Across the Universe

*Spoiler Free*

This book is sorta science fiction meets dystopia. Now I love dystopian novels but I wasn't too sure about the science fiction aspect. After reading this book I'm sure... sure that I like science fiction! Because this book was great.

The storyline was fantastic and I felt a lot of sympathy for Amy. She gave up her whole life to be frozen, with the promise of waking up on a new planet. Except she's woken up too early. She is unable to be re-frozen so will most likely die before her own parents. Imagine, ageing whilst your parents remain the same age....it's awful to think about and I felt truly sorry for Amy. Elder has grown up on the ship and will one day lead it. I really liked Elder and loved how it switched from his perspective to Amy's. I could tell them both apart quite distinctly and it never felt as if scenes were being repeated, more of that they were being approached in alternative ways. I also liked how it came together at the end with both of them learning different revelations aboard the ship. It was also easy to feel sympathy for Elder and I felt frustrated alongside him about knowing so little of the ship. Eldest, yes EldEST not Elder, was a great villain and it was fun to hate him too.

The actual storyline was intriguing and held a lot of mysteries which were surprising and not what I expected. Beth Ravis also did a fantastic description of the ship and I genuinely felt trapped by its metal sky and lamp-sun. Imagine never being able to truly see the stars or the sun?! I think I would've gone crazy aboard that ship!

The ending was great, it was not an annoying cliff hanger that too often make an appearance in YA novels. It tied things up nicely whilst leaving room for the next book and all the suspense and mystery it is sure to hold.

THE VERDICT
4 stars - This was a tension filled book with many twists and turns, I really enjoyed it.

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So...Across the Universe. I've pretty much been dying to read it as soon as I read the summary and the first chapter. They ain't kidding when they say it's the best first chapter in the history of first chapters. Or close to it, anyway.

While, yes, the first chapter blew my mind away, the pace considerably slackens after it. In the first we find out that the spaceship's about to take off and that Amy's parents will be crucial to this new planet they're going to, and thus Amy tags along as well.

The next few chapters involve lots of internal monologues of Amy, seeing as she's been cryogenically frozen for THREE HUNDRED YEARS OMG. Well, she was supposed to, except someone woke her up fifty years before the scheduled, er, yeah, waking-up.

This book changes POV between Amy and Elder, and while Amy reminisces endlessly of her former life and her dreams and nightmares, Elder goes on about the ship seeking the answer to a question Eldest has assigned him. Eldest' the leader of the ship and Elder is to rule after him, except that freaking Eldest won't teach him properly.

So when Amy wakes up, Elder finds himself drawn to her, mostly due to the fact that she has wild red hair (the color the sun, which is replaced by a giant timed lightbulb in the spaceship, Godspeed) and has very pale skin, as opposed to the monoethnic brown-hair-brown-eyes-brown-skin looks of the citizens of Godspeed. Soon enough, after Amy's been woken up, other frozen people abound the ship are being murdered, and Amy's desperate to protect her parents lest the killer get to them too.

So first, off the writing. Boy oh boy, I adored Beth's writing. It was rather easy to understand and even had a specific sort of lyrical quality to it, and was great fun to read. The speed of the book however, took a bit of time. Like I said earlier, after that banging first chapter, the speed slackens and it took a while for the story to really get going, but dude, once it does, I could NOT stop reading and stayed up till 4 am to finish it!

And was it worth it? Hell. Yes. I mean, the twists in the novel are so in-your-face and unexpected that I had to read the same line over and over again to actually believe what I'd read. I LOVE mystery novels and I sucksucksuck at figuring stuff out, so naturally, a twist as big as the one in this novel completely took me by surprise. The characters were fairly likable, even if Amy sometimes did some questionable stuff. Elder was, well, so compassionate really, that it was hard not to like him. Eldest was rather twisted, and his relationship with Elder kept puzzling me, since at one point they'd be all friendly and the next he'd be torturing him. Mercurial, he was.

BUT the part I loved the most about this book was the fact that Beth has created such a stunning setting. You know those kinds of books where setting itself is like a character? That's how the ship Godspeed is. So much of the novel has to do with it--I mean, it IS floating in outerspace and all, that I felt like I myself was trapped within it. As I read it I couldn't help but feel SO thankful for the world I live in, with all its faults and imperfections and problems, because we seriously don't realize just how very wonderful it is. Seriously. Any book that makes me realize this without preaching even for a sec deserves major kudos.

It also deserves a 5/5. :)

I'm super excited to see where the story goes after this one, because I just found there are three books in the series. Whoo-hoo!

Get ready, kids... science fiction is about to be the new vampire novel. I could not put this book down. It drew me in from the very first page, and I could not stop reading - while I did need to put it down once, I couldn't stop thinking about it until I could get back to it. Without repeating too much of what has already been said by the other reviewers, I will just echo what they have said about the uniqueness of the novel. Most sci-fi will have its weaknesses, but while this book makes use of a number of sci-fi conventions, it blends them together in a way that is truly fresh and exciting. Amy is a wonderful character, and part of the brilliance of the book is that while Revis starts with a detailed chapter describing the freezing of Amy's parents (you will be riveted) and her decision to follow them, Amy then doesn't make her "real" appearance until quite a way into the book. Until that point, most of the story is told by Elder, with Amy's chapters briefly interspersed and consisting of crushing, claustrophobic descriptions of her semi-conscious frozen state. You will feel like you have been in the box with her for 250 years, and you will barrel along if only to see how and when she finally wakes up. As for Elder, I'm hard pressed to think of many YA characters that I like this much, and he is certainly the best "male lead" in YA literature right now. That's probably because this book isn't a romance, so Elder gets to be a character in his own right rather than the object of the female lead's affection. He's complex, intelligent, and kind, and we get to see him go through an interesting character arc.

This book has a lot of emotionally wrenching moments - in particular, Amy's pain at being awakened at a time well before her parents can be reanimated, her realizations about their decision to board the ship so many years before, and her terror at what might happen to them if the murderer isn't found. Harley's dark past, emotional instability, and obsession with the stars provide a nerve-wracking side plot that ups the tension of the novel as a whole. The descriptions of the ship are claustrophobic and stifling, and I actually found them to be almost panic-inducing at times - I wanted nothing more than to step outside and take a breath of fresh air. The answers to many of the mysteries will not be what you expect or what you want, but are nonetheless strangely, painfully satisfying.

Overall, I think that what makes this novel so amazing is that it all feels so real. Somehow Beth Revis managed to take a crazy concept and make me feel like I was living through it myself, complete with all the panic, sadness, joy, and many other feelings that the characters experience. The last book that made me feel that way was the Hunger Games, and I think that bodes very well for how Across the Universe will be received. Though it works wonderfully as a stand-alone novel, it is one of the rare books that I think could actually be improved upon rather than diminished by a sequel. In the meantime, I'll be re-reading this one and anxiously awaiting Revis's next book, whatever it happens to be about.

I have seen this book around the blogosphere but I never really knew what it was about. I was in my Borders one day and I saw it there. So I decided to read the synopsis. It sounded really good so I bought it. I discovered that the back of the book jacket had a blue print of the ship on it and it made me want it even more. I wasn't going to read it right away but it looked really good so I decided to read the first chapter to see if I wanted to read more of it. The first chapter hooked me into this awesome book so much. Beth Revis is such an awesome writer. If this book looks interesting to you then I suggest reading the first chapter and I guarantee you will most likely want to read more. I can't express how much I loved this book. It is one of the best books I have ever read. It intrigued me so much. I didn't know that I would really like a book that takes place in space aboard a spaceship but I guess I really like that genre. This book has so much in it that I just loved. It has lies, murder, inventions, space and a love story. It even has some twists and turns and shocking moments in it that I wasn't expecting at all. This book, even though it takes place in the future, reflects how humans can act and how the passage of time doesn't really make a difference. I loved Amy and Elder as characters. They both had there own personalities that made the book even better. You really got to know them as they tried to figure out what was happening on the ship. I even loved the background characters. They really stuck out to me as great characters even though they were in the background. I am so glad that I read this book right away after I bought it. Overall I give this book a 5 out of 5. It was so fantastic. It is definitly one of my favorite books of 2011 so far. I think everyone should read it and just about everyone will like it. I just loved this book so much, I can not wait for the sequel A Million Suns to come out in January 2012. I can't say anything more positive about this book. I really hope you all go check it out because I loved it so much. Visit my blog for more reviews here: [...]

I wasn't going to review this one originally, because I couldn't see a way to do it without giving out a bunch of major spoilers. But I'm going to give it a go, because I think it's worth picking up and I want to spread the word.

I'm seriously in love with the rise of dystopia, and this is a fantastic addition to that catalog. I'd recommend it to anyone. Full of thrills, intrigue and enough secrets to keep anyone going. It might just be my worst nightmare come true. I tend to be rather claustrophobic, so the thought of being frozen and stored for centuries in a coffin-like box is terrifying. Yes, I know I wouldn't be aware of my surroundings (or would I?! Ask Amy...), but still. The thought is just UGH.

My deductions were, as usual with dystopia, way off. Here I was thinking "hah, Beth Revis, you didn't get the best of ME," when really, she totally did. All those things I thought I had figured out? Not even close. Didn't even begin to cross my mind. Huh.

I liked Amy & Elder a lot, really liked Harley and Orion and seriously disliked Eldest. Eldest was perhaps the creepiest character EVER. And I've read books with some pretty creepy characters. The things he clung to were just plain OFF. I think I got what I was supposed to from him though. Pretty darn sure we're not supposed to like him, even though the entire ship does.

Overall, awesome book. I seriously liked it, and I'm really looking forward to 'A Million Suns', which comes out in January 2012. (I'm hoping for an ARc, hint, hint!)

'Across the Universe' gets my 'Pick Me' rating!

I think I can divide my issues with the book into four basic categories: Flat Characters, Obvious Plot Twists, Science Fail, and Bad Storytelling. Let's start with bad characters. Elder is just a horny teenage boy with nothing except a fly buzzing around in his brain. Amy is just a dumb, pathetic protagonist who can do nothing for herself. Eldest was the least terrifying villain in history. It was practically like Harley didn't exist. Moving on to obvious plot twists. Even my dogs could have known what the ending was going to be from page one. Revis practically told us who the murderer was with her not so sleek/subtle foreshadowing. Next, science fails. Nothing in this book was at all plausible even though Revis intended it to be realistic. Everything from drugs controlling people, to the failed details of cryogenic freezing was a complete failure and could never happen. Last problem: bad writing. Did Revis even have an editor? Because I can point out a couple dozen sentences that look like they were written by a 3 year old. 99% of the book was the same sentence repeated. So, all in all, everything was so transparent, basically nothing happened, and it didn't help that the characters are all idiots.

More like 4 1/2 than 5, but still. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Okay. So, I can sit here and rave about how great this book was. What makes a book great--but not always perfect--is the combination of great aspects. In other words, great characters, setting, dialogue, development, etc. Revis excels in all categories and I can't deny her the praise she deserves. So instead of talking about each aspect in detail, I just talk about my favorite thing--and then the things that were like an annoying itch.

My favorite part about the book was flaw. Not in the book, but it's characters--society etc.. Amy and Elder--the mains--both weren't morally perfect. Amy desperately wants her parents with her on this ship but she risks ruining there dreams of a new planet. She's so close to doing it. In fact, she thinks about it more than once. Sure she doesn't do it, but it's because she's forcing herself not to do it--she's suffering (and she knows it) and she's doing herself to distract herself from the temptation. Elder--who I found fascinating since he isn't familiar with "Sol" Earth and discovers what really really goes on behind the ships walls and Eldest's mind--struggles the most. He's weighed down with the idea of being a leader--leading masses of people. You can't please everyone, but you can't make them angry. Just like any leader of any country, he has his thoughts of what it is to be a leader, but man, does he struggle. I mean, god, poor guy. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place. All he wants is for people to be happy but is happiness really the key to a well oiled society? Is happiness REALLy happiness or is it just denial of the truth? Elder, who is taught the three discords (difference, mutiny, and individual thought) must discover what a good leader and healthy society is and isn't.

Anther thing I actually found captivating was how much I understood Eldest. Not that I'm a tyrant or anything, but all his reasons were plausible and no wonder Elder was so confused. Eldest wasn't stupid. Just old, tired and well--lazy. When Elder caught him drunk I knew at that moment that Eldest isn't a bad guy--he thinks he's doing what's right. He thinks this is for the best, despite how miserable it makes him feeling lying to people, knowing the truth all by himself. So, when Amy was calling him evil and even when Elder started to see behind the curtain, I found myself pitying the old man.

So, now for the very few nip pick problems. I knew instantly who the "bad guy" was. I mean I think it's like chapter two or four when it pops up and I just zeroed in on that line. Then as the story progresses further--BAM--"That's him" I thought. So, while Elder, Amy and Harley paint a diagram on a wall displaying the connections between victims and who might have done it, I'm shaking my head. I already knew since chapter two who done it. Another thing I didn't like, was the ending. It was good, don't get me wrong. Bad guy is literally gone in minutes. It was anti-climatic. I wanted it to end with a some sort of bang--cliff hanger feeling. Not that it needs to be a cliff hanger, but I wanted to feel more like the end of Inception. We don't know if he's dreaming or awake. But we can sit and guess, speculate. I wanted it to end with a real dystopian feel--an ending leaving you to decided what the future holds. (Well, now that I think about it, she ended it showing that Elder is a proper leading, that he's able to tell the hard truth--despite how horrible it may be).

Despite the murder mystery, this book is filled with human emotions and the empowering of them. We see from both sides. One side has emotion as a motive and the other as a disruption. Emotion influences thoughts while it also causes conflict and discord. Emotion can help produce genius, while without it, it settles people--calming them making people more obedient and pleasant. It's such an up in the air thing, and what Revis does, that most authors don't do, she gives both sides of the battle. She doesn't force her answer on you. She shows both hands and you get to see what the struggle really is.

Oh for those who are really into romance, it's a sweet thing in this book. Not strong at all. In fact, I kinda wanted more, but once again, that wasn't my main worry nor praise.

While on my flight from one side of the continent (Georgia) to the other (California), I also managed to fly across the universe.
Across the Universe, by Beth Revis had just been released. I left my cold icy hometown for different place, just like Amy does in the book. Only I wasn't stuck in a cryogenic freezer, but on a narrow seat in coach class.
Things didn't go too well on that flight; there was too much turbulence and the TV screens were broken. But things weren't going well on the Godspeed either.
Amy was supposed to be woken up when she reached the new planet she was going to help colonize with her parents, but someone woke her up a bit too early.

Oops. Now she's stuck living on a gigantic spaceship and it doesn't look like they'll be landing anytime soon. Mom and Daddy are still frozen because they'll be needed once they hit Centauri-Earth, so Amy is on her own with all the people aboard the Godspeed.
This ship is run by Eldest, a man who has complete control. He can do pretty much whatever he wants in this fascist little spaceship society, and to him, the goal is keep everyone complacent.
Oddly enough, when I was in high school, I thought a great way to keep a society happy was to put antidepressants in their water. I do realize now that this is not such a great idea. But this is not too different from Eldest's idea. But I won't go further into that; I don't want to spoil anything.
Amy is shocked by how the spaceship is run, how the people act, and how mangled Earth's history is (i.e., Hitler was a great leader, Lincoln ended the Civil War by sending the slaves back to Africa). She doesn't think they act like humans for the most part.
And it's true; most of them act like sheep. The only normal ones are those in the psych ward.
Seriously. Psych ward is where you go if you're really human. If you're smart, or creative, or interesting to talk to, that's where you'll be.
So of course that's where the freakish-looking Amy lives.
Everyone aboard the ship who is NOT frozen looks very similar. They're 'monoethnic,' or at least, so many ehtnicities have been breeding for so long everyone kinda looks the same. They're mutts, and poor little pale freckled redhead Amy does not look right to them.
While many people are scared of her, others see how such a normal girl from Earth is so extraordinary aboard the spaceship. Not only does she look different, but she knows things others do not. She strikes up a friendship with Harley, an artist in the psych ward who loves the color of sunset, though he has never seen one, and Elder, a teenage boy who is destined to become the next Eldest.
The three of them team together in a way, trying to make sure the cryo-frozen inhabitants are not unfrozen and left to drown in cold water, which unfortunately seems to keep happening.
Amy cannot help but wonder why she was unfrozen; why she'll never see the new planet, why she can't just go back in the freezer until they reach the new planet, why everyone treats her oddly, why everyone on board is somehow not human, why someone is unplugging the cryo-frozen inhabitants and why didn't she just STAY ON EARTH?!
Fortunately, my airplane landed safely with no deaths, no drugged up inhabitants, no Hitler-is-great propaganda, and no treating redheads like freaks of nature.
Except, of course, for the ones in the book. And I have to say, even though all these things happened in the book, it sure made my flight across the country much more enjoyable.

I'm pretty sure this book gave me whiplash. Lemme try to explain. Reading this book was like going on Space Mountain at Disneyland. An insane rollercoaster that kept you completely in the dark, went on insane flips and turns that you never saw coming and occasionally gave you glimpses of the stars. That is Across the Universe in an epic nutshell.

Luckily I kind of love Space Mountain. <3

When I picked up Across the Universe I thought that we would be spending a great deal of time together, after all it is a pretty hefty title. Just short of four hundred pages...yet I devoured it in about four hours if you discount all of the interruptions. This from a girl trapped in a serious reading slump is pretty awesome. [Thank you for the recommendation, Aneeqah!]

I think it was the mystery that really did me in. I was a huge Nancy Drew reader when I was younger, one of those kids that was trying desperately to figure everything out before her. I had notebooks full of clues as I tried to add the up which always left me torn between finishing the novel itself, I devoured those things like candy, or holding off until I knew whodunnit. Across the Universe brought that back for me. I was constantly pausing in between chapters, in the middle of chapters, or even when I was away from the book pondering what all of the clues added up to. I think I had worked out about a dozen different scenarios. I was INVESTED. I had to figure it out. [Second-guessing myself always leads to my downfall in these cases. *shakes fist* You got me this time, Beth Revis!]

The characters were a close second. They were mysteries in themselves. I loved learning what made them tick, reading along as their deepest darkest secrets were revealed and figuring out how they would handle all the crazy things that their author threw at them. Though Elder was a pretty awesome lead, and had some fascinating secrets of his own plus talked sci-fi to me, I think I preferred the open book of Amy just ever so slightly more. Over all the cast was immensely fascinating and great to read about.

Another amazing part? More alternating chapters! And by alternating chapters I mean you get some more of that dual narration I'm totally in love with. Which means you get the stories from two characters points of view. Alternating. I cannot believe I've avoided this style of writing for so long. I never should have doubted the wonder that is the author because they, as almost always, know best.

For a girl who didn't know she loved science fiction until her college professor introduced her to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card [then proceeded to devour the rest of Ender's saga!] I seem to crave it an awful lot...and Across the Universe satisfied yet left me wanting more. Especially with that extra chapter that the paperback edition had, the first chapter of A Million Suns. I have got to get a copy of that soon. More mysteries and secrets await!

