Book Review: “At the Edge of the Universe”

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson is centered around a guy, who goes by the name Ozzie, on whom the world is closing in on, literally. Things and people are disappearing one by one, starting with Tommy. Ozzie and Tommy are seniors in high school and have been dating since eighth grade until one day Tommy vanished. No, he didn’t run away. There was simply no trace that he even existed. After Tommy, states began to disappear, then countries, and then even continents.

This is the beginning of a series of events that include Ozzie trying to convince people that Tommy really did exist. Including his own mother. All the while, the universe is closing in on him and things are disappearing one by one and Ozzie knows he has limited time to find Tommy.

There are, of course, still other things in Ozzie’s life that persist, besides the world getting smaller and everything. He is dealing with changes at home and in his friendships, along with a new guy, Calvin, coming into his life and he’s not exactly sure what he means to him.

I think the atmosphere of this book is very fitting. There is a very unsettling vibe with the mystery aspect that makes the story impact you so much more. I definitely recommend reading this book because you’ll feel like you’re there with the characters. It is one of those things you can not possibly imagine happening to you, and so, as a result, reading it happen to someone else makes it even more interesting.

One thing I noticed is this book was very dark. I mean just think about it, you know someone your whole life and suddenly they disappear. Now the world is slowly getting smaller and you try to figure why and what is happening, while having to deal with your own family and friend drama. On top of that, nobody suspects anything is wrong. Doesn’t sound too happy, does it. The book conveys that feeling well all the way through.

This book makes you think about things from a different perspective including love, family, friendships and the world. The characters themselves are very diverse which is refreshing because sometimes it seems like characters in books can be cliche and boring. Overall, I rate this book at a 7/7 and recommend it to people who like science fiction and mystery books.

Edit: The originally posted article did not mention the current grade of Ozzie and Tommy.

Jodie McGee

Jodie has been apart of The Panther Eye for two years, prior to this year. She is now editor of the Life & Arts section. This year she plans on writing reviews, as well as providing other information about the Life & Arts part of High School life.