Search - Across the Universe

Where to begin on this review? I have no clue; I have a feeling I’m going to be rambling so I apologize in advance.

What I loved:

• Amy. She is a great character. She is very strong-willed and driven. Once she “wakes up”, she doesn’t waste significant amount of time feeling sorry for herself. She quickly tries to figure out what the hell happened.

• YA vs teen. I often find that a book that is labeled “Young Adult” is really a pre-teen or teen book. Here, while the story is geared towards the younger adult, it is clear that it is not geared towards the pre-teen. There are plenty of references to sex and other adult subjects (euthanasia). I’m not sure why I liked that the book was properly labeled but I did. I do not claim to make sense in my reviews, I just write them.

• The story. I love the story and the concept. For the 1st 150 pages, I was completely and thoroughly smitten.

What I did not like:

• Ok, so if you have any science background at all be gentle. I live with the world’s biggest history/science nerd. His idea of a hot date is the science channel for dinner followed by the history channel for dessert. If you speak DNA and RNA to him, he considers it seduction. Therefore, I (against my wishes) learn more about science than I ever wanted to. The scientific explanations given in the book did not make sense and I am sure I overanalyzed them (a bad habit of mine). At some point, I had to remind myself this book was fiction and that the science was entertainment and nothing more.

• I became bored. The big mystery was very easy to figure out. Once I figured it out, I was annoyed that Elder and Amy had not figured it out. I mean come on, Elder is supposed to lead everyone eventually and he can’t figure out the big secret?

• Mild spoiler- don’t read next one if concerned about mild spoiler………………………….

• Mild Spoiler ………“Spaceship”, “breeding”, “mating”, “forced birth control”, “everyone knowing their place”, “independent, strong-minded female”- does it sound like another book that came out in 2010?

3.5 stars out of 5
Overall I did enjoy the book. I’ll even probably read book 2.

WOW!

I think this word over and over again throughout the reading of Across the Universe, by Beth Revis. A Young Adult novel, it is literally a murder mystery in space, in a universe that stretches on and on, infinite and vast. And how incredibly lonely it is when stuck on a ship traveling in it.

Amy is sixteen-years-old and lives with her parents on our Earth. Her parents are gifted, a talented genetic scientist is her mother, and her father is a brilliant military tactician. They are essential to a new world that 100 other gifted members of society are selected to make a journey to Centauri-Earth, a world where oxygen and water samples have returned successfully, necessary for human survival. These people will be cryogenically frozen to journey 300 years to this new world to help begin life on that planet.

But, Amy is not essential to this new planet. She's just a kid, but is permitted to go because of her parents, and she is frozen into the 300 year sleep along with her parents on the ship called Godspeed.

Fifty years before the intended arrival to this new world, Amy awakes when she is unplugged and separated from her cryo-haven, surviving an attempted murder -- and no one knows who did it. Forced with the reality that she is now living in a small city that exists on the metal ship, where everyone awakens to a fake sun and drinks recycled water, Amy bonds with Elder, also sixteen. This new life is all that she will now have and she is also awake before her parents. She's now alone. Elder is next in line to lead the ship after the current aging leader, known as Eldest, passes on. But, now amidst the safety of a world which doesn't know questions and chaos, someone is starting to kill again, and they're targeting the frozen people hidden in a ship that only a few select people know about.

I was lucky to score an Advance Reader's Copy at the SIBA Trade Show in Daytona Beach last weekend, part of my loot of 47 books. The release date for this book is January 2011, and color me giddy with excitement for how this book will be received by everyone. It has all of the elements that all murder mysteries need, which completely satiated my desire for a good "whodunit," all amidst the realities of space and the cage of Godspeed.

I could not put the book down, and my eyes were growing heavy with sleep late into the night as I kept telling myself "just one more page." Each chapter switches between Amy's and Elder's perspective, allowing you to experience each of their own stories. Normally, I tend to like one character more than another when chapters switch like that and want to hurry to get to the next chapter, but not with this one. As each chapter switched characters, I was excited, ready to find out more and uncover the mystery that each of them were facing.

I cannot tell you more about the plot without giving anything away - I can only tell you that I loved this book, this story with characters so real and interesting and engaging. I was drawn into their angst, their confusions, and the mystery that they were trying to solve. There is even more to this story, discussions of class systems, prejudice, and other social issues that were fascinating. I admit that I sit on the edge of my seat wishing for 2011 to pass quickly so that I can get my hands all over Book Two -- oh, yes, this is a series! Yes, yes, yes!

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Quick review: Good, but not quite great.

This was my first foray into YA with a sci-fi twist, and I would gladly pick up another similar book. It actually took me two attempts to get through it--the first time I lost interest and set it aside, to be picked up again months later. You tell me something is even vaguely dystopian, and I have to read it. Immediately. And I honestly think that was part of my problem with this book--there were and are so many other dystopian YA novels out there right now, and this one just didn't immediately grab me. While it definitely got more interesting as it went on, I found the plot early in the book to be too predictable, and the characters lacking in depth (and communication skills!) throughout the book. While I did eventually grow to like Amy and Elder and a few of the other characters in their world, it took a bit to develop an affinity for them and I still kept wishing for more depth in them. Elder was...frustrating... at times, to say the least.

The sci-fi aspect is unique and very intriguing, though I don't know how strong the actual science behind it was. Life inside a ship hurtling through space made for an interesting setting, and the claustrophobic feeling of needing to escape and having nowhere to escape to was very well done.

I'll definitely be reading the sequel and any future books written by Beth Revis, but I'm not sure that I would stick this one on my "keeper" shelf.

Fantastic! I had no idea it was so centered around genetics, which was pure bliss for the biologist in me. The book moved fairly fast, with a new twist practically ever chapter! I never knew where this book was headed!

It had alternating chapters of Elder and Amy. I loved the earth shattering revelations coming to light with another on its heels! It's hard to say anything really without spoiling something, but all I can say is I got some things right and a lot of things wrong. A great read! I tore through it in less than two days!

Also, loved how the dust cover for the hardback edition has a map of the ship on the inside that acts like a reversible cover. Just makes it all the more awesome! A whole world at the tips of your fingers. It had the feel of Star Trek only as far as the ship and hierarchy but then takes it in a whole new direction that is a mix of sci-fi, romance, dystopian, and murder mystery. Blends all so well!

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is a heartpounding sci-fi/mystery by debut author Beth Revis. Whether or not you are a fan of science fiction, you’ll be pulled into the mysteries that the Godspeed contains, and this future world that Beth has so stunningly created for us readers.

Perhaps most impressive about this book is the development of the ship, Godspeed, and its inner workings and secrets. From reproduction to crop control to emotional stasis, the people who run this ship have created an eerily controlled dystopian environment. No concept is too complicated for a non-science person to understand. It creeps you out yet keeps you glued to the pages.

Amy and Elder are enjoyably well-rounded. Amy is headstrong but not annoyingly so, as many female protagonists have a tendency to be when faced with dramatic situations. Elder, likewise, is a sweetheart, with both his vulnerabilities and leadership. Other characters occasionally fall a bit unbelievably flat, such as Eldest’s unconvincingly one-dimensional villainy. Still, the pacing moves the story along nicely. Beth Revis makes use of the actual space on the page and crafts her sentences to appropriately reflect the amount of tension in the situations, adding to the mood.

The conclusion of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is explosive yet satisfyingly so, leaving you wanting the sequel. This book just might convince many readers to be interested in science fiction. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to Amy, Elder, and Godspeed next!