Book Review: Across The Universe by Beth Revis

Across The Universe by Beth Revis

Reading Level: Young Adult

Release Date: Available Now

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 416

Source: Received from publisher for honest review

Summary: A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder. Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awake 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 a 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.

My Review: Holy spaceballs! Across The Universe, showcased a highly elaborate civilization designed to keep humanity at a peaceful standstill. Aboard the spaceship, Godspeed, the leader Eldest and his trainee Elder were in charge of keeping the different compartments in check. Each level's day by day jobs contributed a hopeful outlook into the new planet's future landing. Before this strange and isolated community was formulated, the plan was to freeze a good amount of Earthly residents who would last the three hundred years of traveling. Their role was to bring useful information that would help people survive on the new planet. Among the frozen, were Amy and her intelligent, and essential parents. Now, an unfortunate disturbance causes Amy to wake up earlier than expected.

Without a choice, she is succumbed into a world where people consider her a freak. Amy is just a lonely girl surrounded by others who all share the same appearance and behavior (not counting the "crazies" in the ward.) I absolutely loved Amy, hands down one of the strongest females developed. Beth first introduced Amy in between her awake and frozen state. The pure anguish of not knowing if you were actual dreaming or subconsciously awake was terrifying. I always joke around with my mother that I am going to freeze her. After reading the emotional drain Amy went through I would never want anybody to go through this procedure.

Luckily, once Amy struggles to make sense of this community, Elder befriends her. Elder's character was well thought out. His demeanor held differences to others around him, including Eldest. The dual narration between the two assisted me in creating a visually pleasing picture in my mind of not only there traits but their environment as well. The majority of the book circles around the mystery behind who is disarranging the boxes of frozen people. The speculation and non-stop action behind the murderer was thrilling. I seriously had no idea who could possibly be so heartless. But, in the end the outcome turned out amazing. So many secrets and backstabbing behavior was on a ship where ignorance was bliss.

Phew, as you can see there are so many aspects to this novel, I summarized more than usual. All in all, this promising start blew me away. The concept was brilliantly systematic from start to finish. It also presented a dystopian feel towards a life where humanity is sadly attached to strings with power hungry energy. Across The Universe, might have been wordy at times but, the writing and plot was so exquisite, I looked past the length. Beth Revis, I hear by crown you the queen of science fiction. *bows down to you* I still can't believe how innovative this debut was, it really pushed the YA bar for 2011. I can't wait to see what happens next in the sequel!

My Rating:

Book Trailer:

Author's Info:

Beth Revis lives in rural North Carolina with her husband and dog, and believes space is nowhere near the final frontier. Across the Universe is her first novel.

For more info on Beth, visit her sites:

-Website

-Twitter

-Facebook

-GoodReads