So, for some reason that's never really explained, about 100 people are being cryogenically frozen for 300 years and sent to live on a new planet. Amy's folks are some of the chosen few and they want her to come with them. But it's totally bumming her out cause she just wants to run cross-country and hang at the mall, ya know, kid stuff. But she decides to hop on the bandwagon and get frozen like the cool kids. Turns out though, it sucks to be in a freezer coma for 300 years. Who knew? Anyway, on the flip side is this kid who's gonna take over the spaceship Amy's riding in. Elder is bored with all the nazi-like similarity and stumbles upon Amy's cool/weird red hair, and is like YES! But how does one mack on a popsicle? Oh snap someone unplugs Amy and she wakes! But they're still about 50 years from the destination, and now she's stuck with these weird pod people who never question the rules let alone break them.
Ok, I liked this book. It was different, and interesting, and totally made you feel like what it would be like to be frozen. A few odd moments and I did feel the author dropped the ball at the end. It just stopped. (Like boom revelation boom betrayl boom over? So dumb.) Would've worked better to end the journey at a natural conclusion, but whatev. Still liked it.

A friend of mine mentioned that he was reading a dystopian novel, and wondered if I could recommend any other books in that same category. I ran a search on "Best Dystopian Novels" and found a website that purported to list the top twenty five dystopian novels of all time. Most of the books I had heard of, some I had already read (A Canticle for Leibowitz is a fantastic novel. So is The Book of the New Sun, though I don't considered it dystopian fiction). Coming in at 25th place on the list was book called Across the Universe, by Beth Revis. Wow, one of the top 25 books of dystopian fiction, yet I had never heard of it? So I checked it out of the library and read it, despite its awful cover. (I am refering to the hardcover edition cover which shows two young faces about to kiss in front of a backdrop of stars. The cover makes the book appear to be a lame teen-romance-in-space book. Fortunately, that is not the case.)

Across the Universe is the story of Amy, a teenage girl on Earth. She and her parents, along with a hundred other specialists, are cryogenically frozen on board the spaceship Goodspeed for a three hundred year long trip to colonize a new planet. A team of crew members will fly the ship, living and dying for generations along the way until the destination is reached and all the specialists are awaken for the landing and colonization. But something goes terribly awry; Amy is unfrozen when the Goodspeed is still decades away from reaching the colony planet. Even worse, it appears that she came awake because someone attempted to tamper with her hibernation capsule in an attempt to murder her.

Amy suffers an emotional shock at her predicament. She can't be refrozen. So she will doomed to live out her time on board the ship with the present generation of crewmembers. So much time has passed since the Godspeed left Earth that the culture of the crew members is foreign and unsettling to Amy. The crew has been separated into different castes - with the majority of people laboring on the farms. An elite team of scientists keeps the ship running and attempts to make new discoveries. Ruling the ship with an iron fist is the frightening Eldest. Eldest knows terrifying secrets and dark truths, but he refuses to divulge his information to Amy. Indeed, Eldest threatens her with the recycling tanks if she does not cooperate with the authoritarian way he runs the ship.

Much younger than Eldest is Elder, who will eventually be his successor. Eldest is about Amy's age, so potential romance might grow between them, but fortunately Amy is primarily concerned with her predicament and the mysteries on the ship. I say fortunately, because this book could have dissolved into a disappointing novel about mismatched teenage love. Revis gives us a better story than that.

Revis does a good job at developing her characters. Amy is well drawn. Her anxiousness at her strange surroundings, and her attempts to find her place in the new society are well portrayed. There is a nice air of menace about Eldest and the mysterious Doc. Revis attempted to build a believable society on the Godspeed, and then create plausible obstacles for Amy to overcome.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few flaws in the logic of this story. Stop reading here if you unless you have already finished the book, major plot points are about to be revealed.

***Spoiler alert!!!***

The biggest mistake Revis' makes is not realizing that stars move through the universe. If you aim a spaceship at a star, and your journey will take 300 years, then you point your spaceship at the point where that star will be 300 years from now. If your speed is half of what it should have been, it won't take you twice as long to reach your destination, instead you will NEVER reach the target star. After 300 years, the star would already have moved on and can never be caught again (unless you suddenly change course and accelerate massively.)

It doesn't make sense for the Godspeed to slow down due to mysterious lack of efficiency in the nuclear engines. Once a spaceship reaches cruising speed, it will continue at that speed forever until the engines slow it down (or accelerate it). Even if the Godspeed's engines had been entirely switched off, the ship would not have slowed down. Indeed, beyond the halfway point in the voyage, if the engines were used at all it would be to slow the Godspeed down as it approached its destination.

If the Godspeed is having trouble with its engines, why doesn't it radio back to Earth and ask for the help of experts? Did I miss an explanation of why all contact with Earth had ceased?

Why not awaken some of the specialists who are sleeping in hibernation and ask them to fix the engines?

At one point, Amy rides an anti-gravity elevator tube to the upper decks. If the Godspeed scientists have control of anti-gravity, they already have the means to drive the Godspeed, and with much better efficiency than clumsy nuclear engines.

Orion's existence is apparently unknown to the Doc and Eldest. How does Orion get his supply of pills to counteract the presence of Phydrus in his water supply?

Amy sees all the crew member engaging in public copulation, without any concern for modesty. Yet Amy insists that the Doc examine his patients privately, so that their exams can not be viewed by others. If the crew members are not embarrassed by having sex in public, Amy ought to realize that her foreign concepts of modesty do not apply on the Godspeed.

Revis appears to believe that genetics is destiny. She shows Doc manipulating the DNA of the crew members after their coupling - the Doc selects DNA for an artist or a scientist based upon the perceived needs of the ship. But having certain genes only skews behavior by certain percentages. Not all genes are activated or expressed, which why not everyone who carries the certain genes will get specific diseases. It merely changes your chances.

Why would any dead body be discarded into space instead of recycled?

Phydrus is delivered in a bucket?? Really??

I may or may not read the second book of this trilogy. There is still potential that the Amy / Elder relationship develops into an annoying romance story. But Revis has done a credible job of plotting the first book, so perhaps I should trust that the second book is readable too.

I haven't read sci/fi this good since ENDER'S GAME. Beth Revis is a genius - her world sucked me in and I finished the book in less than 24 hours!

In the first chapter, 16 year old Amy and her parents are being cryogenically frozen for a 300 year long space trip. The process completely freaked me out and I couldn't stop thinking about it. As Amy goes under, the last thing she hears is the techs discussing how there's a one year delay for the mission. All Amy can think is 'I want my year back.'

Elder is a 16 year old leader-in-training on the spaceship 'Godspeed', 250 years AFTER it's launch. He talks about a Plague that ran through the ship years ago and how everything changed, including how the ship is set up and used. We learn that everyone on the ship is now monoethnic, because one of the biggest causes of discord are differences. Everyone has olive skin, brown eyes and brown hair.

The chapters alternate between Amy and Elder, it was interesting to see what was going on from both viewpoints when they are apart.

The real trouble begins when Elder finds out that the ship holds the cryogenically frozen people. What ensues isn't just a story of how things go wrong, or have gone wrong, on the ship. It's a love story and a story of how rulers go bad (like and how being different is wonderful.

This is an excellent read and one of the best books I've ever read. Beth Revis is planning on a trilogy for these characters and I can't wait for more!

Having just read Revis's Paper Hearts Vol. 1, and liking it a lot, I decided to read this series. For fans of dystopia, I put this book just below The Hunger Games series, alongside the Divergent and the Legend series. The ideas presented in this book are fantastic and captured my attention so well I easily read this book in a couple of days. The only reason I give it four instead of five stars is I was hoping to dig deeper into the two main characters. Overall this is a book I've already started recommending to others.

Here are the top 10 reasons you should read Across the Universe. *Any spoilers are from the first hundred pages, and don't really spoil anything

1. Writing

When I first started my internship at Writer's House, it was hard to tell what was good enough to show the agent. To help me see, the person I was working with email me the first 50 pages of this book. The writing was so far above anything I saw in my four months there. It is even better than it was then. It is one of the best-written young adult books I have ever read, it may be the actual best.

2. Amy's struggle

Amy has decided to give up her life: friends, Earth, the rest of her family, just to be with her parents. Suddenly, she doesn't even have them. If they arrive in 50 years, she will be an old woman and they will still be the same age as they were on Earth. It is always on her mind and is a great central, internal issue she must deal with.

3. Genre

This may be the most accessible science fiction book I have read. It is science fiction, there is no question, but it is written and crafted in a way that people who don't enjoy the genre will enjoy this book. It is a science fiction book that is being marketed to young women! There is action, mystery, and romance. I would love to see the idea catch on, and this is a great place to start!

4. Elder

Elder also faces a great internal struggle. He needs to learn how to be a leader, while discovering what is really happening with the ship and the people. Every decision he makes impacts everyone. He is bright, curious, and strong, and watching him realize that is amazing.

5. Amy

Amy is a great character. She is so strong, but also vulnerable. Remember how in the last Harry Potter book Harry asks if death hurts and you were reminded that he is really just a kid? Revis never lets you forget that Amy is only a teenager going through something extremely difficult. But she is brave and caring. I love Amy

6. Frex

Are you sick of saying "Frak" like they do in Battlestar? Well you have a new word to use "Frex". It is obviously a nod to Battlestar and it used the same way. Next time I am angry, I may just tell someone to go frex themselves.

7. Anger

If you have any pent-up anger, read this book and take it out on some of the characters! Eldest admires Hitler. Yes, you read that correctly. You will probably want to punch him (and a few others) for most of the book. But they are all great antagonists and you can see why they make some of the decisions they do.

8. Mystery

The mystery element of the book is great. I figured it out earlier than they did, but watching them get to that point was exciting and had me guessing at parts. The clues are all there, but even as the reader, I had to dig and analyze to figure it out.

9. "Woah moments"

Do you know what I mean? It is those times you have to stop reading and you just go "Woah". There were TONS of those moments in this book. I would say at least 10.

10. Wraps up well

Even though this is a series, the first book stands well on its own. There is no big cliffhanger or issue that the reader knows about but the characters don't. There is a "to be continued" feel, but not a "screaming at your book" feel.

This is a fantastic debut from Revis and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series. Books like this are why I want to work in publishing.

I absolutely adored this book from start to finish. Amy is frozen as a teenager, and boarded on a spaceship destined for a planet 300 years away. She's marked as non-essential cargo, only there because her parents requested it. Fifty years before the ship is planned to land, someone pulls the plug on Amy and she unfreezes.

She awakens to a world very different to the one she left- everything is controlled, including emotions and reproduction. She becomes friendly with Elder (the future leader of Godspeed) and Harley, as they struggle to make sense of the ship's secrets. I don't want to say much about the story, because part of the fun of reading it was finding out all the little bits of information along the way. The perspective alternates between Amy and Elder, and it's handled very well.

My only regret is reading it so soon, because now I have to wait until next year to find out what happens next.

***Review posted at The Eater of Books! blog***

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Book One of the Across the Universe trilogy
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: January 11, 2011
Rating: 5 stars
Source: Gift

I actually read Across the Universe in early 2011, just a couple of months after it came out. It instantly became one of my favorite books at the time, and by the end of 2011, my favorite book of the year. It is still one of my favorite books of all time. I love science fiction so much, and Beth Revis is a master at weaving science fiction and a genius plot together.

Summary (from the store):

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO SURVIVE ABOARD A SPACESHIP FUELED BY LIES?

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the spaceship Godspeed. She has left her boyfriend, friends--and planet--behind to join her parents as a member of Project Ark Ship. Amy and her parents believe they will wake on a new planet, Centauri-Earth, three hundred years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, cryo chamber 42 is mysteriously unplugged, and Amy is violently woken from her frozen slumber.
Someone tried to murder her.

Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's 2,312 passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader. And Elder, Eldest's rebellious teenage heir, is both fascinated with Amy and eager to discover whether he has what it takes to lead.
Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she put her faith in a boy who has never seen life outside the ship's cold metal walls? All Amy knows is that she and Elder must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

What I Liked:

Better yet - what did I NOT like?! This book was so, so good on so many different levels. For one, it is plot-driven, which I find rarely well done in Young Adult literature these days. Too much emphasis is now put on the main character (usually a female) and her love interests.

This book has a light sprinkle of romance, and NO LOVE TRIANGLE (want me to put that on blast? Because it is one of the things I absolutely LOVE about this book). I hate love triangles in books, and for this book not to have a long triangle was amazing.

I also loved the alternating points of view throughout the story. We get to read Amy's point of view, and then Elder's point of view. I like Elder's point of view more, but only because he has such an interesting way of thinking.

As I already said, I love the science fiction of this book. The genetic engineering, cryogenics, physics, astronomy... this book is so up my alley. It was the first good Young Adult book that dealt with space that I actually found very interesting and not boring. And did I mention that there is no love triangle? And light romance? No overkill or insta-love? And the world-building? And the TWISTS?! I have already read the second book, so I am not going to say anything else

What I Did Not Like:

Really, there's not much. I feel like I am a harsh critic with books, but this I found little fault with this book. Perhaps some people may find it slow-paced, but I thought that the slow pace was necessary in order to get a feel of Ms. Revis's fabulous world-building.

Would I Recommend It:

YES! Buy it right now. Or, do like me, and borrow it from the library first, fall in love with it, and ask for it for your birthday. It is so worth it.

Rating:

5 stars. One of my favorite books of all time.

All I can say is wow. I couldn't put this book down. Except for Orson Scott Card's Ender series, and one or two other books, I tend to stay away from Science Fiction. I heard somewhere though that this is a science fiction for people who don't like science fiction, and that is completely true, in my opinion.

I loved Amy. The idea of being frozen but still concious in some way, dreaming for seemingly an eternity, only to be woken up early really hit me. I felt for her, felt her pain at her loss. For her age she handled it extremely well. Seventeen years old and dealing with leaving your life behind for the unknown, and then having that taken from you.

While I did have a nagging feeling about who was committing the murders of the frozens, and the attempted murder of Amy, there were plenty other mysteries and secrets revealed to keep me shocked and entertained, and somewhat disturbed. And the ending shocker. Boy was I not expecting that, but after thinking about it, it made sense.

About the romance aspect of the book, between Elder and Amy, it didn't really develop how I thought it would. I can't quite accept how this aspect of the book ends up, but I can understand why it came about the way it did.

Overall, awesome book. A must read for anyone who loves young adult books.

I really enjoyed this book. My only criticism, besides making me really claustrophobic is that there wasn't quite enough of a connection with the 2 main characters - I could feel it on his end, but got nothing from her. I plan on reading the second book now because I really want to find out what happens next, and I want to see if that true, bonding relationship happens between Amy and Elder

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!

I read this book very quickly, because I was hooked from the very first chapter.

The premise was one that I found extremely engaging and interesting to me. While I prefer fantasy above sci-fi types of novels, I found that the science and explanations were both interesting and easy to follow. Revis did a flawless job in the first chapter, going over the process and making it full of tension. In fact, with all of the explanations and information she has to get across, she does so in a well-knit, seamless sort of way.

The dual points of view worked extremely well in this book, and they worked together very well. While I did find that I could guess a lot of the outcomes and 'secrets', that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book because the journey there was so exciting. I felt that this novel ended solidly, and even though I believe it is the first in books to come -- and I am looking forward to more from Revis -- I was satisfied with the ending even if everything is not tied up with a neat little bow.

A wonderful debut from an author that I look forward to reading more from.

After hearing this book mentioned as a superior example of YA lit, and after seeing the strong score it received on the store, I was really excited to read it. I've been reading a lot of stellar YA fiction lately, and I was sure that this would be another title on my list. I was disappointed to find that this is one book I really didn't feel lived up to the hype, for a multitude of reasons. Fair warning: there are quite a few spoilers in this review.

For one, I just didn't find the characters very interesting--especially Amy. They all felt a little bit flat to me, and I didn't think Revis did enough to explore their motivations. I especially felt that Amy's relationship with her parents should have been explored in much greater depth. Had we been provided with some flashbacks illustrating why she felt the way about them she did, it would have gone a long way toward creating greater emotional impact and would have made it easier for the reader to feel her imperative to save them. Eldest was a typically cardboard evil character and his only reason for being in the story was to contribute to Elder's growth. I'm not saying I felt sorry for the guy, but characters are much more interesting when we have an insight into why they act as they do. Eldest rants a lot about needing to control everyone, but it would have been nice to understand exactly why he felt this way. As for Elder, he just didn't feel real to me.

Next up is the romance, which I thought was really awkwardly constructed. Whenever Amy gets upset, Elder has lustful feelings that are supposed to be indicative of his wish to protect her. Huh? I thought this was especially weird toward the end, when he wants to press her to the bed and kiss her worries away. What? That is such a strange thought to have. Wouldn't it have made more sense of Elder to want to help her resolve her problems so that her worries would be permanently gone, and then he could think about doing other things with her?

And what is the point of Amy's assault scene? I really don't see its place in the book. Is it meant to further illustrate that the people on the ship behave like animals? If so, that point was already beaten to death, so no need for it. Was it just so that Hurley could rush in and act the hero. If so, why? He's likeable enough, so there's no real need for it. Was it so that Amy would really understand that she's an outsider? Um, I also think that point was beaten to death. It also doesn't help that her thoughts during that scene are so unrealistic.

The shifting perspectives just did not work for me. The one-line chapters felt to me like the author was just dutifully following her own construction but getting it out of the way so that she could get back to the meat of the story. Not good. I think it would have been much, much better to write this from a third-person perspective and then shift from Amy to Elder. This would still have provided us with insight into their feelings, but would have been a lot less awkward.

As for the writing itself, it wasn't bad but I also didn't think it was good. It just felt very immature at times, which was not to the benefit of the book. Granted, these are teenagers that Revis is dealing with, but as someone who has worked with teenagers, I know that they can be very insightful and wise at times. It's a shame this doesn't come through in Across the Universe, especially since these are teenagers thrown into very extraordinary circumstances. To see better examples, I'd recommend reading something like The Hunger Games, Ship Breaker, Divergent, or The Things a Brother Knows. All of these do a much better job of portraying teenagers in difficult circumstances.

What really did it for me, though, was that I just couldn't buy the overall presence. First off, do I believe that Amy's parents would take off for another planet, either leaving their daughter behind forever or uprooting her from a life with which she is content? No, no I don't. It's implied that there is a dire financial situation on Earth at the beginning of the book, but I could really only buy this sort of premise if the Earth was a complete disaster and their reason for leaving was to try to provide some sort of future for their daughter. I could definitely buy the idea of a parent going to such extremes in that sort of circumstance. I also did not buy Orion's argument that the frozen people on board intended to enslave Elder's people. Maybe that was just Orion's attempt at justification, but the fact that Elder and Amy think he might be serious is ridiculous to me. If her parents are as great as they're supposed to be, why would they ever agree to something like this?

