Across the Universe by Beth RevisSource: Library
Publisher: Razorbill
Format: Hardcover, 398 pages
Release Date: January 11, 2011
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.I can honestly say that Across the Universe is like nothing I've read before. I mean that in the best way possible!
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.
From the first chapter, you are sucked into this fascinating vortex. Amy is being cryogenically frozen along with her parents and the details are vividly horrifying. It's not exactly a pleasant process and every step is explored with excruciating depth - it's frexing awesome!
This novel is told from alternating points of view which I think was done really well. Amy and Elder have two very distinct voices and because of the insanely different lives the two have led, it was always a refreshing change to step into a new perspective. Amy and Elder both have strong personalities - you see them grow, change and evolve. There are things they know, things they think they know, and things that are completely foreign to them. All of it was handled realistically and, in my opinion, with serious skill.
Although I did guess the villain almost immediately, it didn't take too much away from the story. There are still plenty of smaller twists and one particularly gigantic one at the end (DID NOT see that coming - I'm still reeling!) The entire concept of Across the Universe is extraordinary.
Read this for a novel that I can guarantee will leave you thinking for days!
Cover Comments: This cover was such a huge source of confusion for me when I first saw it. All I could think was, "what the heck are those sparkly pink blobs?!" Then I read a comment talking about how cool the positioning of the faces were or something and I was more like, "OHHHHHHHHHH."
I do love it though! The colours are so vibrant and I like how it matches up with the story.
5 stars
Across the Universe was an odd but a fantastic novel because it's so different to what I've read before in YA fiction. Can't wait to read the sequel! Great review.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you liked this so much! I have a copy at home, but I haven't read it yet :( Everyone's been saying how utterly amazing this is, so I think it's about time I read it too! Fantastic review <3 Definitely looking forward to reading it!
ReplyDeleteI would like to read this for I have not read any books which has a theme outside this world...
ReplyDeleteYay! So frexing happy you've finally read (and loved) this! Just in time for A Million Suns :D Totally agree, this was so unlike any other novel I've read. It made me want to read MORE sci-fi type of books. Fabulous review, Sonia!
ReplyDeleteAnother person confused by the cover! When I first saw it, everyone was ooh and ahhing, and I was like, "What...is that?" Then I stared at it some more and figured it out :P. I've yet to read this (been on my tbr for so long now), but from your review, it sounds awesome! Can't wait to start it - awesome review!
ReplyDeleteI like that you said Amy and Elder have different voices -- it seems like that'd be hard to write, but I love the way those types of books read. I've heard lots of good things about this; I need to get around to reading it soon.
ReplyDeleteHa, I had the same problem with the cover. At first I thought it was a sideways hourglass or something, until the blogger mentioned more about it.
I very much enjoyed this book. The only thing i was bummed about was, before i had read it, a lot of bloggers talked about "the mystery" and "clues" and stuff, so i was all excited. But when i read it, i figured out the mystery stuff right away, and therefore was a little bummed. BUT, that was probably just because other bloggers hyped it a bit too much for me.
ReplyDeleteMarlene Detierro (Local Search Engine Optimization San Antonio)