Somewhere in Nowhere is a tender YA contemporary about coming out, anxiety, and friendship. It’s a quick read but is a great story about finding our voice and leaning on our friends and family for support. Keep reading this book review of Somewhere in Nowhere for my full thoughts.
Summary
Coming out is hard, especially when you have two gay moms. At least it is for Simon Bugg. He doesn’t want the world to think that having gay parents has turned him gay. And he certainly doesn’t want anyone to know about the alien in his stomach that’s trying to kill him.
It’s Simon’s senior year and his world just turned upside down. When his mom scores a dream job, Simon lands at a new school away from the only friends he has ever known. Now, his mom is overworked and chronically stressed, and his deadbeat dad is back on the scene. Navigating a new school and new friends is a challenge for a neurotic overthinker, and Simon finds himself turning to his rescue cat and a local barista for support. But when Simon meets the handsome PJ in drama class, he gets talked into a date that he derails in spectacular fashion.
With a little help from his friends—new and old—Simon finds his way back to PJ. But how can he have a real relationship with the boy of his dreams when he’s convinced he’s going to die? No one knows about the nightly alien attacks at 11:22. Why then, and why do they keep getting worse? Simon must face a dark secret inside before he loses his chance with the boy he loves.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Somewhere in Nowhere is an emotional story about friendship, family, and love. It’s about realizing we had these feelings, these motions, and not knowing or who to vocalize to in the moment. There are some deeply emotional curve balls I was not expecting, but it’s a story which was more intense than I thought based on the summary. It’s a great framework for an entertaining and quick story, but I wish some side characters and some situations were a bit more expanded. There’s this genuine vulnerability which I enjoyed, but I just wish we had a few more moments to dwell in it. Somewhere in Nowhere is a book which handles the whole emotional roller coaster.
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I really enjoyed the family themes within Somewhere in Nowhere and how his relationship progressed with his father. There are some obviously cute friendship moments and the figuring out our first love was another lighthearted and precious moment. Find Somewhere in Nowhere on Goodreads, Storygraph, Bookshop. org, & Blackwells.