I really liked the idea of this book. It's a strong premise that I think could have worked really well had it been handled in a better fashion.

Beth has created a truly frightening world aboard a spaceship, where nothing is what it seems. The book starts with a feeling of unease, with a family being frozen to take a 300-year trip across the universe, and then shifts to the future where Amy is awakened 50 years early. With Amy, we begin to see the society that has evolved -- or been manufactured -- aboard the Godspeed, and how every assumption should be questioned.

There is also a murderer on the ship.

But what I loved best was Beth's prose. In spite of being 400 pages, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE reads quickly, effortlessly. It's in first person present tense, but I'm totally behind this choice. The narrative is never distracting. The descriptions are complete and seamlessly integrated into the action.

I'm definitely recommending this for readers who want to like science fiction but aren't sure where to start, or don't want much science in their science fiction. It's a character-driven story. (The other thing I will mention is that it says it's for readers 12 and up, but do be aware there's quite a bit of sexytime in this book, most of it not very nice.)

This book (and series) has received a lot of very good reviews, so I thought I would give it a chance. I was pleasantly surprised by the story. It was easy to follow, cleanly written, and had an interesting story.

This is very YA dystopian, just within the confines of a ship. What I thought would be more of a 'solve the murder mystery with a romance slapped on' ended up being more of a muse on society. There were several scenes/moments where I did have to suspend disbelief; but they didn't end up being too annoying.

The book got better as it went along. Some plot elements could be seen far in advance but there were several surprises as well in the last few places. The romance was believable, not overblown, and appopriate for the gravitas of the story.

This was a wonderful blend of sci-fi and murder mystery. The world that Beth Revis creates is amazing and so plausible. Her description of the process of being frozen was so detailed (and a little horrifying) that I actually did some research about the limitations we currently face with existing technology. (The answer is here.) The idea that generations have lived and died on this ship as it travels to a new home is fascinating. It is made more real by the author's attention to the details of a populace trapped in long duration spaceflight. What would happen to society on a ship? How would things like food, reproduction, and medical care be handled? What if things aren't as they seem? The themes of freedom, both physical and psychological, weigh heavily on the young protagonists as we see Elder's eyes opened by Amy's defiance and desire to know the truth.

I was super excited when I learned about this book. I mean, it did combine some of my favorite elements: space, romance, and dystopia. Awesome, right? And yep, it was pretty awesome. I plowed through it in a few hours, completely enthralled in the story. Of course, it is the first book in what I believe is going to be a trilogy, which means I have another long wait ahead of me. These teen series are just so addicting...I just loathe the wait. However, that is not really relevant to this review, so ignore my rambling.

The story starts off by introducing Amy, the heroine of this tale. She is being frozen along with her parents and sent into space in order to colonize a planet that is hundreds of years away. She is terrified, but is willing to sacrifice her current life in order to stay with her parents. Fast forward hundreds of years and we meet Elder, a young man on the spaceship who is training to take over for Eldest when he dies. He is an inquisitive man with a questioning mind and when he stumbles across a defrosted Amy, he is drawn into the mystery of her life, the ship they are on and what exactly is going on. Eldest rules the ship as a dictator, controlling the lives of his citizens with an iron fist. Elder, along with Amy, begins digging into the history and the past of this floating world and are faced with shocking secrets and a story that began hundreds of years ago. Meanwhile, Amy and Elder are drawn to each other, the only two teens on the entire ship. As they grow closer, both will be forced to question everything.

I really, really liked this story. Elder was an interesting figure, torn between the beliefs he was raised with and the new ideas Amy encourages in him. Amy is a fighter, a character who is willing to face adversity and try to change the world. I thought they provided an excellent contrast, two teens learning from each other while trying to find a place in the world. The mystery was also compelling, sucking me in rapidly. I was on edge throughout the book, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. I do love when a book manages to do that. In addition, the language was beautiful and the imagery was staggering. I cannot wait to read the next books! I can only hope they live up to the sheer beauty and intrigue of this one. Excellent job!

Across the Universe is a Sci-Fi YA set in the ship Godspeed as it travels through the stars for centuries towards a new dream. In it, Amy and Elder come crashing together amidst time, space, and dark secrets.
Told in both point-of-views, the relationship between them builds little by little in a realistic fashion that requires the gaining of each others' trust before anything else. The process of cryogenic freezing is just the beginning to this strange adventure as the pair struggle to find truth in a society that seems founded completely on lies. Not only is Amy left struggling with the pain of wondering whether her family's sacrifice is worth all the risk, but murders of some of the other "frozens" has created discord and danger on the ship!
Honestly? I was hooked just by reading the first chapter! And I think you will be too. It's a fun mystery mixed with creepy dystopic Sci-Fi anyone would enjoy:)

I really liked this book. I bought it because 1. it's been catching my eye for a while and I'd seen decent reviews and 2. I had a gift card to spend and was determined to buy something I might otherwise not have. I'm so so glad I own this one.

It honestly hooked me from the very first chapter when Amy (one of the two alternating narrators) went with her parents to be frozen and put on a spaceship for a 300 year journey to colonize a new planet. No matter how far fetched that may sound to you, it felt 100% realistic and painful (in multiple ways). I think I started holding my breath somewhere around page 6, and I was hooked through the entire book. I don't want to go into too much detail about what the book is about because there's so much to "discover" as you read. I will say that the book is maybe one part murder mystery, one part SciFi space travel, one part dystopian, a bit of romance (but not the contrived kind), and wholly original (at least based on my reading experience). The dual narrators were well done (I tend to be skeptical of dual narrators written by one author), and the writing was solid. I even went back to the beginning after I finished to see if the resolution really fit the events in the beginning, and I can't find holes in the story (not that I want to, but they bug me in mystery-type stories).

I know there are a lot of YA dystopian-type stories out there right now, but this one stands out because it seems to have started with a "what if" scenario that's fleshed out in the course of the story rather than crafting a story around a intentionally dystopian world. That makes a huge difference. It makes the world (in this case a spaceship the size of a small town) and the society that has developed there believable and even sympathetic.

Great job, Beth Revis. When can I have book two?!

Across the Universe tells the tale of Amy, who is leaving her life on Earth behind to be cryogenically frozen aboard the Godspeed along with her parents. They will be awakened 300 years in the future when they land on Centauri-Earth, their new home. However, Amy is mysteriously unplugged 50 years ahead of schedule and almost dies. Then more people are unplugged. What follows is an exciting murder mystery as Amy and Elder, who is to be the next leader of the ship, try to figure out who is behind the unpluggings. Is it Harley, Elder's artist best friend who longs to see the stars? Or Orion, the Recorder with a mysterious scar (historian/librarian)? Could it be the man who was Elder before Elder was and is claimed to have died mysteriously? Or, as Amy and Elder suspect, is it Eldest, the ship's leader who seems to exert a sinister power over the ship's people? The novel is packed with twists and turns, and when the culprit is revealed, it is a tremendous shock.

Beth Revis is an amazing writer. I am not a sci-fi fan, but this book was wonderful. I was crying as I read the scene where Amy is being frozen and saying good bye to her life. The scene was described with so much detail, I felt like I was the one having tubes shoved down my throat and cryogenic fluid poured around me. I also loved the flashbacks to Amy's past, where she remembers her parents, her friends and her boyfriend. Amy was very well developed. Elder, on the other hand, didn't really seem very real to me. I never noticed that much of a personality. The "romance" between Amy and Elder didn't really exist. There was merely lust on Elder's part and mild attraction on Amy's. I felt no real connection between them.

The ending is sad and beautiful and makes me long for a sequel. Amy cannot be refrozen so she must live on a ship where she is drastically different from the rest of the people, who are monoethnic, and cannot trust anyone. Her pain seemed so real. There were several absolutely heartbreaking moments where she looks through her parents trunks and realizes that they never packed anything for her because they never expected her to come. This new life Amy must face and how she deals with it would be great material for a sequel.

All in all, Across the Universe was haunting and thought-provoking. What would you do if you were Amy or Elder? Could you stand to be cryogenically frozen to wake up 300 years later? Is is morally acceptable to freeze people? It is the type of novel that lingers in your mind days after you finish it.

This book was extremely hard for me to get into because i am very claustraphobic and the description of Amy's state in which she is in, in the first 5-6 chapters was unbearable. However, I was sucked into space with this book and wanted to know what happens when she is woken back up, or should I say unfrozen!

This book took me through some twists and turns. I wanted to cry and scream, pull out my hair as well, and just keep reading. Amy, a 17 year old girl who made the ultimate decision to leave her life back on earth, the boy she loves, the friends and family she has, to be frozen with her mother and father for 300 hundred years is a very brave girl. Her father gives her a choice before she is scheduled to be cryogenically frozen, to leave and live the remainder of her life on earth, instead of losing it all to follow her parent's dreams of helping to build a whole new planet. She watches her parents being frozen, which seems painful and very frightening. Here is the kicker, as much as she would like to run back to her life that she knows and loves, she cannot bare to leave the two most important poeple in her life. Her parents. She makes a leap and thinks before she knows it she will be awake and in a whole new world 301 years later. Oh she finds out an extra year has been added to those known three hundred years. Before she can complain she is frozen and seizes to exist any longer. But she does as her mind is functioning in the worst way possible and she has no way to know of how much time has passed. An hour? A day? A year? Or has it really been the entire 301 years and this is like a dream at the end of it and she is about wake up? OH SO AGONIZING!!! ARRRGH!!!

Elder who is set to be the new leader on the spaceship Godspeed, lives in a world created on the ship years and years in the future. No one seems to know exactly how long they have been on the journey to Centauri-Earth, they just know it has been a long long time. and they are 50 years away from reaching their destination and seeing an earth for the first time instead of the steel walls that surround them and seem to be closing in on Elder. Elder is in training to be the next leader of the next generation, as Eldest's time is coming to an end. Am not going to give you all the details, but will let you know the relationship between Elder and Eldest is conflicting. Elder is hungry to learn about all there is to know about Godspeed to better lead his generation. He starts exploring on his own, completely disobeying orders and comes across a level on the ship that he never knew existed. Stumbling on to this new level he comes to find Amy who is so completely different than him in every way he is instantly drawn to her but she is frozen in time and unreachable to him. He longs for answers and something different from what he already knows and Amy is his answer.

Here is where the mystery begins and the claustraphobia dwindles a little. Thank God!!! Amy is woken and Elder is there to see her come to life. But why was Amy unfrozen before she was set to be? Now that i will not tell. The book takes off from here and takes you to some extremely weird situations that are unimaginable with how life on Earth is now. A murder has been done and secrets and lies start surfacing and the question on why and who are up for grabs.

The author took me on a journey i have not been on yet and i can say i enjoyed the ride entirely. Okay maybe not the beginning. Claustraphobia!!! Now to find out this is part of a trilogy, I am hooked til the end. I want to be there for the final destination with Amy and Elder. A must read for those who love a mystery and like trying to help solve it along the way. This is one for the collection on my shelves! xoxoxoxo

I picked up this book as a last minute purchase in an airport bookstore. The kids were getting gum and had Pippy Longstockings to listen to on the ipad and dammit I wanted a book to read! Scanning over Wenches, various Dean R Koontz novels and the collection of feel good "literature" that is offered by these kind of shops I had given up any hope to find anything interesting and was about to resign myself to buying some crappy vampire murder mystery just to pass the time when I was Across the Universe. It was just different enough from everything else on the shelves to peak my interest, and while my curiosity was rewarded with a fine story perfect for an airplane ride I was disappointed in the missed opportunity the author had with this book.

Across the Universe focuses alternately on the story of Amy, a normal girl from Earth who was accompanying her parents on an intergalactic exploration by being cryogenically frozen during the trip and Elder, the teenage future leader of the descendants of the staff who were housed on the ship during the 300 year long journey. When Amy is mysteriously unfrozen and nearly dies she is forced to join the world upon the ship fifty years earlier than expected. The story is intended to be a young adult combination of sci-fi, dystopian culture, romance and murder mystery. While I would say that Revis has an excellent story and a vivid voice she falls short in her ability to create the mystery or romance necessary to propel this novel out of the common and into the amazing work it could have been.

Without giving the story away I will give you one example of what I mean. Some of the crew, those considered the "crazy" people on the ship are given a medication to control their mental issues. These pills are called "inhibitors". What's the first question you would ask when hearing that? Mine was: Well, what are they inhibiting? Not exactly rocket science to figure out much of the plot from that little nugget alone.

In format the story is told in the first person voice, alternating between Amy and Elder and while not my favorite technique it does work to help the reader understand the struggles and isolation Amy feels as well as get deeper insight into the culture Elder was raised in. The world created in this book is strange and confusing, but familiar enough to have a haunting effect. The ship is run by a dictatorial system where the leader, Eldest, has total and complete control over the people. Earth's history has been rewritten and historical figures such as Hitler are seen as leaders to be emulated and revered. Elder, being the next in line as leader is privy to some of the secrets of the ship and its history but not enough for him to understand the depth of Eldest's tyranny.

The anthropological aspects of this book into issues of leadership, control and free will are the most interesting. I was pulled into the world of the "Feeders" and "Shippers", the strange behaviors and the mystery of those on "inhibitors". I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the world and some of the minor characters like Harley (an artist who ultimately commits suicide upon learning he would never reach the destined planet during his life time) and Luthe (a would be rapist who suffers no consequences from his actions and is never heard from again after the incident...dropped plot line much?) but overall the relationships in this story were the weakest part.

The romance between Elder and Amy is lacking in every way. The only connection I can see is that Amy is alone, unfrozen to early without her parents or anyone else she knows, and Elder is the only person who listens to her while Elder is isolated as the future leader and has no one else his age on the ship. I see nothing about their interactions that speaks to more than friendship. Any furtive glances or emotional connection are so framed within the "last man and woman on earth" concept it's hard to believe that there is any real love between them. Instead what you have is a girl desperate for anyone to connect to and a boy infatuated with anything different or exciting in his mono-ethnic, classist existence.

Across the Universe is a fine book and if you are a connoisseur of Young Adult novels you might well like this one because it is better written and more complex in theme than most. If you are interested in sci-fi, Revis does an amazing job describing this future world and the technology used, she has clearly put in a great deal of research and thought into the hows of her world. Also, as a dystopian world life aboard Godspeed is a perfect test case. However, if you are looking for romance this is not it and if you are looking for a deep mystery that will surprise you in the end, well you will be sorely disappointed. I figured out who the "murderer" was and his entire back story by about the fourth chapter without difficulty, it was clear as day, much like the "inhibitor" pills.

So while I wouldn't recommend it as something that will change your world, it's a fun book, and if you, like me, are just looking for some fluff that is different and engaging go for it. But when you're disappointed by the lack of depth and sophistication in the story don't say I didn't warn ya!

To what lengths would you go to keep the people you are responsible for alive and happy? It's a question you're forced to consider during this fast paced mystery.

When I read science fiction, I like the classics--Asimov, Card, Bova, Wells, and Heinlein. Revis' Across the Universe reads like a classic. Her characters are real and believable in their world--a space ship called Godspeed. Revis takes the time to build her world and ground the reader so you never feel lost. The science is real with rules that make sense. That's something I really appreciate in a novel.

Once while lost in the story I had the thought, this feels like a Heinlein novel I read once. The only similarity story wise is that a space ship was involved, but Revis' style and talent reminded me of the great Heinlein. I can't wait to see where she will take me with her future books.

Told through dual points of view, Across The Universe is a stunning look at humanity's possible future. Loss of resources. The idea of sustainable life on other planets. And in the not too distant future, this is Amy's life. A young girl whose family signs up for the mission of a lifetime. A mission which will take Amy to places that most people could only dream about.

When I first saw the cover of Across The Universe and read the summary, I knew this book had to be mine. Shiny. Dystopian. Outer Space. It had all the elements that my mood was craving. And although I knew it was going to be different... I was not fully expecting what I got. Across The Universe started out on the positive side. Dark world. Plenty of backstory and details. And TONS of secrets. Characters that I thought I could grow to like. But as I got deeper into the novel, things went downhill.

For starters, the first half of the novel is really slow. So slow in fact that I contemplated putting Across The Universe down not once.. not twice.. but at least three times. Granted, there was that one AH HA! moment that I thought could turn everything around. But sadly this moment went as quickly as it came. Revis additionally completely surprised me by how graphic she could be. Now, I am no shy miss. It often takes a lot for me to feel uncomfortable with a novel. But Revis somehow managed to both revolt and amaze me. I know this sounds like a weird combination, but for Across The Universe it works. Revis is completely honest with her world. She holds nothing back.. and does not apologize for her world. And I absolutely loved her for that. But in certain parts of the novel (The Season), I was left wondering was all if the graphicness was really needed.

Across The Universe, ultimately, leaves me with too many conflicting feelings. I wanted to be head over heels for this book. But due to lackluster characters, slow pacing, and graphic scenes, I am not sure at this point how I really feel about it. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely aspects about Across The Universe that I completely enjoyed. But at this point, I am left more disappointed than pleased.

I would never have declared myself a sci-fi nerd. A nerd yes, but I never got into sci-fi. After reviewing my recently watched TV shows on Netflix, it's apparent I've become quite fond of the genre, but I haven't ventured into reading much sci-fi until this book. I'm happy to say that I enjoyed Across the Universe just as much as my favorite episode of Doctor Who (Blink, if you're wondering.)and the whole of the series Firefly. And yes, Beth gets extra points for her use of the word "rutting".

Things I loved about the book:
Amy is a very strong female character. She doesn't take no for an answer, but she's also appropriately scared at this new world she's brought into.

The mystery. One of the things discovered towards the end is something I never saw coming.

The world building. No detail is left untouched. Even without looking at the diagram of the spaceship, I was able to get a clear picture of what each level of Godspeed looked like.

It gave me nightmares. It's pretty rare that a book gets that deep inside my head that I have dreams about being frozen or trapped on a spaceship. I can't imagine what that would be like. I mean, even Captain Mal and his crew got to leave the ship every so often for zany adventures.

If you like stories about space with a little bit of romance mixed in, you'll love this book.

Across the Universe...there is so much to say about this book, but I don't think whatever I say will justify just how spectacular, amazing, and unique this is.

When I first heard about this book in early 2010, I had a feeling it would be a really good book based on the premise alone. But Across the Universe has so much more going for it than just a really fantastic premise. Because it also has an amazing execution of that said premise, even better writing, spectacular world building, and last but certainly not least, fully developed characters who were so uniquely their own people. There is seriously so much to love about this novel and nearly nothing to truly dislike!

