Book-Very Far Away From Anywhere Else

Very Far Away From Anywhere Else is written by Ursula K. LeGuin, best known for her fantasy/sci-fi books.

But she also writes other material, and this slight novel (a bare 87 pages, more of a novella) is really good. I first read it in 1981, 27 years ago. But time has not diminished this story of a young man who feels different that other high schoolers, and feels quite alone. He finds a friend in a headstrong young woman...someone he really feels himself with. But by his actions, he messes up that important, life-changing friendship.

It is a work that really catches that feeling in high school of no one quite understanding you. Of feeling alien. It evokes a time in life before you have truly found yourself, and feel a bit lost. And of a moment, when you begin to see who you are, or at least who you can be.

Really nicely written, without being overdone. The first person narrative is not whiny, but stays on an even keel, and is more evocative because of that.