Across the Universe

Across the Universe

By Beth Revis

Genre: Science Fiction

My Rating: 4 stars

Summary taken from goodreads.com:  Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

This book has received so much hype that I pre-ordered it.  And it took me 3 days to read it.  Not the "I couldn't put it down!" everyone else raved about.

The story's good, don't get me wrong.  I'm definitely glad I read it.  If you know me, you know I love dystopian science-fiction stuff.  Which is totally what this is.  

The reason it took me so long to read it was:

The story takes FOREVER to get started.  Granted, the first chapter was intense.  Then it seems like chapter after chapter we're getting to know Elder (who reminds me A LOT of Jonas from The Giver. )  The chapters alternate to let us know Amy's perspective.   Oh yeah, she's frozen.  What does she have to contribute to the story?  Not much until she's unfrozen.  Though it is interesting how Revis depicts awareness while being frozen for a couple hundred years.

Then, about 2/3 of the way through the story starts to pick up.  So does the sex.  Am I seriously so old-fashioned that I dislike sex in teen lit so much?  Maybe.  Do I want to read chapter after chapter of characters going at it?  Definitely not.  Though I understand how it contributed to this story, I still don't think it was necessary.

The reason it got 4 stars:

 Finally, about 3/4 of the way into the story, it picks up.  Now, I'm RIVETED.  I want to know what the big secret to this space ship is.  I'm waiting for that big reveal.  I keep coming across more similarities in this book to The Giver and City of Ember.  (They are awesome books, by the way!)

Then finally, the big reveal comes.  And it's good!  No wonder there were so many secrets kept!  And then there's more reveal!  And more reveal!  And FINALLY, this is where I can't put the book down!  No wonder people are calling this book awesome!

Catch your breath, the story's over.  Ah, Amy, my heart breaks for you.  And oh Elder, I totally admire what you do in the very end of the story.  :)  

I did like the character development of all the major characters and the love story that develops between Amy and Elder.

So, yeah, I'm glad I read it.  And I will recommend it to others.  I'm just sad it took me 2/3 of the way through the book to view it as the awesome book everyone else is raving about.   I wish I had been hooked from page 1 and never let go.  

But still--read it.  You'll probably be hooked from page 1 and never let go, like the rest of the Across the Universe readers. ;) 

Favorite quote:- “It is like a piece of my soul had been lost, empty, and it is now filled with the light of a million stars.”