Across the Universe begins in a world much like ours. A world that is about to change the lives of many people because of one thing and one thing only: Godspeed, a spaceship that will take humans to a new planet to develop their own society. Thanks to her parents' intelligence and jobs, Amy is one of the people who will be frozen in time, so that she, as well as everyone else, will be able to be woken up 300 years down the road when Godspeed finally lands on the new planet. Though, just when everyone is 50 years from waking up from their deep slumbers, Amy is woken up and nearly dies because of it. Now Amy is on a spaceship 250 years into the future with people and a world so unlike what she left behind. And then there's Elder, a boy who may just hold the answer to her past, as well as the key to her future, if she'll let him in. But can she trust him? And is there more than meets the eye to Godspeed? Only time and more pages will tell in this highly addicting addition to YA!

One thing I will say about this novel is that Beth Revis definitely knows how to spin an exceptional story. Across the Universe is filled with so many twists and turns and nail biting moments that I, the reader, never truly knew how everything was going to end. And that was one of the things I loved most about this novel, because unpredictably makes me a very, very happy reader.

Another part of this book I enjoyed was the characters. All of them were extremely well developed and fully three dimensional. I especially liked how Beth split the book into two perspectives (Elder and Amy); because it gave you a story that showed you the side of somebody who has only know the ship all their life and someone who's actually experienced life on Earth. It put a unique spin to this book, one I fully enjoyed. And talking about these two main characters let me tell you some more about them! Elder is destined to be the next leader of Godspeed, but don't think that means he has a big ego because he certainly does not. Instead Elder is someone who while appears to have everything together on the surface, truly questions how he'll ever be able to control his people and get them to their destination. The aspect I liked most about Elder was his heart and generosity, especially how it was shown through his relationship with Amy. Amy is a girl who's just as scared and lost as Elder is on the inside. She's a girl who's afraid of her future, but also brave enough to face it head on and change everything on the way. I truly thought she was a fantastic lead character, and I loved how easily Beth was able to bring to life the emotions Amy, as well as Elder, had. I have to admit I was even close to tears in some scenes, which is something that almost never happens, no matter how sad a book may be.

Last but not least, I loved Revis' writing! If I hadn't know prior to reading Across the Universe that Beth was a debut novelist, I truly would never have been able to guess, because her writing is like candy, smooth and sweet with layers and layers of the good stuff. As mentioned before, she did a great job at bringing to life the emotions of her characters, and I also loved how she never shied away from bringing you both the good and bad sides to the life aboard the spaceship. And talking about the spaceship, I loved the way that she brought it to life right along with the characters and plot with her descriptions.

In all, Across the Universe is by far one of my favorite books of the year, if not ever, and this one book that I'll definitely be raving about up to and past it's release date. Because its as simple as this: this book is pure gold! And I simply can't wait for the sequel(s)!

Grade: A+

picked up Across the Universe, Beth Revis' debut novel, partly because I had gleaned bits and pieces of positive reviews here and there and partly because I had to fill 5 hours at the bookstore waiting for my boyfriend. Oh, and the cover. And the possibility of a young adult sci-fi novel excited me. Young adult literature really needs more sci-fi, now that it has fully picked up on the paranormal and the dystopian genre. In the end, Across the Universe ended up being a science fiction novel and a dystopian novel, with a bit of mystery thrown in for good measure. I must say that Revis juggled those three genres beautifully, building a world that was believable, claustrophobic and, at times, horrific.

Amy and her parents, as well as 97 other passengers, have been cryogenically frozen in preparation for a 300 year trip to a new planet, Centuri-Earth. But 50 years before the scheduled date of arrival of their ship, Godspeed, Amy is awakened. Knowing nothing of how or why, she can think of only one thing: someone tried to kill her. Her doubts are suddenly confirmed as more frozen people are awakened and, not as lucky as her, found dead in their thawed chambers. Elder is part of the crew that has been running Godspeed since the beginning of its journey. Generations upon generations of his people have worked and lived within the confines of the ships metal walls, each generation lead by one leader, Eldest, and Elder is the next leader in training. Once Amy awakens, Elder is fascinated by her, by her pale skin, red hair and green eyes, but most of all by all her ideas, her knowledge, her way of seeing things coming from a world that he has never known.

Together, and with the help of Elder's friend Harley, they try to unravel the mystery of the people dying, while at the same time Amy tries to: understand a society that makes no sense to her, that feels wrong and controlling and full of lies; find a murderer; and cope with the fact that the next time she will see her parents she'll be about 70 years old. And Elder starts to realize that everything he knows might be a lie, not knowing what is true, what is fabricated, what is wrong and what is right.

Across the Universe felt both slow-paced and fast-paced to me. I would come up for air, realize that I was half-way done with the book, but at the same time, wondering why not much had happened. It is because Revis trickles her clues and mysteries slowly through her story, little by little, not holding anything back, but not given away too much too fast until the very end of the book. Most of all though, it is the ship that retained my attention, the ship and the world that lives within it, this somewhat wrong and definitely dystopian world, completely cut off from anything else. The characters themselves were alright. I was not as attached to them as I would have liked, although I suspect that is just a personal taste, not a fault of the novel. I cared about them, but I cared more about seeing their world put right. The villain itself was a bit more one-dimensional, and slightly less believable, but nevertheless it did not distract me too much from the plot. Revis alternates between Amy's and Elder's first point-of-view and I thought it was done well, and it did not confuse me at all.

Overall I really enjoyed it, I am looking forward to the sequel (although, do not worry, it does not end on a cliffhanger) and, most of all, I hope that its success will bring more science fiction to the world of young adult literature.

Amy is a girl who is frozen, along with her parents and many others, in order to travel to another planet that they will inhabit. The plan is that they will be frozen for the 300 years it will take them to reach this planet but Amy is unplugged 50 years early and no one knows why or who did it. Overall, Across the Universe was a book that I enjoyed. There was just one thing that annoyed me...the Season.

I plowed through the first half of the book because I wanted to know what was going to happen but then I set the book down for a period of time and I had a hard time getting back into the story. The problem was that I unknowingly set it down at the start of the Season which turned out to be the worst part of the story. At one point, I actually had to set the book down and check out other reviews online to see if anyone else felt the same way I did because I was so appalled.

I was so grateful for Google Book Blog Custom Search and I just got lucky that the first blog on the list was Melissa at One Librarian's Book Reviews because she said exactly what I was thinking. I just felt that the Season was unnecessary, or at least part of it was. I think Revis could have made her point without going so far over the top. The story did pick up again after the Season and we were able to get back to everything else. Aside from the Season and the fact that some of the major plot points were fairly obvious early on, the story was intriguing.

Revis really captured how it might feel to be stuck on a ship that is not going to land for a really long time. To be on a spaceship, unable to see the sun or breathe fresh air or even run outside, is heartbreaking in itself. Then, to have to experience all of this surrounded by people who don't understand what they are missing because they were raised inside the metal walls and you woke up 50 years early is beyond devastating. The terror and claustrophobia and sadness are all portrayed perfectly as the mystery behind why Amy woke up early unfolds.

I rarely write reviews, but felt that because my opinion on this book differed from the majority I owed it to future readers to write this. I bought this book to read while on vacation (and I only get 6 weeks off from school a year, so I don't take my book selections lightly!). Just so you have some background: I am a 24 year old grad student and enjoy YA fiction (books like The Hunger Games, Delirium, Divergent, Matched - I even enjoyed Twilight while reading it, though now I recognize how much better YA can be!).

I absolutely did not like this book! It fell short on so many levels for me. First of all, it was so unbelievably childish. At times there were multiple pages where Amy, one of the main characters, would have a whiny discussion in her head: "I need Elder to like me! What would I do without him? But do I want him to like me?" - literally for pages. I'm sorry, but I moved on from 7th grade a long time ago; this kind of writing is not appealing to me in the slightest.

Next, it took far too many pages to reveal a not-so surprising plot/ending. I think that, had the main characters acted older than 13 and had the book been half as long, this book might have been interesting. Instead, there are tons of filler chapters without much meaning, and they are filled with obnoxious and whiny comments from both Amy and Elder.

Perhaps one of the most difficult parts of this book for me to get over was my dislike for both main characters. Elder was so naive and childish, and Amy was so emotional and whiny. If you don't like the thoughts or dialogue of either of the main characters, it kind of ruins the book.

I gave this two stars instead of one because I do feel like the plot had some premise and could have been interesting, had it not been ruined by immature characters and filler chapters. Maybe the second book will be better, but I won't be reading it to find out (and I am the kind of person who hates not completing a series).

So I expected this to be more of a love story than it actually was. I think its because of the original cover of two people about to kiss that I came to this conclusion. The book that I own has the cover that is pictured above, which I think is a better representation of the book. There is a love story, but it doesn’t encompass the entire story. The mystery of who is killing people on the spaceship is the biggest plot of the book. And for that, I am very thankful. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good love story every now and then, but I love science even more. I loved the mystery of this whole story, trying to figure out what is a lie and what is the truth.

My favorite part of this book was how the history of Earth was rewritten. When Amy is frozen, she has her memories kept in tack, including everything that she learned in school. When Elder shows her the records they have, history has been rewritten to fit the purpose of the ship. For example, the entire ship’s population is mono-ethnic. Their records were changed so that the civil war fit this ideology. Their records state that Abraham Lincoln realized that two races could not live in content, so he sent the African Americans to live in Africa. Therefore, the ship must be mono-ethnic so that differences do not cause conflict. These little details were important because it show how much the leaders of the ship changed everything just so that they could run the ship in a super controlled way. My personal favorite was the reference to Hitler as a good leader.

I liked Amy as a character. Even though she struggled with the fact that she was 250 years into the future, she knew that there were some things that should never change. For example, there were some inhabitants of the ship that were acting as though they were drones. For anyone, this should have been wrong, and she knew biologically this was true. After all, her mother worked in DNA research. She was threatened time and time again because she was so different, but knew that she had to stick around because her parents needed her. Some people would have had a complete meltdown and just lose it.

I believe that if you love sci-fi or a good mystery, you’ll like this book. Sometimes people fear that they won’t understand what is happening in a sci-fi book because you can get lost in the details. I think this book did a good job with balancing the science with the human interactions and emotions. I look forward to reading the sequels, A Million Suns and Shades of Earth.

Procurement
I received an ARC from the publisher. I've since given it away in a giveaway.

My Grade
Plot: 5
Setting: 5
Writing: 5
Originality: 5
Characters: 4
Romance: 4
Overall: 28/30 = 93% A
Cover/Title Bonus: 4

Overall
A sci-fi filled dystopia about murder, love, maturity, and power. Amazing technological concepts and a plot that keeps you guessing until the end.

Summary (Goodreads)
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 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.

Trailer
Watch it on YouTube.

First Line
Daddy said, "Let Mom go first."

Most Memorable Scene
I think the opening of the book is one of the best I've read. It engages you right into their world immediately, you're stuck, and unable to get out, kinda like Amy.

Plot
This book entails a lot of elements. There's mystery, the idea of their society, romance, corruption, and technology unheard of. I felt that the plot and overall theme flowed great and resolved itself to be an excellent stand alone novel but there is room to make a sequel should Beth Revis decide so. I personally would love to read a sequel.

Setting
You quickly learn that the setting is on a space ship that's sailing through space towards a new planet for them to inhabit. The ship is very large and full of amazing technology. The ARC edition had a map of sorts so you could visualize the ship better and while that was a neat-o thing, I felt the drawing could have been much better but it was a handy reference as it can get a bit confusing understanding exactly where they are in the ship. While I personally wouldn't want to embark on a voyage in space on that particular ship, it was great fun experiencing it through Elder and Amy.

Writing
I thought the writing style was superb. I love it when the story is told from different point-of-views. In this case it was from Amy and Elder. I was glad that it wasn't just from Amy's POV because there was so much about the society and the ship that we would have never found out if we didn't have Elder telling us.

Originality
I haven't read many, or if any, other space bound books. I would classify this book as sci-fi, YA, and dystopian. The dystopian factor is what initially drew me into this book and I wasn't disappointed about having the sci-fi part of the story because that's what made it more original than other dystopias.

Characters
The story is centered around Amy, who's supposed to remain frozen until the ship, Godspeed, arrives at the new planet. Her early awakening finds her thrown into this space ships society. She befriends Elder, the future leader of the ship, who treats her with care and tries his best to make her comfortable and accepted.

Amy's character was one that I immediately connected with. Her emotion was tangible and I truly felt for her every step of the way. I felt her character evolve from a scared young woman into a strong-willed woman that stood her ground and ultimately she's a hero.

Elder was weird for me at first. Especially because I didn't know he was a boy at first. o.O It wasn't directly stated and there weren't many, if any, hints to his gender in the first few pages of his narration. I guess I was thinking Elder was a unisex name. I dunno. Anyhow, his character was very immature at first but gradually he matured and fell into his future role of leader quite perfectly. There were a few scenes that I was shocked that he didn't stand up for him self or others but I quickly forgave him because he genuinely was a good guy.

Elder's best friend, who's name is eluding me, was a super cool dude. I enjoyed his character very much.

Then there's Eldest, the current leader of the ship. I was not a fan of that man. You'd have to read to understand. There's also a doctor on the ship, again, I can't remember his name! Gah! Secondary characters I can usually remember their names and I don't have the book any more so I can't easily look them up. So sorry!

Romance
You can tell from the summary that Amy and Elder do have a connection. Their relationship is handled with care because of the situation they are in. Amy prematurely awoken without her parents, Elder learning his role as a future leader, Eldest losing control of his mind to make the ship continue on it's path and of course the Doctor and all that he does. While there's nothing hot and heavy, the romance is sweet and subtle. I'm hoping to see this progress in a sequel.

Cover/Title Bonus
The cover to this is just gorgeous. Love it! And the title? While it's a catchy song title, a song I happen to love, as well as a movie title, a movie I also loved, I think it fit fine. I think it would have been awesome to have called it Godspeed because that's the ship's name but then some people might not have picked it up.

Ending
The ending was well wrapped up. It almost ended so well to be a stand alone novel. But it ends with me wondering what the heck is going to happen to that ship full of people?! I'm pretty sure there will be a sequel but I'm satisfied with how this one ended as it is.

I was lucky enough to get an early review copy of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. I read it so quickly, entranced by Amy and Elder, two very different teens from different worlds together on a space ship that is meant to be a sustainable environment until the entire crew (and population) get to a new planet. Amy isn't even supposed to be awake. She was cryogenically frozen back on Earth, with her parents, and meant to be awoken upon arrival. But someone unfroze her, perhaps attempting to kill her. And she and Elder are starting to realize that something very wrong is going on on the ship that Elder had previously thought was a fairly Utopian society, despite his regular tiffs with his mentor, Eldest. Part mystery, part space western, part romance, this is a book that is going to blow you away, too.

I have to tell you that I'm a sucker for a pretty cover and I absolutely adore this one. I wanted to read this book because the concept sounded really good to me. A mystery in space with a splash of romance. I had no idea how much I was going to like this book. The first chapter immediately grabbed my attention. The further I read in the story the more compelling it became. The story focuses around two people, Amy and Elder. Amy is a seventeen year old girl who is frozen on board a ship headed to a new planet they call Centauri Earth. She is woken from her Popsicle-like state under mysterious circumstances and ahead of schedule. Amy is a great character. She is strong but also fragile. Amy is basically on her own aboard a ship full of people who consider her a freak. She misses the warmth and protection of her parents, who are so close but also far away. This is the first time she's been on her own and I could sympathize with her character. Elder is the future leader of Godspeed, the ship that is carrying the future residents of Centauri Earth to their destination. Elder is young but eager to learn his role. His path in life was predetermined before he even knew how to walk. Elder was a very interesting character. Elder feels boxed in by Godspeed and so did I. I liked seeing the evolution of his character as he decides what kind of leader he wants to become. He finds himself torn between his duty as Elder and his own conscience. The story line in this book is "wow". Beth Revis weaves many interesting themes throughout this book. I was totally blown away by it and I want more! This is a frexing good book and I highly recommend it.

Beth Regis' debut teen sci-fi novel Across the Universe is an outstanding, twinkling achievement. This is an extraordinary first novel, and first installment to a promising trilogy. As I have been lucky enough to read an Advanced Reading Copy, not only can I not wait for the next episode of book two, but I simply can't wait to see the official hardback copy of this one. This is a book both teens and adults alike will just rave about. I can safely say this is one heck of a book you will not be able to put down. Finding myself near the end, I kept eaking out the last few pages because I just didn't want it to end!

When the story opens, Amy, a beautiful redheaded 17 year old girl is standing with her parents who are about to be cryogenically frozen. Our government at this time has failed to improve financial economics and has looked to NASA for an answer to the increasing crisis. 100 select citizens are chosen for specific talents and skills; innovative people who can begin to help colonize a new planet. 300 years away, a habitable planet is found. Luckily Amy and her parents are among the chosen few. They will be sent aboard a city-sized spaceship called the Godspeed, frozen for three centuries until they arrive.

But all does not go as planned and Amy is woken from her icy chamber 50 years way too early. Shocked and in panic mode, Amy awakens to an artificial world run by a dictatorship where the residents of the Godspeed are strangely monoethnic & are drugged and lied to, living in a zombie-like states of existence. Every nuance of these people's lives are governed, ruled, all decisions and choices made for them. Godspeed's people believe in their leader, believe they are happy, believe they are on a mission worthy of sacrifice, and believe they will land on a new planet in just a couple more decades. Little do they know.

Meeting Elder, Godspeed's future leader, Amy finds friendship and love; two things needed to keep her sanity when she learns that her parents will not be woken to be with her, that it's essential they stay frozen until the original planned landing date. But in deep space, where there is nothing but stars outside a metal façade, Amy and Elder encounter many shocking truths. They find murder, mystery, and madness aboard the Godspeed, as frozens are secretly unplugged to die. Soon they are initiated into the realities of who they are, their true purpose, and just who they can trust, when lies are revealed and horrifying details are unveiled.

Never have I come across a book that threw me so many surprises I never saw coming. One cannot say this book is predictable that is for sure! Innovative, creative, romantic, adventurous, horrifying and thought provoking, Across the Universe shimmers with it all. Proficient writing skills, loveable characters that are developed well, a very cool plot showing the author's talent for ingenuity, neat sci-fi gadgets and effects, a surprising end element, and a promise for more! What else can we ask for in a good book? This was a very thought provoking story in regards to it being another "what if" dystopian futuristic novel. In reading this wonderful story, I truly felt that perhaps we are not that far away from some of the ideas Revis presented in this book and that maybe more people ought to start thinking along her track. And speaking of tracks.....Across the Universe should be on the one-way track to the top of most bestseller lists and on to the big screen! I really loved this book and can't wait for more. Very fresh and original Beth Revis, keep it coming!

Amy wakes up too early from cryrosleep to find herself aboard a starship chock-full of secrets and mysteries. Everyone she has ever known is either long dead or still frozen. Who is thawing out the sleeping crewmembers and why?

Elder is the leader-in-training aboard ship. He is supposed to learn how to run the ship, yet his superior, Eldest, refuses to teach him what is necessary to meet those responsibilities. Elder questions Eldest's motives.

