pretty goddamn obvious he is.” Serena snapped a picture.
I continued to pick at the cut threads.
“You like him, don’t you?” Serena broke the silence. “Paris,” I said instinctually, though it hurt this time.
Serena huffed. “Forget Paris for five seconds. Do you like him?”
“Forget Paris? Seriously?”
“Do you like him, though?” she asked.
I cleared my throat. “No,” I lied, lifting my head as I pushed the fabric to the side. “Only as a friend.”
“Liar,” Serena replied. “Admit you like him.”
I crossed my arms. I would not admit that. Admitting that meant there could be a reason to keep me from going to Paris. Admitting that meant the possibility of regret. No. Edie Kits didn’t do regret, at least not big-scale regret.
“I don’t.”
“You do,” Serena said. “But I’ll let you deny it.”
“You’ll let me deny it?” I asked with a chuckle. “Gee, thanks, boss.”
She snapped a few more pictures.
“Can we talk about you for, like, two seconds?” I asked.
“I know what you’re going to ask, and I don’t want to jinx anything,” she said, coming around the table so she was next to me.
I lifted the fabric, laying one piece on top of the other as I began to pin them together. These photographs were more than just an assignment; despite how Serena viewed her tal- ent, they had the potential to win her a spot in the annual student art showcase. “I know there’s a chance this project could win you some real attention,” I said, ignoring her comment. “Do you think you have a chance?” I asked, rum- maging through the pin box for all the yellow-tipped ones. “Like, am I enough to potentially win this for you?”
Serena set her camera on the table before adjusting her hoodie. She pulled at the cuffs, tucking her hands in, only her fingers poking out.
“Answer the question,” I said. “Is this”—I waved over the pile of fabric that sat on the table in front of me—“going to make it?”
“I mean, maybe . . .” Serena pushed her hands out of her hoodie and into the front pocket. “I’d like to think that if I have the talent, then the subject doesn’t matter.” She tapped her left toe into the floor several times.
“And you do have the talent,” I said.
She dropped her head back, her face toward the ceiling. “I don’t know. A girl can hope, right?”
I laughed. “Someone with your talent doesn’t need to hope.”
“Boss,” she said, righting her head. “I know you’re all woo-hoo, girl power about what you do, but I’m not nearly as confident.”
“I know you aren’t,” I said, putting down the chalk pen- cil I’d been holding. “But you are good at this. I would never bullshit you about that.” I put my hands on her shoulders.
She let out a deep breath, her shoulders sinking a bit. “Sewing machine.” I gestured with my chin toward the bank of machines.
“I guess all I can say is that I’m going to try my hardest to make this project interesting and relatable,” she said as she followed me to the sewing machine. “I feel like that’s the most important aspect . . . that people can relate to it.”
I adjusted the chair to my height and threaded the machine. “Absolutely,” I said. “I’m just saying that I hope that this project is relatable.”
She shrugged, pointing her camera in my direction. “I think everyone can relate to hard work and dedication to something they are passionate about.”
Giveaway:
Tour-wide giveaway (US/CAN)
Print copy of Meet Me in Outer Space
I thought this was a good YA-goes-to-college type book. I adored Hudson, and found the information about Serena's auditory processing disorder interesting.
ReplyDeleteDo you think this one should have been classified as NA? I feel like that's a genre we don't see too much of, but I really enjoy books with a college setting (or at least has characters that are out of high school, but not quite adults). A Curse So Dark and Lonely had a main character with cerebral palsy, and I like that more books are including characters with disorders. It's interesting to view the world through their perspective. Glad you enjoyed this! :)
DeleteOh wow, I was tested for something similar as an early teen, just before I had lost almost all my hearing in one ear. I think it's often confused with dyslexia, in the same way that if I'm writing down something that someone is telling me, I often mix up my numbers. I've heard what they've said but it doesn't translate to what I'm writing. With me it's only numerical though. I'm really keen to read this one Linds, thank you for putting it on my radar!
ReplyDeleteI've taught students with similar disorders, and it is frequently confused with dyslexia. People are always quick to jump to ADD/ADHD/dyslexia, regardless of the symptoms. It's frustrating. Sometimes kids have a lot of energy, and medication is rarely the only solution. I'm happy I could bring this one to your attention! <3
DeleteThis is a disorder I haven't seen much about so that in itself is interesting. And it sounds like Edie has some awesome support in Serena!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely an interesting concept! Do you think you'll read this one eventually?
DeleteI've added it to my "check for at the library" list but that's a long list and one than I tend to go to only when I can't decide what to read. :)
DeleteMy library list is looooooong. ;)
DeleteI'm going to check Hoopla for it. 👍✨
ReplyDeleteIf you have a chance to read it, come back and share your thoughts! :)
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