"I stopped at a photo I had seen earlier in the week, the one with my dress pooled in my lap, pins in my mouth. That was who I was. The Edie who had dreams , ideas, goals yet achieved. I’d snipped away a piece of that Edie to make room for Hudson. Carefully trimming my edges and serging him in without even realizing it."

Edie Kits, Meet Me in Outer Space

Told with flurries of beautifully woven language and a fresh point of view, Meet Me in Outer Space opened my eyes to the invisible; the timeless romanticism of the French language in its simplests forms, the appreciation and thought behind high fashion (at least what I consider high fashion, since I'm a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy)  and the empowering perseverance it takes to overcome a disability that isn't obvious to the eye and mostly misinderstood. 

Edie Kits, the star of this tale, is a likeable protagonist with agency. She has goals (passing a difficult French class so she'll qualify for a semester of studying fashion in Paris), challenges (an auditory processing disorder that most most mistake for a hearing disability) and a fun supporting cast. The friendship between her and her roommate, Serena, feels natural and genuine with dialogue that pops with a sense that these two characters are people with a real history. 

The will they, won't they relationship Edie has with a helpful and unabashedly   lovestruck T.A. named Hudson never tires but provides dramatic lift to a cinematic conclusion of the book that I will not spoil here. That being said, I would've liked to learn more about him. There are hints to his own unique challenges but not enough for me to feel fully satisifed with his prescence in the novel. This doesn't distract from the story at all but is more of a personal preference since Hudson is the kind of character I would like to hang out with in real life. Fingers crossed we get to learn more about him in a sequel.

Are you looking for a story that is fun or enlightening? Say yes to both and pick up this book.

This book was a really cute read that I found hard to put down! I loved the story, and the characters felt real and flawed, which I loved. I think it handles disability in a very refreshing and respectful way, and I appreciate that it was a big part of the story and not something mentioned once and then forgotten. I do wish that the book had a more conclusive ending, or perhaps some sort of epilogue. It felt like it sort of ended abruptly. But overall, I was really pleased and surprised by this heartwarming book.

I loved Edie from the very first misunderstood line right to the very satisfying ending. This book was not only fun to read but showed a set of unique characters that, as a high school English teacher, I think is lacking from most YA novels. I always read books with two perspectives--first, my own and second, my students. I'm constantly searching for new books that might capture their attention and help them fall in love with reading and this was definitely a solid candidate. I would love to have a copy of this book on my shelf right now for them to grab. It has great humor with a strong storyline and touches on real issues that I think they should be exposed to in literature. I cried at Hudson's letter and found myself with the biggest dorkiest smile on my face by the very end. Overall, a wonderful read!

I'm so glad I didn't have to wait until on March 12th 2019 to have such a delightful reading experience. And why is that? Here is a list:
- every chapter has an awesome title (such a nice surprise! I love that in a book!)
- relatable, easy to connect with, strong heroine (also, Edie's perseverance and ambition!)
- own voices
- sweet cute college romance
- strong friendship (Serena! We need more books where girls support each other)
- amazing chemistry between the main characters
-book-boyfriend-caring-supportive-understanding-I-need-him-in-my-life Hudson
- lots of smiling and swooning
- no unnecessary drama or crazy unbelievable situations
- no cheating
- lines in French and other foreign languages - studying foreign languages
- fashion and style (THE DRESS!!)
- fighting for your dreams
- Paris talking
- pizza cheering (Always!)
- photography
- volleyball and how to be a proper supporter
- stars and outer space
- dates you'll want to have in real life

I loved Melinda Grace's writing. This book has so much heart, so much real emotion. I read that she has the same disability like her character Edie and I think she is so brave and strong to talk about it through this book and especially through Edie, encouraging others to open up too. If this is her first book, well YA and Contemporary fans and not only, prepare yourself for a starry future ensured by her books.
I'm so grateful to have gotten an early copy of this, and I'm excited for others to get to read it, too!

I love reading books with different themes- learning disabilities, mental health issues, etc.  I love seeing the inner workings of someone’s mind and thoughts when coping with these things. Unfortunately for me this one fell flat in that regard. 

Edie was just so... whiny. She was whiny to the point of feeling more attention seeking than someone who was just frustrated with people’s lack of understanding. There was some explanation in the beginning of the book as to how this disability works, but that was it. Edie actually got legitimately angry at Hudson when he asked her to explain it to him. She acted as if he was viewing her as a sideshow and not as a person. Uh no.. he was genuinely curious about it. She complained so much that people weren’t understanding and then complained when someone tried to learn about it. She just came across as very juvenile. 

I actually liked Hudson. I thought he seemed like a pretty cool guy, but I don’t feel like he was developed well. After finishing the book I’m still not positive that I have a grasp on his personality. 

The book itself was okay. The biggest issue I had was that It just.. ended. The chapter ends and there is no more. We never get an epilogue involving Paris which was such a huge theme in the book. 

This book very much read like a YA novel set in a college atmosphere. It was unbelievably clean. No joke, a 14 year old could read it and aside from very mild cursing and the phrase “sexual tension” they would be just fine. 

Overall, this book was just okay. I wouldn’t suggest it to someone, but i was able to finish it without any issue. 

<i> ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>

Meet Me In Outer Space By Melinda Grace is an AMAZING read. I could not put this one down and I loved the twist such a surprise. A Must read for all.