The characters sorta have chemistry, but it's a very superficial one (she's pretty, fair and red-headed, he's tall dark and handsome). I would have liked to see a more gradual and psychological affinity between Amy and Elder. If this were a romance, I'd give it a 2 1/2, but this book is more sci-fi thriller than anything else, and as such it's really a 3 1/2. Revis captures the voices of the teenage protagonists well, and the premise is an entertaining one. Despite the descriptor "original" appearing in half the reviews, I found there were lots of elements from other classics in the genre (Heinlein's _Orphans of the Sky_, "The Matrix" and the Star Trek episode "For the Moon is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky," for example) but not in a bad way. The world-creation is interesting, and there's some philosophical meat to chew.

However, as a thriller, there are lots of predictable moments, and there is one place where Revis attempts to shock you in a way that frankly I found unfair (even though I had long before predicted that particular plot element). Only once was I actually shocked, and it was only in matter of degree, not detail.

It should be mentioned that there is a somewhat graphic almost-rape scene. This occurs in the context of a "mating season" on board the ship, when people go nuts in animalistic sexual frenzy. I have mixed feelings about this. Certainly, these issues make the book appropriate only for older teens (at least 16 y o) and adults. However, Amy and Elder really look down upon all the animalistic behavior, and seem to long for an emotional connection they don't see others experiencing. Maybe this isn't such a bad message to send teens and twenty-somethings: sex should be more than an animal act.

Overall, _Across the Universe_ wasn't the worst way to while away a weekend, but not the most fulfilling, either. I think this is a book to borrow from a friend or from a library, not buy (Sorry, the store).

I'm a little older than a "young adult" and I'm not crazy about sci-fi stuff - but I still LOVED this book. By making the story switch points of view between Amy and Elder, you really got to understand better the chaos going on everywhere. Lots of action and very interesting story about trying to reach another place to live, once Earth is inhabitable. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to volunteer to be frozen on a ship until we reach the next livable planet!!! I recommended this to my coworkers and I can't wait to pick up the 2nd in the series. The only thing I wasn't thrilled with is there is some graphic sex scenes in there during the mating season. It's a shame, because this is an AR book (4.9 grade level) which I would never let my 4-5th grader read! Still a great story.

I’ll start off by saying that I don’t normally read sci-fi, so if you’re not a hard-core sci-fi lover, don’t give up on this one yet—in fact, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is the first sci-fi-ish book I’ve read in years.

So if I don’t read sci-fi, why did I pick up this book? Truth be told, the cover had a lot to do with it—it caught my eye on the shelf and I picked it up and liked the summary, and the first chapter. Not only that, but I read Beth Revis’ blog and she seemed like a pretty cool author. Plus she interacts on both Twitter and tumblr which is a pretty nice bonus if you ask me.

I really enjoyed this book. I was worried that it might be too spacey for my tastes (since, as I said, I don’t often read sci-fi), but ACROSS THE UNIVERSE had me hooked. There’s a murder mystery, romance that isn’t overdone (which, I have to say, is pretty refreshing) and some memorable characters. The only thing that bothered me was the dual-POV—the book is told both from Amy and Elder’s alternating first person POV, which was a little difficult to adjust to at first, but I actually enjoyed it later on. In fact, the dual POV really made the ending particularly fantastic stylistically, in my opinion.

Oh, and have I mentioned the twists? There aren’t many books that have surprised me like ACROSS THE UNIVERSE did, and I can count on one hand how many book surprised me more than once (ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, of course, being one of them).

Mystery. Romance. Twists. I highly recommend this one. It’s a great read and I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel.

After making one of the most challenging decisions of her life, Amy says goodbye to her friends and everything she has known on earth to be frozen for 300 years and travel across the universe to another planet. Elder, a boy from another generation, is destined to be the ruler of the ship, Godspeed. When Amy is accidentally unfrozen, she doesn't know who to trust. Everything about the society on the ship is different and she feels alone. When Elder and Amy realise that someone is unplugging the frozen civilisation, and killing them, on purpose, they have to distinguish between the truths and the lies that have been created on the ship, and work out who the murderer is before more victims are defrosted.

In an amazing debut, Beth Revis has created an intriguing murder-mystery that has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end. Even though everyone is trapped aboard the ship, there's still plenty of deceit and lies to uncover to set up an intricate mystery.

I loved Amy. Amy is shown to be a very active and healthy teenage girl who cannot sit still and loves to be in open spaces. By giving her the hobby of long distance running was a great way to show how really trapped she is in the floating artificial world. Her journey is very realistic as she comes to realise that, when in space, there is nowhere to run.

By showing both the perspectives of Amy and Elder, it was easy to see the ship through the eyes of an insider as well as a foreigner. This made the plot more interesting since Elder was the one uncovering the lies, while Amy was left with a feeling that something wasn't right on the ship.

I don't usually read sci-fi, but the characters created were all realistic and honest, and it was easy to picture the world aboard Godspeed. Once I started I didn't want to stop.

Across the Universe is a mix of sci-fi, dystopia and a mystery novel. I have not read anything else like it. (Well since I started writing this review a while ago, now I have read Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan which has some of the same...substance)

Across the Universe evoked tons of emotions from me. It was a roller coaster. This book was very emotionally fueled. It was fantastic. Not many books can do that. I was totally emotionally connected to both Amy and Elder. The story was very creative and original., although some plot twists were predictable. That was the only downside of this novel. It was a mystery yet predictable.

The love aspect of this novel was very subtle. It was just a tug of a rope not a magnetic. I liked this. The love wasn't forced. It was almost nonexistent. It was nice not to see the immediate spark like in other YA novels. I can't wait to see how or if their attraction continues in A Million Suns.

Parts of this story were very dark for no better choice of words. Especially The Season. It makes me shiver. I don't want to give away too much.

This book was many kinds of amazing! Go pick it up right now before, A Million Suns comes out in January!

Writing a space age sci-fi novel in a time when all the rage is supernaturals is a brave thing. It could be hit or miss. Thankfully, in the case of 'Across the Universe', it's a hit. Or nearly a hit, earning 3.5 stars.

I found things in the book I liked and other things I didn't. Though, to be honest, most of my grievances with 'Across the Universe' may come down more to taste than actual problems with the text. 'Across the Universe' is compelling. Helped along by short chapters and changing perspectives, I found it quite easy to immerse myself in this book. I devoured half the book in one sitting and finished it the next day.

What I liked about the novel changed a bit from opening the first page and closing on the last. I liked the idea Revis was going for because it's not commonly done in YA lit. The way the chapters weaved together was great, as well. Each little chapter from main character Amy's perspective gave us a nice idea of how 'new' the ship was and each little chapter from male lead Elder helped us understand the society. It made the idea behind the ship and the society itself a little easier to understand. (As a note, if you find yourself confused with what the ship looks like, turn your cover inside out-- there's a diagram. I wish I had known about it sooner because I was a bit confused about where things were located on the ship until I pulled out that darn map!)

Characters Amy and Elder were unique and engaging characters to read. My favorite character, however, was Harley, Elder's friend and Amy's companion during her days in the Ward. If ever she does write another book in this universe, Revis may want to consider a companion piece in Harley's point of view. I wish I could say that I was surprised when it came to who the bad guys were, but I had it figured out half way through. Even so, the main characters kept me interested.

If I had to compare this book to another popular series, it would be the 'Hunger Games' trilogy. This isn't exactly a 'happy' book. It's very low key in terms of joy and humor-filled banter. It's not something you'll finish with a sappy grin on your face. Towards the end, some really hardcore secrets are revealed that leave you (or at least me) thinking 'what?!'. That, honestly, is my only problem with the book. I wish we were given a happier ending. I'm actually a bit concerned about the characters futures... And I don't like being concerned about characters well being, especially when it seems like the book is a stand-alone.

'Across the Universe' is on store shelves now! While I don't think it is a book that will please those who don't usually enjoy Sci-fi, it is a good read. In my opinion, it gets 3.5 stars

There was such a big buzz about this book that even though I am not a sci-fi fan I picked this book up, and I am so glad I did. Across The Universe is so much more than just sci-fi,there is murder,mystery,suspense,and romance.

The two main characters are Amy and Elder. Amy who has been cryogenically frozen and is on a spaceship waiting to be awoken 300 years later on another planet. Than their is Elder born on the ship and next in line to become Eldest and lead the people on the ship.

The Godspeed is the ship where the whole entire plot takes place in. The Godspeed is built on lies and deceit. The people on board have been brainwashed,their are now mating seasons,everyone is mono-ethnic, and the elderly are killed off. So of course when they see Amy with her vibrant red hair she is the "freak" and thanks to Eldest the current leader on board everyone now thinks she was an experiment gone wrong and every word out of her mouth is a lie.

Amy's character was very real for how someone in her situation may react. She was confused,angry,scared,alone,and ostracized. Yet knowing there was a murderer on board who was determined to kill off all those that are defenseless and frozen in the lower levels of the ship she did whatever it took to make sure they were safe. Not to mention she was also determined to change all the wrongs on the ship that was just not normal.

Elder was an interesting character as well. I loved how his character grew throughout the story and how he finally grew a backbone and was able to stand up to Eldest.

Even though I was sucked into the book from the beginning there were parts where I thought it dragged.Mainly the dream scenes when Amy was still frozen, it felt like it was just fillers. But once Amy woke up the plot moved very fast and I was left in suspense the whole time while learning more about the Godspeed and the people on board.

There are some sexual scenes in the book including and almost gang rape so I don't recommend this for the younger teens.

I love how Across The Universe was wrapped up, I was satisfied with the ending and yet Beth Revis left enough of a cliffhanger where I can't wait to read the second book in the series.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Razorbill, 2011
398 pages
YA; Science-Fiction
4/5 stars

What I Liked:
-The characters especially Amy, Elder, and Harley. Their personalities popped and I felt for each of them. Less prominent characters like Steela and Orion still caught my attention in the times that they appeared but the first three mentioned were among the most important. Amy is a fish out of water, Elder is struggling with the knowledge that he will be leader, and Harley is trying to survive. I loved all of them.
-The writing-very strong, especially for a debut.
-The rewritten history learned by students on the ship, as in Hitler was a great leader because he unified his people along monoethnic lines and Lincoln ended the Civil War by sending all of the black people to Africa. The first made me gasp a bit but as I realized what had been done, I enjoyed it and wished there were more tidbits of the new history.
-The optimistic ending. Nothing definite is set but the future could turn out well for the surviving people.
-The cover: very striking and appealing.

What I Didn't Like:
-The dystopian elements all felt really familiar. Dystopian isn't the main genre I read so I was surprised that none of those parts surprised me. As each piece was revealed, I thought "Of course; why didn't Amy or Elder figure this out sooner?"
-The descriptions, while good and necessary, sometimes ran too long. At times, I just wanted something to happen.

Heartbreaking:
-Amy's parents are the reason she is on the ship. They both wanted to be a part of creating a new world (mom's a geneticist; dad's a tactician) but they were willing to part with their daughter in order to do so. She had the choice to remain on earth and die before they ever reached their destination or to come with them. She obviously chose the latter but may never see them again.

Overall: A great debut, especially for those who love science-fiction and dystopian.

Cover: Gorgeous cover!

I don't normally like sci-fi but after reading reviews and seeing how much people loved this one I thought I would give it a chance. I bought it and went to open it and discovered that the dust jacket is reversible with a blueprint of the ship Godspeed. I thought that was a pretty cool touch. The entire book is told from two different view points, Amy's and Elder's which works out nicely.

It starts off with Amy and her parents getting frozen in the cyro tanks. Amy's parents are chosen to be part of a group of people from earth to be frozen for 300 years and then land on a new planet and help set it up. Amy is nonessential and gets to go because of a special request from her parents. She leaves behind her boyfriend and friends in hopes of being part of the new planet.

Amy is unfrozen early though and is on the Godspeed ship in space heading to the new planet. She meets Edler who is the future leader of the ship and his best friend Harley. Having to adjust to life here is hard for Amy who does not fit in at all. Everyone on the ship basically looks the same and the way of life is so different. The leader Eldest is manipulating and puts stuff in the water to make the people perform the way he wants. He controls how the people act and what they believe. He also controls when the women get pregnant with The Season. Wow that was something I have never seen in a book before. Then some of the frozens start becoming unfrozen and killed. You then realize that it is becoming a murder mystery.

There are bits of romance that I think and hope will come to be more between Amy and Elder in the next book. The whole concept and the words that the author used were brilliant. I loved how she described the ship so it was better understood what it was really like to live on a space ship that was made to look like a city. I really enjoyed reading this and recommend it even if you don't like sci-fi or dystopian books. You will like this, I can't wait for the second one to come out to see what happens next.

Seventeen-year-old Amy is cryogenically frozen, along with her parents, for the 300 year journey to a new planet where her family will be colonists. But fifty years before the starship Godpeed's arrival, Anna is woken up and faced with a startling civilization. But being trapped on a ship with strange inhabitants that can't seem to think for themselves and ruled by a ruthless tyrant is not as nearly as bad as knowing there's a murderer on board, killing the frozen colonists. And Amy's parents may be next.

Amy is a sympathetic character, thrust into a seemingly unbearable situation. And Elder, the future leader of the ship, is even more likable. He makes occasional mistakes yet has a good heart. There are several antagonists - Eldest, the tyrannical ruler; the unknown murderer who is not truly surprising; and even the ship itself, a place of containment and no escape that can lead to insanity. Revis' has created a truly fascinating and chilling setting aboard a massive ship fueled by lies and deceit.

The first in a purposed trilogy, this debut novel is both impressive and breathtaking. Full of mystery, intrigue, heart-pounding suspense, and a bit of romance, this novel was completely captivating from beginning to end. Marketed for teens, this dark, dramatic adventure in deep space is a fantastic read for adults as well. With a feeling of Pandorum meets the Hunger Games, I highly recommend this for any science fiction fan. The next installment can't come soon enough.

Across the Universe is a mash-up of scifi, mystery, and young-adult fiction, with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. In a nutshell, it tells the story of a colony seed-ship on a journey towards a distant planet and the teenage girl who wakes up early - 50 years before the trip is over - only to find herself stuck in a strange, dystopian society where someone may be trying to kill her. All of this sounds fascinating, but the end result is a mystery that is telegraphed far too early and scifi that doesn't quite stand up to scrutiny.

When the main character, Amy, wakes up from cryogenic sleep - nearly dying in the process - she quickly meets the leader of the society, Eldest, and his protege, Elder, who will assume the reigns of leadership when Eldest retires. The book alternates viewpoints between Amy and Elder, which is a nice way of giving us both the insider and the outsider perspectives.

The more Amy finds out about the ship society, the stranger it seems. Racial and class distinctions are gone because all of the people are genetically uniform. Rather than reproducing normally, the people on the ship go into heat during "the time", which Amy is told is coming soon. Everyone in the working class is strangely emotionless and distant, as though they are running purely on autopilot. The only people who seem to show any spark of intelligence or normality are all considered "crazy" and given a regimen of pills to keep them under control.

The mystery revolves around discovering who is unfreezing and (sometimes) killing the colonists. The author spends a lot of time early on talking about how nobody locks doors on the ship because privacy is so respected, but too much of the mystery relies on important doors remaining unlocked. This is a bit hard to swallow when Eldest spends most of the book jealously guarding his secrets, even from Elder. I didn't have much trouble figuring out the culprit fairly early on. This is only disappointing because the book spends so much time focused on the murder mystery when it seems like the true mystery should be the nature of the ship itself. However, I will give the author credit for throwing in a few good surprises near the end of the book.

One other thing that didn't seem entirely credible was the initial configuration of the ship, with frozen Earth colonists below and living lower-class workers doing the menial upkeep of the ship for centuries while the colonists sleep. It just seemed like a recipe for class warfare, as if the ship's initial designers set out to cause as much social friction as possible. How do you reintegrate those two groups into a working colony, with one sleeping while the other toils away? I also questioned how sustainable the ship could be with the bulk of its passengers living and reproducing and using up resources. It seems like it would be far more practical to keep everyone frozen.

Although I wasn't entirely satisfied with this book, I did check the author's website to see if it was planned as the first in a series, and it is. The ending doesn't exactly scream for a sequel, but it doesn't necessarily tie everything up in a neat little bow, either. Amy finds out some hard truths after she wakes up on the ship, and those hard truths don't just go away at the end of the book. I'd definitely be interested in reading future books set in this world, although I do hope that the author shifts her focus towards exploring some of the intricacies of the society she's established, rather than spending so much time on a so-so murder mystery.

Amy and her parents decide to go into frozen sleep in order to travel aboard a spaceship to colonize a remote planet. But things don't work out as they'd expected, and Amy is awakened during the journey, before the ship arrives. Amy finds herself in a new, surprising, frightening world aboard ship, a world controlled by a mysterious leader named Eldest with his student, Elder.

I read all 300+ pages in one sitting. It's a popular genre now, the YA dystopia, and this book is quite typical of that genre, with a scary world that feels like an exaggerated version of our world, with scary leaders who stretch and warp the truth for their own ends, with strong young rebels who fight to restore goodness to the scary world.

Books with huge hype worry me. They come on high pedestals with high expectations and most of the time, there`s no way for them to go but down so I'm often disappointed. I'm happy to say that Across The Universe was a brilliant exception.

This book horrified and amazed me at the same time. I was about as mesmerized with it as I was The Hunger Games, which is a comparison that I don't ever use freely. From the very first paragraph, I was hooked. Life in the future on the Godspeed is a brutal, unfathomable thing to imagine, but Revis writes it so fantastically natural that once I was put into the right mindset, nothing was too shocking or disturbing anymore. And let me tell you, there are a lot of wonderfully disturbing things happening in this book.

I was a little disappointed with the romance aspect, but since it didn't play a huge role in the story, it was easy to overlook. I can only hope that Amy and Elder will develop more in the next book. Speaking of Amy and Elder, I'm going to gush about how well written the two were. One born three hundred years into the past, one born present day. It's easy to pick out their differing personalities. Elder is serious, curious and easily accepting of Godspeed's way, since it's all he's known. Amy is sarcastic and free-spirited and wise to the abnormality of the people and ruler on the ship. Alternating point of views usually frighten me, but in this case, it gave the story two different takes and I absolutely loved it.

Overall, Across The Universe is an original sci-fi masterpiece that completely enraptured me. It's action-packed, heartbreaking, thrilling, intense and a million times EPIC. I highly recommend this one!

I went into this book thinking that it would be good, and expecting an epic science-fiction read. And I got almost half of what I hoped for.

Across the Universe had a great plot, but the characters both added and took away from it. Elder was a very interesting character, as was Amy, but they didn't really seem to fit together, and though there was a subtle romance, it didn't seem like they took enough time to get to known one another, or were really around one another that much. I felt the "romance" in the book was definitely lacking.

