Gavin Extence Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Gavin Extence
Gavin Extence was born in 1982 and grew up in the interestingly named village called Swineshead, Lincolnshire. He has his PhD in film studies.

From the ages of 5 to 11, he enjoyed this brief yet illustrious career as a chess player, winning numerous national championships and traveled to St. Petersburg and Moscow to pit his wits against the finest young minds in all of Russia. He won just one game.

When Gavin’s not busy writing, he enjoys cooking, going to Alton Towers, and amateur astronomy.

“The Universe Versus Alex Woods” is the first stand alone novel and was released in 2013. A story of an unexpected friendship, an improbable journey, and an unlikely hero, this story treads the fine line between laughter, dark and light, and tears. It may also just strike you as being one of the funniest, most heartbreaking novels that you have ever read.

Alex Woods knows that he has not had the most conventional of starts in life. He knows that growing up with a clairvoyant single mom isn’t going to endear him to the local bullies. And he knows that even the most improbable events can still happen, he has the scars to prove it.

What he doesn’t yet know is that when he meets reclusive and ill-tempered widower Mr. Peterson, he will make himself an unlikely friend. Somebody that tells him you get just one chance at life. That you must make the best possible choices.

So when he gets stopped when he’s 17 at Dover Customs with 113 grams of marijuana, an urn filled with ashes on the passenger seat, and the whole nation in an uproar, he is fairly certain that he has done the right thing.

“The Universe Versus Alex Woods” won the Waverton Good Read Award and was nominated for a Desmond Elliott Prize. The book also won the Waterstones 11 literary prize.

“The Mirror World of Melody Black” is the second stand alone novel and was released in 2015. It all begins, like these things sometimes will, with a dead man. He was a neighbor, not somebody that Abby knew all that well, but still, finding a corpse when you just came over to borrow a tin of tomatoes, that comes as quite a shock. At least it should.

Now she can’t shake the feeling that had she not gone into Simon’s flat, if she had her typical Wednesday night instead, then none of what happened next would’ve happened. And she never would have met Melody Black.

Witty and wild, true and searing, this is about the fine line which separates normal from not, and how life can possibly spin, quite swiftly, out of control.

“The Empathy Problem” is the third stand alone novel and was released in 2016. Gabriel is driven by power, money, and success, and he’s worked ruthlessly in order to get to the absolute top of the banking game. He won’t let the inconvenience of some terminal brain tumor get in the way. However this tumor has got other ideas. While growing, it seems to be doing some pretty odd things to his personality. Whether he likes it or not, he appears to be getting less mercenary, less selfish, and less unlikable. Once upon a time, he could dismiss the rest of humanity as being irrelevant. Now he isn’t so sure.

Women are becoming worryingly three-dimensional. And none more so than Caitlin, the unremarkable girl that he sees busking on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral. When she plays her violin, Gabriel could just about believe that she has a soul. However with each day that passes brings him closer to his last, could time have run out for second chances?

Gavin pushes the envelope yet again with another thought provoking and funny book about the surprises (both bad and good) that life can throw at us.

“The End of Time” is the fourth stand alone novel and was released in 2019. Under the stars, on this stony beach, stand these two teenaged brothers.

They’re wearing life jackets which are much too big for them and their most precious belongings are sealed in these waterproof bags tucked inside of the rucksacks on their backs.

Turkey is behind them and Europe lies ahead, this dark and desperate swim away. They don’t know what’ll be coming next, however they are soon going to meet a man that does. He calls himself Jesus, the Messiah. He’s disheveled, barefoot, and smells strongly of booze.

And he doesn’t believe in chance meetings at all. He believes he’s got information about the future, it’s information which change three lives forever.

This is a great book, that has you walking every single mile with Mohammed, Zain, and Jesus. Even when their epic journey appeared to be hopeless, their story still remains hopeful. This is an epic story of courage, brotherly love, and resilience. It’s a sensitively written, compassionate, and heart warming must read.

“Finding Phoebe” is the fifth stand alone novel and was released in 2023. Phoebe is autistic. She prefers to just stay in her comfort as she walks her dog, writes fantasy fiction, and surviving school with as few incidents as she can.

When her best (also only) friend rebels and gets herself a secret boyfriend, Phoebe hesitantly agrees to cover for her. Before too long, Phoebe is the one dealing with all kinds of things she would rather not, like fashionable jackets, deception, and the bewildering politics of the school’s chess club. Breaking the rules was never Phoebe’s thing, however while events take this seriously unexpected turn, she realizes that there is much more to her than she had ever imagined.

“Finding Phoebe” was longlisted for the Branford Boase Award.

Gavin gives neurodiversity a voice, and here it is enlightening and uplifting all at the same time. It is a lovely story with a unique and compelling protagonist. He tackles a subject which has become taboo these days and deserves to see the light in YA fiction. This is totally enchanting, while being funny and warm, with a kind heart, exactly like Phoebe who’s a wonderfully charming character to spend some time with.