In the end, it ended up being more Dystopian than Science-Fiction, which I found myself disappointed with, but I liked it all the same, and it was definitely a very different read. The author did well with giving you subtle hints throughout the story to put together the big picture, and there was a lot of plot-twisting information to take in, which was a nice change.

Now, for my cons...First of all, it was very hard for me to get into and stay into. The writing style was good, but took some getting used to, and at quite a few points I had to fight to read it. Some parts of the story seemed rushed, or didn't seem to fit altogether, and the ending seemed a little abrupt and chaotic. The parts of the book that should have been elaborated on were much too short, and quite a few parts had what seemed like filler tacked onto them.

I would recommend this book for older teens due to the content, which includes medical drug abuse, some (mild) sexual scenes and frequent mentions, and a mild near-rape scene.

All in all, I had a love/hate relationship with this book, and give it three stars. I wanted to like it more than I did, but I still liked it, and would be interested in reading the sequel to see what happens. If you're looking for a different take on the Dystopian genre with a little bit of Science-Fiction thrown in, then this is your book.

Alexandra Lanc~
Author of: The Foxfire Chronicles

The spaceship Godspeed is on a 300-year journey across the stars to form a new settlement on Earth-Centauri. Amy has been cryogenically frozen with her parents to awake once the journey is completed, but something has gone wrong and she's awoken 50 years too soon. Someone is deliberately unplugging the cryogenic containers, and it's up to Amy to find out what's happening before the killer strikes again.

The civilization Amy finds on Godspeed is nothing like what she's left behind. Her pale skin and red hair make her a target on the "mono-culture" ship where almost everyone looks and behaves alike. Her first friend is Elder, the only other teenager on the ship, and the person being trained to become the next leader. His mentor, Eldest, is the despotic leader who rules Godspeed through strict hierarchy. Eldest has divided the ship into three levels. The Keeper level is for Elder and Eldest alone. The Shipper level is where the research labs and engine rooms exist. Finally, there is the Feeder level, where most of the Godspeed inhabitants live in farms raising food and the basic stuffs upon which the ship depends. But in the 200 years since the ship has left Earth, more has changed --- or been hidden and forgotten --- than its inhabitants realize.

Amy is sent to the Hospital wing with the rest of the ship's inhabitants who appear different. But by her earth-born eyes, it's the Feeders who seem strange, not the hospital teeming with brilliant minds and bright artists. As Amy struggles to acclimate herself to claustrophobic life aboard ship, she discovers other things that don't seem quite right. How much time has passed since Godspeed left earth? Why has earth's history --- found in the hall of records --- changed so much from what she knew? And how did Godspeed come to be organized in this strange new order where almost every aspect of their lives is strictly regimented and arranged for them by Eldest?

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is Beth Revis's debut novel. Marketed as "science fiction for teens who don't like science fiction," it contains touches of Kurt Vonnegut's HARRIS BERGERON and Aldous Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD. Revis takes on a number of current-day ethical issues, including genetic and chemical manipulation, but falls short on some of her facts regarding the basic physics of space and space travel. As Amy begins to unlock the secrets of Godspeed, the more surprising the scenario becomes --- including the book's final reveal about where they are and how long they have been traveling.

However, the strongest aspect of the book are the moral questions to which speculative fiction returns, again and again. Take for instance the three causes of discord, which are drilled into Elder like a mantra. Eldest tells Elder:

"The first cause of discord is difference. There is no religion on Godspeed. We all speak the same language. We're all mono-ethnic. And because we are not different, we do not fight. Remember the Crusades I taught you about? The genocides? We will never have to worry about those types of horrific events on Godspeed..."

At first look this may seem like a utopia, but the more Amy and the reader explore the ramifications of this theory --- down to altered Earth history uncovered in the hall of records designed to support this theory --- the more sinister it becomes. Hitler is revered as a hero. And Lincoln is remembered for sending the slaves back to Africa. Neither of these things is true in Amy's world or our own, but both seem chillingly similar to some of the strange alternate-histories and conspiracies that run rife in our world.

The second cause of discord is a lack of a strong central leader, which the Eldest/Elder system was designed to eliminate. The generations on Godspeed are carefully controlled, with each generation coming into Season every 20 years. Each generation's Elder is born between generations. "One person," Eldest explains to Elder, "born ahead of the people he will lead, to act as patriarch and commander to the people younger than he... You will be the strong central leader who prevents discord, who preserves every living person on the ship."

Finally, the third cause of discord, which Elder and Amy discover throughout the course of the novel, is individual thought. The civilization inside Godspeed is designed to control and contain it. And when we find out why, it's almost easy to see how these three rules have become so important to the people on the ship, even if this philosophy threatens to crush the last vestiges of beauty and autonomy that live upon it.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is beautifully packaged with a map of Godspeed on the reverse of the book jacket and online add-ons for interested readers. The author is engaged and enthusiastic on her topic, and the novel is sure to enthrall those who are interested in something beyond the current craze for supernatural romance. While Amy and Elder's interactions are relatively PG, there are some fairly charged scenes involving the ship's mating Season. This aspect of sexuality, in addition to some of the book's treatment of topics like government control of medication and birth control, including one suicide, means that ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is probably best for mature teen readers.

--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood

Why read: I read a ton of fantastic reviews.

What impressed me: Across the Universe blew me away. The mystery of who was defrosting the frozen people was shocking, but even more than that the dystopian society created aboard the Godspeed are totally impressive. Every plot twist was a complete surprise and it was a addictive read, having to keep going to see what unexpected thing happened next. Amy is a very relatable character and her friendship with Elder is a big part of Across the Universal's appeal.

What disappointed me: Nothing at all.

Recommended: Absolutely. Across the Universe was completely amazing.

Continue series: Yes, as soon as possible.

Imagine being uprooted from your entire life and all that you have known. And the result of that is Amy, our spunky heroine that is nearly killed and ostracised in a community that wants nothing more than to make sure she is as miserable as possible. Nobody believes all of the life experiences that she knows in her heart to be true. She is a freak. A problem.

That is what Amy has to endure on the spaceship Godspeed. Where she was meant to sleep until they landed on Centauri-Earth 300 years later. But someone had other plans for her and unplugged her cryogenic freezing tank 50 years early.

Amy nearly dies but is saved by the handsome Elder. Who happens to be in the running to become the ship captain. The second in command only to Eldest, the two faced leader of Godspeed.

Then imagine slowly finding out that everything that you have been told is a lie. That is the world that Elder has been unwillingly transplanted into. The only person that might be able to help Elder decipher the lies is Amy. And all Amy wants to do is go home back to Earth or become cryogenically frozen again so that she can wake up with her parents. Both of which are impossible.

The alternating points of view in the book between Elder and Amy are never confusing but instead refreshing. I was pleasantly surprised from this book. I love the concept and the writing. Since there isn't any over the top romance in this book it will appeal to both a boy or girl teenager. This is a book that I will reread in the future and will preorder the sequel asap. Read this book! It won't dissapoint!

So I've been having a bit of a hard time finishing a novel for some time. This is the first novel that I have finished since Mid-May (I think) so I think it deserves props for keeping me engaged.

The best thing about this novel is the world building. I loved it. I love the world building and how everything is set in space and the condition that these people live in. I am loving the YA science fiction genre (*cough* These Broken Stars love *cough*) . The high point of the entire story in my opinion was the world that is introduced to the reader. I enjoyed learning more and more about the world.

This book is told from dual point of view of Amy and Elder, the main protagonists. I was never confused between their voices. They both have distinct voices and perspectives. Which fits together in this book pretty well. You get to see the same thing in two perspectives and it's not repetitive.

The writing in some places is beautiful. Some of the dialogues and feelings that are portrayed through the words really kept me hooked . The problem is that the author is not very good at building up the mystery and keeping it unpredictable at the same time. I knew almost everything that happened in the climax pretty soon. There were some surprises of course but most of the twists, I had already predicted.I think by the time the climax came along I was just happy that there were atleast SOME things I had not managed to predict.

Another issue I had with this book is how some serious issues and problems were handled or should I say NOT handled at all.The issues just seem to be brushed aside.The world they live in is different and I like how they show how different it is but how some issues were portrayed and handled, I was disappointed with. As I want to avoid spoilers, I'll just hint towards it. There's a pretty heartbreaking discovery that happens near the end and it's not really addressed or it seems it's just swept under the rug. Maybe the author plans to address it in the sequel but this is just one of the examples. The characters just seem to handle these issues in a robotic manner and not even have any emotional dialogue on them, which just didn't sit right with me.

Overall,I did enjoy the novel and am interested to read what happens next. I want to learn even more about this world and the space they live in. I also really enjoyed some of the dialogues and parts of the writing immensely.I just thought I would point out the reasons why I'm not giving this a higher rating even though it managed to keep me entertained and hooked till the end.

I picked up ACROSS THE UNIVERSE thinking that it would be a sci fi novel. And while it was--complete with all sorts of cool futuristic spacey technology, I discovered it was so much more than that. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is like STAR TREK meets THE GIVER bound together by a delicious romance (and lets face it, all the best books will have a delicious romance). Already, I know this will be one of the best books of 2011 for me. I read this book straight through in one day without stopping. Every chapter had me by the throat.

While AtU is set so far in the future, on a spaceship with cryogenically frozen bodies no less, the learning curve is actually not that huge. Beth does some really cool things with language, as well as with structure that really helps to pull you into this futuristic world without you even realizing it, weaving in details of this world and its history into the narrative in a masterful, unnoticeable way. For writers, there's a lot to be learned in the way of technique. For readers, it's like taking a trip aboard the Godspeed, albeit one full of secrets and lies.

The mystery is one of the most exciting aspects of the book, as Elder and Amy uncover clues bringing them closer to answers--and to the murderer. But AtU is more than just a mere mystery, or a mere dystopian--more, even, than a simple combination of genres. It's a powerful book that says so much about right and wrong and that muddy space in between. It questions what it means to be human, to love, and to fight tooth and nail to protect that which you love. It highlights issues of leadership, war, and "true" history. AtU offers the reader so much to think about without being preachy or obnoxious, asking readers to come up with their own conclusions about the choices and sacrifices they would make to preserve the things most important to them.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is a book rich with complex emotions and conflict, but fast paced and gripping. You won't be able to put it down.

From: evelinesbooks.blogspot.nl

2.5 stars

I was not convinced by this novel. The first half of the book I did not like at all, later it turned by a bit, but not enough to make it a satisfying read. I really wanted to like this book, but it just did not do it for me.

The book starts with Amy about to be frozen to travel to another planet. After that we meet Elder, who is residing on the same spaceship, just not frozen. When Amy is unfrozen and nearly dies, Elder starts to realise not everything on the ship is perfect. When other people are unfrozen, he and Amy start investigating and together they unravel the ship's darkest secrets.

The beginning of the book was very confusing. After Amy is frozen, we suddenly jump to Elder, the other POV. It was unclear who he was, where he was, if we jumped in time, if it was even the same spaceship. Until Amy was unfrozen, I was very confused about everything, not good.

I did not like the world building. As I said, the beginning was totally confusing. After that things were explained, but I never got a good view of the whole spaceship and the reasons why they had to leave Earth. Also the sci-fi elements, like the drugs, the DNA-changing etc, I did not understand how they could have been developed on the ship during its voyage, since all the scientist were frozen. More explanation, especially in the beginning, would have been great.

I did actually like the dystopian elements. The secrets about how the ship was run and the Plague were pretty creepy and they were original.

The mystery element in the book, who is the 'unfrozener'/murderer, was very predictable. Throughout the book many hints were given and thus I was not surprised at the reveal at the end. Same goes for Eldest 'biggest secret', I thought that was obvious from the beginning, apparently not. The secrets about the ship itself did surprise me, I constanly thought how the people's behaviour was abnormal, but I had not thought of that.

Part of why I did not like the first half of the book was the concept of the mating season and the near-rape of Amy. It really disgusted me and I thought it could have been more subtle.

The pacing I guess was pretty good after the first chapters. Although I may not have liked the story so much I did finish the book quickly and I did not get bored.

The first sentence of the blurb is 'A love out of time'. Uhm, which love? There is about zero percent romance in the book. From the beginning Elder is attracted to Amy, and that is (mostly) because of her appearance and because she is the only girl his age. And Amy does not show any sign of attraction to Elder, only friendship. They kiss once, but this is quickly forgotten. At the end of the book they hold hands and that is the whole loving relationship. They had absolutely no chemistry and the attraction that was there was just based on appearances.

The main characters did nothing for me. They were both pretty naive, they did not see the answers when they were right in front of them.

Amy seemed childish to me. She was seventeen, but she still called her father 'Daddy' and her mother 'Momma'. When people tell her it's not safe outside the hospital, what does she do? She goes to take a run outside, on her own. Most dystopian novels have a strong heroine, but Amy was just a normal girl with no special qualities, she was even annoying, with her constant mentioning her old boyfriend Jason and whining about her 'Daddy'.

Elder kind of irritated me. He thought he was really smart, by outsmarting Eldest, when actually he did not know anything. He was selfish: he saw a pretty girl and did not want to be alone, who cares what she wants. And until the very end it seemed like he was only interested in her because she was pretty, nothing else. He absolutely did not seem like a leader, I'm actually really curious how he's going to survive leadership in the second book.

The only likeable character was Harley. At least he showed actual emotion and he had an interesting, but tragic story. He actually seemed like a better love interest for Amy than Elder, but well.. that's not going to happen anymore is it.. I would definitely read a short story about him and Kayleigh.

I guess I would not recommend this book. There is nothing I can really praise this book about and I'm not going to read the second book.

Funny thing about the cover: it took me ages to find out it was a girl and a boy. I only saw the pink in between them, I thought that was some kind of funny thing in the universe (I don't know exactly what it should have been).

Half Audio-Half Read

Seventeen year old Amy Martin has been frozen along with her mom and dad. They've been put on a ship named Godspeed and are headed to a planet which is 300 years in the future. Imagine her surprise when she is thawed out and instead of being on the planet she's still aboard a ship full of mystery and secrets.

ONE WORD... WOW!

8 mins into the audio book and I was literally saying WOW! By the end of the book I was at a million WOW's. Beth Revis has one heck of an imagination. I don't want to give any details from the book because I believe it would all be a spoiler. All the new words used, the world created on Godspeed, the past and the future, all of it is so brand new that it would be an injustice to mention any of it in a review. You have to experience it for the first time when you read the book.

This ship is full of mystery and secrets and I guarantee you won't be disappointed. I think one of the things I liked most about the book was that it wasn't predictable at all.

I will say ONE thing...My new word is FREX! ;-)

Ms. Revis you have done a wonderful job and I am in awe of your creativity. I've already started the second book and I'm already at "WOW" and "No frexing way!"!!

I don’t really know what I was expecting when I entered this book. I don’t normally read science fiction, its not that I don’t like it its just I think I’m fussy about which ones I read. I thought because of all the hype with this book that I would enjoy it. The idea behind the story sounded great. So when I was done I was a bit underwhlemed.

Our main characters are Elder and Amy. Amy was a fine character I suppose. I feel bad for her, the situation she has been placed is is truly awful. I know I would hate and would probably act as stupid as her at times because of the frustration. That being said that doesn’t mean I liked to read about it. Some of the things she thought and did were just painful. At one point she nearly wakes up her father because she is a selfish cow and wants him and I was basically screaming at the book all kind of horrible names and words because I couldn’t believe she was actually going to be that stupid. Thank God she didn’t go through with it at the end. I would have stopped reading the book if it had of happened because I would of hated her too much.

I don’ know how I feel about Elder. I understand he grew up in a very different world and was taught very different ways of thinking to was myself, and Amy, think, so I try to be understanding about certain things but its difficult. I like him at times but some of the things he says and does are just… bleh.

The love between these guys is really really weird. Its not great but kind of works. This I put mostly to how spastic the world Elder lives in and how he has been taught to think and do things, however it also feels very very forced at times. I was completely shocked and appalled that it was still there in the end. Elder does some things that Amy only finds out about at the end of the book, awful things, and she just forgives him straight away. I think it lost a star just because of this. I mean, it wouldn’t have killed them to have Amy hate him at the end of book and MAYBE if you were desperate to have them love each other fix things in the next one.

In terms of plot it was ok. I worked out who our bad guy was pretty much the first time he popped up in the book so I found that very sad. There wasn’t really much suspense left once I did that. I worked it out way to early in the book. The only thing that I hadn’t figured out was why he was going all the things he did. The world was really interesting though and at times the book did have me going and I was wrapped. I was really sad when one of the characters dies, they were one of the things I really liked about the book.

So yeah. It was ok but I really don’t think its worth all the hype I have heard. Im really interested to see how they possibly fix the things I hated in this book and where things go from here.

What a deliciously made sci-fi/fantasy, with a dash of dystopian and a pinch of murder mystery!! I loved this one from start to finish. The intro was heart-wrenching for me, because I can't imagine ever having to leave my parents. Or having to watch them go through with the horrible experience of the freezing. Or waking up without them. I really felt for Amy on that part.

The world inside the Godspeed was so real and convincing, I was totally captivated. The technology on the ship is way beyond us and I thought it was awesome! The ideas of the floppies, the wi-coms, and especially the hole in the wall where you can just push a button and automatically get food, were all awesome.

To see the rest of this review, visit geobobspinelli[dot]blogspot[dot]com

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I have read a few YA dystopian society books and I have to say, I really enjoyed this one. It would have gotten 4 stars, but I found the ending to be a bit predictable. There were also a few things I didn't like. There will probably be spoilers in this review, but I'll indicate where I'm about to reveal something.

Across the Universe is a really cool story about a girl named Amy who is frozen in time for 250 years aboard the space ship Godspeed. However, she is violently awaken 50 years before the ship reaches it's destination. She struggles to adapt with the strange life on the space ship, while she attempts to solve the mystery and unravel the lies surrounding it.

One thing I really liked about the book was the changes in POV from Amy to Elder. Often times when I'm reading YA novels, I'm constantly wondering, "What the hell is he *really* thinking?" I also really liked Amy. She was a strong female character. That is a breath of fresh air considering so many female characters to are not strong and are damsels in distress. That irks me.

I really enjoyed the premise behind the plot. Frozen people aboard a huge ship in space, traveling to a new planet to colonize. There were no supernatural creatures, just a mystery that Amy and Elder are determined to solve. I really enjoy sci-fi, so naturally I thought this book was perfect for me.

Now on to the flaws:
*This part of the review will probably have spoilers*

Let's take a look a the characters in-depth, shall we?

Amy:
As I said before I really did like her. However, every time she referred to her father as "Daddy" drove me up a wall. Do 17 year-olds really do that? I tried to choke it up at first to the fact that she missed her parents. But then she kept calling him "Daddy" to the other characters and each time I felt mildly embarrassed for her. It was just odd. And what about her mother? She didn't give a rats ass about her. She was mostly concerned for "Daddy" not "mom." But the biggest problem I have with her was her willingness to just go against what Eldest said. Yes, I know you want to protect your family. I get it. But this dude just told you he will eject you into space if you become a disturbance, and you have the balls, excuse me, "chutz" to back talk him to his face? Really? Do you want to die? Can we at least be sneaky? Do you have no sense of self-preservation?

Elder:
Where do I begin? He was a little wimp most of the book. One minute he is a toddler whining to Eldest about not be taught everything and the next he is a dog with his tail between his legs. He can't decide if he wants to still trust Eldest or not even though he constantly verbally abused Elder. The whole time I was just waiting to Eldest to bitch slap him. I kinda understand why he unplugged Amy. He was pretty much obsessed with her. A stalker. Dude was staring at her naked, fantasizing about "what they could do together." How creepy does he sound?! What wasn't clear was when he actually unplugged her. He seemed really shocked when he saw her drowning in her ice box. In fact, he was in the garden when the alarm sounded. So by the end of the book, I'm wondering, "When did he actually do it and why did he just leave her out and leave?" That doesn't make sense to me.

Harley:
I really liked him. He was my favorite character. I was sad he was killed off. I also think he would have developed a stronger relationship with Amy. He just seemed better for her.

Doc:
He kinda reminded me of a mad scientist in a way. I think he was just as responsible for the crap that was happening on that ship as much as Eldest. I hope he gets some just desserts in the next book.

Eldest:
He believed Hitler was a great leader. I was glad when he died. 'Nuf said.

Orian:
A true crazy amongst them. But I found it terribly obvious who he was from the beginning. When Revis told us about his scar in the beginning, I knew exactly what that meant. And that made me angry, because it made Elder look like a total idiot that he didn't know.

The people, the plot, the ship: Wow, the people in this book through me for a loop. When the Season hit they just ran around naked having sex wherever they pleased. This made me extremely uncomfortable. I guess this was the intent. Mission complete Revis. The ship and the science was totally believable. I could follow it and see it a possibility. The biggest con in this book would have to be it being a bit predictable. But, it did keep me very interested in the story once Amy awakens. I read it in one sitting from that point on. So it's defiantly not boring by any means.

So all in all, it's a decent read and I look forward the other sequels.

More of my reviews at my blog <[...]">Book Catching</a>.

** spoiler alert! this review contains a spoiler! **

Wowza. I'd heard from Twitter friends that this book is amazing, that it is epic, and that I MUST READ IT IMMEDIATELY. I also heard that the first chapter (available free on Beth Revis' website) is frexing sick (in a good way).

So I got myself a copy and read and read and read.

And it's true -- the first chapter IS frexing sick (in a good way). It's rare that a book makes my heart pound and makes my jaw drop all in the first chapter, but this one did.

And it g...moreWowza. I'd heard from Twitter friends that this book is amazing, that it is epic, and that I MUST READ IT IMMEDIATELY. I also heard that the first chapter (available free on Beth Revis' website) is frexing sick (in a good way).

So I got myself a copy and read and read and read.

And it's true -- the first chapter IS frexing sick (in a good way). It's rare that a book makes my heart pound and makes my jaw drop all in the first chapter, but this one did.

And it gets better from there.

I love the writing, love how Amy and Elder told their story, love all the characters (both good and not so good), and love how I kept being surprised.

Except for the last surprise.

I'm not sure if I can accept that Elder is the one who unfroze Amy to begin with. Did he forget, due to his shared DNA? Was he lying to himself, or to us? I'm not sure. But I'm not sure that I buy that he's guilty, or that Amy could be good with him after that.

BUT aside from that this book is awesome. Seriously good. Read it, and tell me what you think about that last surprise.

Also, for the parents: be aware that this book has rampant animal-like sex (which is not described graphically) and an attempted rape.

Have you ever read Ringworld by Larry Niven? I have, and I loved the books. I think Ms. Revis has, as well. Now, I could be wrong (obviously I definitely do not have any insider information on what Ms. Revis has or has not read in her lifetime), but I'm fairly certain that I can detect quite a few parallels to Mr. Niven's books. Now...I'm not implying she stole the story. I'm not saying anything negative, in fact. I'm merely saying that I think this book could have been at least partially influenced by bits and pieces of the Ringworld series of books. There's nothing wrong with that, is there? As C.C. Colton said, "Imitation is the sincerest [form] of flattery".

Enough of that. Let's get to the nitty gritty of things. Our main characters are Elder, the future leader of the spaceship upon which this story takes place, and Amy; She's "nonessential cargo". Amy's parents are also cargo, though not nonessential, and a cryogenically preserved while waiting for said spaceship to reach its destination. There's quite a few others waiting in a popsicle-like state in the cargo bit of the ship - 97 others, in fact. So we have a ship full of people who have been traveling from point A to point B for a -very long time-, an up and coming new leader, a few crazies thrown in for good measure, and a plot that's been done a few times before. But that's OKAY! Why? Because Beth Revis makes it seem fresh. Also, this particular book is written in such a way that the younger crowd can really get into it. It's not quite so deep that you have to ponder for hours over it. It is, however, fun.

The chapters change character perspective throughout the book and honestly, I felt as though the book suffered a bit for this. The voices of Amy and Elder sound oddly similar and that, to me, was a bit disappointing. Perhaps if they were more noticeably different, the alternating voices would have worked.

All in all I feel the book was decently written, but it's not one of my favorites. Enjoyable, yes; It's a fun, light read.

I'll read the sequel. I'll probably even like the sequel. In the meantime, though, I'm going to go re-read Ringworld and its sequels and prequels, 'cause Across the Universe made me miss it.

I have been pining for this book for, what seems like, forever! I had recently received an ARC for A Million Suns, and decided it was time to buckle down and finally read this book I have been stalking at the bookstore. Thankfully, I received it for Christmas, and didn't think twice to start devouring it. And devour it, I did.

I instantly fell in love with this futuristic, dystopian world that takes place on a space craft named Godspeed. I was pulled into this world that instantly played like a movie in my mind. Beth Revis is a writing genious. Everything was perfectly described, the characters were created to be believeable with personalities of their own, and the story was one that I will not soon forget.

I loved how the chapters jumped from the point of view of Amy, and then to the point of view of Elder. Definitely will always be one of my favorite styles. Revis does a great job of playing on the emotions of the reader when writing about Amy's sense of loss and desperation when being forcefully woken up decades ahead of her parents, feeling completely alone. The first few chapters alone are what made the story capture my attention, and the rest of the book kept my attention. I was sorely disappointed when the book ended, but was quickly overjoyed to have the next installment as an ARC waiting for me.

Even though the story takes place on a space craft, the world that Revis creates is both vastly huge, when you take into account the stars and space, and also immensley small, with having to live in a ship with artificial stars, sun, rain, air and surrounded by walls of metal. I loved how Revis kept me guessing to the very end about what was going on and who was to blame for the murders of the frozen passengers. I could feel the wheels spinning in my head trying to come up with a reason for them, and why...what the motive is. I felt very CSI-ish.

It was interesting to read how the creation of generation after generation is monitored on the ship to ensure the continuity of life on Godspeed. It's also interesting to read what this "future" colony knows about earth's history and how it is altered to keep order among the people.

I loved this book, and cannot wait to start A Million Suns. I already miss reading the interaction between Amy and Elder, and am so excited to see what will happen next.

I've not thought much about cryogenic freezing before. And I never imagined it quite like Beth Revis described it. But from the first scene - she had my attention and I was with Amy as she left everything she knew to travel three hundred years away to a new life on a new world. But not everything goes according to plan. Somehow Amy gets awakened fifty years before the ship is set to land on the new planet. Attempted murder by non-proper defrosting techniques aside, Amy is made to feel an outsider by inhabitants of the spaceship and ends up in the psychiatric ward. Amy has no one but her new friends Harley - a tortured artist - and Elder - the next leader of the ship - to help her stop the murders of her frozen kindred and work out just why the people of the ship are acting so oddly...

The novel switches point of views from Amy - an Earth girl labelled as "unessential cargo" travelling to a new world with her parents - and Elder - a sixteen year old boy on the verge of manhood who has known his entire life that he is going to be the next leader of Godspeed and all its people. It's a time of change for both of them with Amy having to assimilate to a brand new world on board the spaceship and Elder starting to question the decisions of his life-long mentor, Eldest. They do a good job of showing what life aboard the ship is like for a stranger and someone innately familiar with the set up. There's some interesting/barbaric things about ship life and I found myself liking how things progressed.

Most sci-fi I've read is set in the future and what I loved most about this book is how the main character - Amy - is a child of the present. By having her being taken to another place in time and space we get a great mix of the contemporary times in which she came from and the futuristic spaceship she's now forced to survive in. The ship - Godspeed - is the perfect mini civilisation with many mysteries and diabolical schemes taking place. There's a great mix of characters and I loved the creative licence that Ms. Revis used to create the environment Across the Universe is set in. There's nice little differences like the language and technology whilst keeping things similar to the present day.

There's a bit of a murder mystery and a great set up for the next books in the series. I enjoyed the characters and the plot but I didn't really connect with either Amy or Elder and found my attention drifting. I had a few problems with the romance angle of the book - it's a little forced and whilst I know it's only the first book it felt a little irrelevant and convenient.

Overall I liked the journey that this book took me on and I'll most likely be reading the second book - although I think I'll be borrowing it from the library just in case.

The opening of this novel was a bit too nauseating for my tastes, with the details of how the people aboard the spaceship Godspeed are cryogenically frozen turning my stomach, but it certainly served to make the book more realistic. I had wrongly assumed that Beth Revis would open the novel with Amy already frozen, or just waking up, but this approach has me evaluating my own life and what it would take to volunteer for such a mission. Waking up 300 years in the future, leaving behind everything you have ever known, without even the option to return to it -- such an existence feels very lonely to me. Already I have a certain respect for Amy's choice.
The perspective of the male main character, Elder, alternating with Amy's thoughts and dreams in her frozen state were interesting. I kind of expected Amy to finally wake up mad as a hatter from her conscious entrapment. Eldest likely would have just dumped her into space if that had happened.
The encased world that had been created inside the spaceship Godspeed was both mind-boggling in its vastness and claustrophobic in its simplicity. Many things are seen as commonplace, such as genetic manipulation and mass control through brain-washing and the widespread use of drugs. Many things are backwards from what I know in today's reality, such as Eldest's support of Hitlerian tactics, and the idea that those of creative and genius-level intellect are "crazy", while the mind-numbed masses are "normal." The language has also evolved into a kind of slurred and shortened English that Amy struggles to understand, as well as the addition of new slang terms.
Amy has quite an uphill battle in enacting change on this ship for the better, especially with her red hair, green eyes, and pale skin. I certainly would not want to be in her shoes, but I admire her resolve and determination despite how alone and trapped she feels. Elder is ignorant and immature at the beginning of the novel, but Amy's presence wakes him up to the reality of his world and his responsibility towards it.
The book does not have a real "ending" so much as a place to pause -- until the next book comes out. There were a ton of questions I had at the end that I hope are resolved in the next book, such as Doc's lack of an apprentice. On to A Million Suns!

This book was all kinds of brilly! It was basically a YA sci-fi dystopian murder mystery romance novel and I loved every minute of it!

First of all, the sci-fi/dystopia aspect. The first chapter, where Amy gets frozen, was absolutely TERRIFYING! The detail with which Revis described the process was stunning. Not only did it give me nightmares, but it also made me believe that such a process could actually exist. I believed that, some day, all of us would be able to get cryogenically frozen in that exact same way. Not that I would want to, of course... *shivers*

Also, the spaceship, Godspeed, on which most of the story takes place was really interesting to read about. As someone who loves high fantasy and is used to to reading about completely made-up worlds, I felt Revis did an excellent job in creating hers. She had a lot of cool technology and a completely alien culture going on and she managed to give a good picture of it all without being bogged down in pages of infodump. All us writers whose stories take place worlds that aren't this one can definitely learn from her.

Let's move on to the murder mystery part. Now, I'm not big into the whole mystery genre. I mean, I read Nancy Drew when I was in elementary school, but ever since then, it hasn't really been my cup of tea. But I love it when it's done well and woven in with another genre. It worked really well here. I'm not going to say that anything was particularly unpredictable, since I managed to to figure out everything a few chapters before they were actually revealed. But it was predictable in a good way. You know, that way that makes you feel smart for figuring out the mystery before the characters do.

I loved the characters, too. Elder and Amy felt so real and it was refreshing to see a romance from both the male and female points of view. I do think the relationship was a teensy bit underdeveloped, but I was able to overlook that because everything else about this book was so jaw-droppingly amazing!

And can I take a second to talk about first person present point of view? I have come to realize that I really like it. I've been a bit afraid to write it ever since a few agents and authors around the blogosphere wrote about how hard it is to do right and how, if it isn't, the whole story is usually a train wreck. But you know what I learned from reading Across the Universe? I learned that you can have amazing results if you take risks. Not only did Beth Revis write in first person present point of view, she wrote in DUAL first person present point of view! I can only imagine how hard that was to write, but it definitely added a lot of immediacy and emotion to the story. So, basically, I feel like I need to take more risks with my writing and tell my stories in the POV I feel they need to be told in.

So this book has inspired be to add an extra rating to my five star scale. This rating will only be for books that:
Make me laugh or cry or give me nightmares.
Keep me up late reading them OR keep me up late thinking about them.
I love more than most of the other books I have given five stars to.
Make me really THINK about important/interesting things.

I am going to call this rating ~*Brilly*~, and a book is going to do all those things in order to get it. This book definitely gets it. The only other books that I've reviewed so far that would get it is The Hunger Games Trilogy, so, yea, that's the kind of book that will get this designation.

More reviews can be found on my blog. Link in my profile!

There are not enough words to describe the beginning of Amy and Elder's story aboard Godspeed. I FLEW through this book! It was just plain awesome! And unique!

Amy and her parents are to be cyrogenically frozen and put on a spaceship, so in 250 years, they can be the first to colonize a new Earth-like Planet. Elder is the heir to Godspeed's throne, and discovers the strange frozen bodies inside the ship. Somehow, Amy is unplugged. She befriends Elder and his friend Aster, and discovers that nothing is right about this ship at all. The way the humans act like animals during 'The Season,' the way history is incorrect, and the fact that nobody knows about the bodies. Amy, Elder, and Aster are trying to discover the connection between Amy and the other unplugged people. Amy and Elder eventually fall in love along the way.

This book was like an explosion! Hopefully, Beth can keep the explosions coming in the next two books, because it would be a complete waste of such a good book as this. Across The Universe is simply epic.

First just let me say that Across the Universe is my absolute favorite Beatles song. And the quote she used in the forward of the book is half of my favorite lyric. So the author pretty much had me from the title page.

Moving right along, this was a mature young adult dystopia. The mere premise of the book is...well...kind of a mind trip. Every time I read these dystopia books I keep asking myself, "Are the freedoms lost by the individuals worth the end result?" Which is, usually, a numb, "happy" population. And the author did a great job of showing both sides of the argument.

Plot-wise, you've got Amy who goes through a rather terrifying cryogenic freezing to embark on the "GodSpeed" with her parents where, in 300(1) years they're to be reanimated and start life on a new planet. Basically we're talking an inter-galactic Oregon Trail situation. For some reason or another, Amy gets woken up 49 years early. And the world she's woken up into is far from familiar or welcoming, except for Eldest (yes, that's the guy's name. It gets kinda confusing.) He's in line to be the next leader of his people, but one eyeful of Amy's red hair has whole world turned on it's side. She's all contrast and obstinate when everyone and everything around him is bland and complacent.

I'll admit right here and now, I didn't really like the ending. But it was one of those "I know that's how it had to end, but I'm still wanting to yell about it!" I don't see this as a series, but I would like to see more from this author.

Seeing as how I'm currently making my through all 4 seasons of Battlestar Galatica (don't knock it til you try it), I was more than ready for a story set in spizz-ace when I started Across the Universe. To infinity and beyond! Well, Beth Revis did not disappoint in her world building. Across the Universe takes place on a huge ship that has left present day Earth in route to a newly discovered habitable planet. There's actually political reasons behind the quest which sparked a desire in me to raise my political science degree like a flag and nerd the heck out. The ship, Godspeed, left Earth after a global financial meltdown and is searching for new resources to claim and take possession of for the Financial Resource Exchange, an alliance of former nations including the US. Here in lies a hole which I'll come back to. Anyway, the catch is that the new planet is 300 light years away. Select earthlings who volunteer to establish society on the new planet are cryogenically frozen (like Walt Disney!) until they can be dumped at their new home. And even though the spaceship is on autopilot, a whole gaggle of folks live on the actual ship with the intent of eventually populating the new planet. Over the centuries this gaggle goes through the born -> live -> die cycle so that generations of peeps only ever know the ship and live with the hope that they (or their kids) will one day reach the new planet. The people on the ship become a homogenous group of people who are, ironically enough, an amalgam of races from Earth. Their lives are also very strictly controlled and regulated by the ship's leader, Eldest, but they don't realize it... Very interesting setting, Ms. Revis.

Howevs, there were some things that just confused me. If the whole point of the mission of Godspeed is to get to this new planet and take some of its resources, how are those resources supposed to get back to Earth and the Financial Resource Exchange? It takes 300 years (or so we think...) to get to this new planet, so wouldn't it take 300 years to get back with whatever resources can be mined? Additionally, the story focuses on Amy, one of the cryogenically frozen people who is mysteriously thawed out, and Elder, the junior leader of the ship. Amy opens Elder's eyes to all the things that are jacked up on the ship (the way the people think, act, are controlled, etc.) and basically helps stage a coup d'état. I find this highly improbable. (Ignore the fact that I don't find a ship sailing off into space for 300 light years improbable...I'm in Battlestar Galatica mode, people). The people on this ship are advanced both technologically and biologically. Since they're obviously a few genius points above Amy's IQ, why can't anyone figure out how to stop or even hinder her? Why is she allowed to get away with the stuff she does so easily--like barging in on a pap smear and playing 20 questions with the ship doctor? People are killed for thinking outside the box, so why isn't she? Just cause Elder has the hots for her? It just make-a no sense considering the repercussions for anyone else who steps out of line.

Like I mentioned above, the build-up of the world and life aboard ship was really awesome in the beginning, but the middle of the book just seemed to be a scene on repeat. One of the cryos is killed or tampered with -> Amy freaks out -> Elder doesn't know what to do -> Harley stands guard -> Eldest yells at Elder and/or Amy -> repeat. Overall, I liked the setting, but the plot wasn't executed as well as I had hoped and the pace left me frustrated.

*Also, I listened to this on audio and really enjoyed the two narrators. Props for non-annoying voices!

So I liked this book. Not my all time favorite, OMG, best book ever, but a like where I thought it was a good read and not a waste of my time or money. It followed along the lines of Inside Out by Maria Synder, but it was different enough for me not to care all that much.
THE PREMISE
Amy decides to leave Earth in order to stay with her parents, to do this she must give up all her life on Earth and be frozen. Pretty cool concept, and what can I say, I love Sci-Fi. So flash foward to a time way in the future and you meet Elder. He is the youngest of everyone and Eldest is actually the oldest. So then Amy wakes up, but wait it's fifty years too early!! Then Amy and Elder have to work together to find out who is removing and killing some of the other frozen people. FYI when they sent the spaceship off they froze the really important people and then put other people on the ship to take care of it.
So let me break it down...
THE PROS
1. Great concept, haven't read too many others like it, although that is from personal experience.
2. The characters were pretty good, you got to see how Amy deals with the whole, I'll never see my parents again concept. Elder bored me a bit, but that's all.
3. Mystery, I really didn't see it coming!
4. Loved all the new technology!
THE CONS
1. Some parts were a little boring.
2. Some things totally creeped me out, but it really did add to the story when I think about it.
That's about it.
OVERALL
After re-reading this review, I sound like I didn't like the book, but really I did. I'm just writing this after a long day. So yeah, I thought it was a great book and I like the author and can't wait till Shades of Earth comes out!
WOULD I READ THIS BOOK: NO DOUBT
WOULD I BUY THIS BOOK: yes
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK: To people who like Sci-Fi, but if you don't then it's probably not your forte.
WOULD I READ THE NEXT IN THE SERIES: Yep
WOULD I READ OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR: YES
AM I HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK: NOT ESPECIALLY, there are other books that are better, but I waould definitly give this book the chance.
On a side note I really liked Inside Out by Maria Synder and if you liked this book, you might want to consider reading hers.

4/5 Stars

It has been a while since I read a novel set in space and I have to admit usually I am a little skeptical about the setting. Try as I might I'm just not a big sci-fi fan. Across the Universe was a definite exception to that rule! All of the hype and great reviews about this one are completely true.

I really thought the idea, while no completely original, was done in a new and original way. I loved that Amy was cryogenically frozen and then unfrozen years before the ship, Godspeed, is meant to land on the new planet Centari-Earth. Revis does an amazing job of describing Amy's pain and loss of everything she has ever known when she is awoken early. I really felt like I was with Amy through her adjusting to the ship and all of her high and low points. I usually don't get claustrophobic but I started to feel suffocated by the little space in my room when Amy was describing how small the ship is compared to the size of Earth.

I also really loved Elder. He is such a strong character with a dynamic personality that makes him easy to listen and relate to. I enjoyed learning about the ship right along with him.

There were some many twists and turns in Across the Universe that I was never bored and stayed up late at night trying to figure out all of the different mysteries! There was murder, manipulation, and a little bit of love! What more could a girl ask for?!

The only thing that I thought was lacking was a stronger love story between Amy and Elder. While it was clear there may be something between them it never really came to anything and I was kind of disappointed by this. But I have high hopes for the sequel A Million Suns!

For my reviews visit my blog [...]

I knew I wasn't going to love this book ever since I first heard about it and I avoided getting it for the longest time, but I eventually gave in because I had to see for myself what it was all about. I believe it's safe to say that although I liked the book enough, it definitely didn't do anything for me.

Across the Universe was basically a detailed explanation of the setting for the rest of the series. A quarter of the book was Beth describing the ship in vast detail and of Amy's inner monologue while she was frozen. Even after Amy wakes up, there's very little action, just her exploring her new world and Elder falling head over heels in love with her at first sight. And love wasn't even a big issue in this book at all. What little interaction Elder and Amy had did nothing to spur their romance and I honestly couldn't connect to either, or any, character.

The only thing I'll give Beth credit for is creating such a intriguing and quite plausible future world, but very little happens at all, when I was expecting action and adventure aboard a space ship with a crazy, tyrannical villan/leader. You got a tiny bit of action in the end, but that flew by within a couple pages, and you're left on a big ship with nothing to do now. I'm very interested in seeing where exactly Beth is going with this and pray there will be more action and romance in the next book since, I'm hoping, she's done with all the scenery and ship-talk.

Don't get me wrong, I did like the book and finished it pretty quick, despite it's slow pace, but if I hadn't already bought it, I'd say wait until the whole series is out and then either borrow it from the library or buy the paperback/ebook versions since they'll probably be cheaper.

Published: January 11th 2011 by Razorbill
Genre: YA Scifi
Read: Sept 29, 2014
The blurb:
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.

My Review:
I hate to be the unpopular opinion but, I disliked this book too much for it to deserve more than one star. Both MCs voices were super annoying and whiny. This book has a bad case of insta-love, and if theres one thing I hate its got to be that. Not only did the romance have no chemistry, but the mystery wasn't even a mystery at all. It seems as thought the author was writing whatever and whenever even if it made no sense at all. Overall, i am extremely confused why this book is praised at all because it was a huge waste of time.

Recommend: Nope

This book review is for Across the universe as well as A Million Suns: An Across the Universe Novel

I give this book a:

4 out 5 and I would recommend to most people.

I really did like these books I loved the spaceship I loved the science behind it I even loved how the author didn't rush into romance between the two main characters.

The author touches on some very sensitive subjects of Rape, Forced pregnancy, Depression, Mental Illness and Suicide plus a few others. Normally I don't read books with these kind of topics but this one went over them very well and the main characters reaction to them.

Amy - I loved Amy almost from the first page the author did such a good job writing how scared Amy was her feelings about what was happening to her. Amy wasn't whinny at all she was a FIGHTER and I love that in a main female character in YA books so often they make the teen girls so whiny and so poor me that you come to hate them. She was bound and determined to find out the truth and about everything. And as a teenage girl she did not instantly fall in love with Elder which was awesome I loved reading how it just snuck up on her.

Elder - Elder was very sweet but very clueless about a lot of what was going on around him. But for the most part he was very genuine he wanted what was best for his people and what was best for Amy. Even if he was a bit to young to take command of such a big ship. Now Elder is different than Amy. For him it was love at first sight as soon as he saw her in the cryo chamber he loved her. He's very much a romantic

Harley - Oh I loved eccentric Harley. He was a very troubled but artistic soul. He just wanted to see the stars. I think Harley was my favourite character I just wanted to grab him and give him a huge hug!

Orion - OH man loved this character I don't even want to say too much because I fear I will give to much of the story's away. But just know he is a very well done character.

I recommend everyone read this series it was very well done the author was a very good in her descriptions and making me feel like I was there with them on that ship!
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Stargate or Battlestar Galactica or Firefly.

First just let me say that Across the Universe is my absolute favorite Beatles song. And the quote she used in the forward of the book is half of my favorite lyric. So the author pretty much had me from the title page.

Moving right along, this was a mature young adult dystopia. The mere premise of the book is...well...kind of a mind trip. Every time I read these dystopia books I keep asking myself, "Are the freedoms lost by the individuals worth the end result?" Which is, usually, a numb, "happy" population. And the author did a great job of showing both sides of the argument.

Plot-wise, you've got Amy who goes through a rather terrifying cryogenic freezing to embark on the "GodSpeed" with her parents where, in 300(1) years they're to be reanimated and start life on a new planet. Basically we're talking an inter-galactic Oregon Trail situation. For some reason or another, Amy gets woken up 49 years early. And the world she's woken up into is far from familiar or welcoming, except for Eldest (yes, that's the guy's name. It gets kinda confusing.) He's in line to be the next leader of his people, but one eyeful of Amy's red hair has whole world turned on it's side. She's all contrast and obstinate when everyone and everything around him is bland and complacent.

I'll admit right here and now, I didn't really like the ending. But it was one of those "I know that's how it had to end, but I'm still wanting to yell about it!" I don't see this as a series, but I would like to see more from this author.

Seeing as how I'm currently making my through all 4 seasons of Battlestar Galatica (don't knock it til you try it), I was more than ready for a story set in spizz-ace when I started Across the Universe. To infinity and beyond! Well, Beth Revis did not disappoint in her world building. Across the Universe takes place on a huge ship that has left present day Earth in route to a newly discovered habitable planet. There's actually political reasons behind the quest which sparked a desire in me to raise my political science degree like a flag and nerd the heck out. The ship, Godspeed, left Earth after a global financial meltdown and is searching for new resources to claim and take possession of for the Financial Resource Exchange, an alliance of former nations including the US. Here in lies a hole which I'll come back to. Anyway, the catch is that the new planet is 300 light years away. Select earthlings who volunteer to establish society on the new planet are cryogenically frozen (like Walt Disney!) until they can be dumped at their new home. And even though the spaceship is on autopilot, a whole gaggle of folks live on the actual ship with the intent of eventually populating the new planet. Over the centuries this gaggle goes through the born -> live -> die cycle so that generations of peeps only ever know the ship and live with the hope that they (or their kids) will one day reach the new planet. The people on the ship become a homogenous group of people who are, ironically enough, an amalgam of races from Earth. Their lives are also very strictly controlled and regulated by the ship's leader, Eldest, but they don't realize it... Very interesting setting, Ms. Revis.

Howevs, there were some things that just confused me. If the whole point of the mission of Godspeed is to get to this new planet and take some of its resources, how are those resources supposed to get back to Earth and the Financial Resource Exchange? It takes 300 years (or so we think...) to get to this new planet, so wouldn't it take 300 years to get back with whatever resources can be mined? Additionally, the story focuses on Amy, one of the cryogenically frozen people who is mysteriously thawed out, and Elder, the junior leader of the ship. Amy opens Elder's eyes to all the things that are jacked up on the ship (the way the people think, act, are controlled, etc.) and basically helps stage a coup d'état. I find this highly improbable. (Ignore the fact that I don't find a ship sailing off into space for 300 light years improbable...I'm in Battlestar Galatica mode, people). The people on this ship are advanced both technologically and biologically. Since they're obviously a few genius points above Amy's IQ, why can't anyone figure out how to stop or even hinder her? Why is she allowed to get away with the stuff she does so easily--like barging in on a pap smear and playing 20 questions with the ship doctor? People are killed for thinking outside the box, so why isn't she? Just cause Elder has the hots for her? It just make-a no sense considering the repercussions for anyone else who steps out of line.

Like I mentioned above, the build-up of the world and life aboard ship was really awesome in the beginning, but the middle of the book just seemed to be a scene on repeat. One of the cryos is killed or tampered with -> Amy freaks out -> Elder doesn't know what to do -> Harley stands guard -> Eldest yells at Elder and/or Amy -> repeat. Overall, I liked the setting, but the plot wasn't executed as well as I had hoped and the pace left me frustrated.

*Also, I listened to this on audio and really enjoyed the two narrators. Props for non-annoying voices!

So I liked this book. Not my all time favorite, OMG, best book ever, but a like where I thought it was a good read and not a waste of my time or money. It followed along the lines of Inside Out by Maria Synder, but it was different enough for me not to care all that much.
THE PREMISE
Amy decides to leave Earth in order to stay with her parents, to do this she must give up all her life on Earth and be frozen. Pretty cool concept, and what can I say, I love Sci-Fi. So flash foward to a time way in the future and you meet Elder. He is the youngest of everyone and Eldest is actually the oldest. So then Amy wakes up, but wait it's fifty years too early!! Then Amy and Elder have to work together to find out who is removing and killing some of the other frozen people. FYI when they sent the spaceship off they froze the really important people and then put other people on the ship to take care of it.
So let me break it down...
THE PROS
1. Great concept, haven't read too many others like it, although that is from personal experience.
2. The characters were pretty good, you got to see how Amy deals with the whole, I'll never see my parents again concept. Elder bored me a bit, but that's all.
3. Mystery, I really didn't see it coming!
4. Loved all the new technology!
THE CONS
1. Some parts were a little boring.
2. Some things totally creeped me out, but it really did add to the story when I think about it.
That's about it.
OVERALL
After re-reading this review, I sound like I didn't like the book, but really I did. I'm just writing this after a long day. So yeah, I thought it was a great book and I like the author and can't wait till Shades of Earth comes out!
WOULD I READ THIS BOOK: NO DOUBT
WOULD I BUY THIS BOOK: yes
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK: To people who like Sci-Fi, but if you don't then it's probably not your forte.
WOULD I READ THE NEXT IN THE SERIES: Yep
WOULD I READ OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR: YES
AM I HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK: NOT ESPECIALLY, there are other books that are better, but I waould definitly give this book the chance.
On a side note I really liked Inside Out by Maria Synder and if you liked this book, you might want to consider reading hers.

4/5 Stars

It has been a while since I read a novel set in space and I have to admit usually I am a little skeptical about the setting. Try as I might I'm just not a big sci-fi fan. Across the Universe was a definite exception to that rule! All of the hype and great reviews about this one are completely true.

I really thought the idea, while no completely original, was done in a new and original way. I loved that Amy was cryogenically frozen and then unfrozen years before the ship, Godspeed, is meant to land on the new planet Centari-Earth. Revis does an amazing job of describing Amy's pain and loss of everything she has ever known when she is awoken early. I really felt like I was with Amy through her adjusting to the ship and all of her high and low points. I usually don't get claustrophobic but I started to feel suffocated by the little space in my room when Amy was describing how small the ship is compared to the size of Earth.

I also really loved Elder. He is such a strong character with a dynamic personality that makes him easy to listen and relate to. I enjoyed learning about the ship right along with him.

There were some many twists and turns in Across the Universe that I was never bored and stayed up late at night trying to figure out all of the different mysteries! There was murder, manipulation, and a little bit of love! What more could a girl ask for?!

The only thing that I thought was lacking was a stronger love story between Amy and Elder. While it was clear there may be something between them it never really came to anything and I was kind of disappointed by this. But I have high hopes for the sequel A Million Suns!

For my reviews visit my blog [...]

I knew I wasn't going to love this book ever since I first heard about it and I avoided getting it for the longest time, but I eventually gave in because I had to see for myself what it was all about. I believe it's safe to say that although I liked the book enough, it definitely didn't do anything for me.

Across the Universe was basically a detailed explanation of the setting for the rest of the series. A quarter of the book was Beth describing the ship in vast detail and of Amy's inner monologue while she was frozen. Even after Amy wakes up, there's very little action, just her exploring her new world and Elder falling head over heels in love with her at first sight. And love wasn't even a big issue in this book at all. What little interaction Elder and Amy had did nothing to spur their romance and I honestly couldn't connect to either, or any, character.

The only thing I'll give Beth credit for is creating such a intriguing and quite plausible future world, but very little happens at all, when I was expecting action and adventure aboard a space ship with a crazy, tyrannical villan/leader. You got a tiny bit of action in the end, but that flew by within a couple pages, and you're left on a big ship with nothing to do now. I'm very interested in seeing where exactly Beth is going with this and pray there will be more action and romance in the next book since, I'm hoping, she's done with all the scenery and ship-talk.

Don't get me wrong, I did like the book and finished it pretty quick, despite it's slow pace, but if I hadn't already bought it, I'd say wait until the whole series is out and then either borrow it from the library or buy the paperback/ebook versions since they'll probably be cheaper.

Published: January 11th 2011 by Razorbill
Genre: YA Scifi
Read: Sept 29, 2014
The blurb:
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.

My Review:
I hate to be the unpopular opinion but, I disliked this book too much for it to deserve more than one star. Both MCs voices were super annoying and whiny. This book has a bad case of insta-love, and if theres one thing I hate its got to be that. Not only did the romance have no chemistry, but the mystery wasn't even a mystery at all. It seems as thought the author was writing whatever and whenever even if it made no sense at all. Overall, i am extremely confused why this book is praised at all because it was a huge waste of time.

Recommend: Nope

This book review is for Across the universe as well as A Million Suns: An Across the Universe Novel

I give this book a:

4 out 5 and I would recommend to most people.

I really did like these books I loved the spaceship I loved the science behind it I even loved how the author didn't rush into romance between the two main characters.

The author touches on some very sensitive subjects of Rape, Forced pregnancy, Depression, Mental Illness and Suicide plus a few others. Normally I don't read books with these kind of topics but this one went over them very well and the main characters reaction to them.

Amy - I loved Amy almost from the first page the author did such a good job writing how scared Amy was her feelings about what was happening to her. Amy wasn't whinny at all she was a FIGHTER and I love that in a main female character in YA books so often they make the teen girls so whiny and so poor me that you come to hate them. She was bound and determined to find out the truth and about everything. And as a teenage girl she did not instantly fall in love with Elder which was awesome I loved reading how it just snuck up on her.

Elder - Elder was very sweet but very clueless about a lot of what was going on around him. But for the most part he was very genuine he wanted what was best for his people and what was best for Amy. Even if he was a bit to young to take command of such a big ship. Now Elder is different than Amy. For him it was love at first sight as soon as he saw her in the cryo chamber he loved her. He's very much a romantic

Harley - Oh I loved eccentric Harley. He was a very troubled but artistic soul. He just wanted to see the stars. I think Harley was my favourite character I just wanted to grab him and give him a huge hug!

Orion - OH man loved this character I don't even want to say too much because I fear I will give to much of the story's away. But just know he is a very well done character.

I recommend everyone read this series it was very well done the author was a very good in her descriptions and making me feel like I was there with them on that ship!
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Stargate or Battlestar Galactica or Firefly.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is a fantastic, thrilling science fiction novel for young adults and adults who "don't like science fiction." It's heavy on the character and world-building, and light on the science.

Basically, it's perfect reading for those who don't want to be bogged down in science to enjoy an amazing story. Be prepared to board the Godspeed, and stay until the breathtaking end.

Revis is a master storyteller, giving the reader the exact part of the story they need at exactly the moment they need it. I thoroughly enjoyed both point-of-view characters, and felt like they were used to tell the most poignant story possible.

And excellent debut!

This is a great YA Sci-Fi book. Across the Universe is a book which is almost impossible to put down until you are finished with it. This book brings up and discusses many important and controversial issues about society and power. It makes the reader think about many different issues including; power, racism, suicide, rape, lies, control, etc. There is also a love story within this novel, however, it is not overpowering or highly unrealistic and adds to the overall storyline.
Overall, Across the Universe is highly enjoyable and would recommend to others. It makes you think while also providing entertainment.

Across the Universe is so much more than a Sci-Fi Dystopian book. It has tragedy, romance, action, and even a faction of depression that's usually found in Contemporary novels. The story itself blows your mind and as you discover more secrets about the ship, it draws you in more and more.

Story begins with Amy and her parents saying goodbye to each other. Giving an opportunity of a lifetime, they have to be frozen, only to arrive 300 years later at a planet that was recently discovered. But Amy's dad gives her a choice: either to leave her whole life behind and get frozen or stay on Earth. What I loved the most is that she chose family.

When she gets unfrozen, she realizes that someone tried to kill her just like they have been doing with several other members. The mystery remains while noone is trying to do anything about it. Amy realizes that the ship itself is a huge mystery and Earth's history may be forgotten a long time ago.

With all the mystery and secrets, it usually pretty obvious what happens at the end. But definitely not in Across The Universe. I did not see that coming. At all. And I'm pretty good with freaking things like that. So BRAVO to the author who made me be in the dark until everything was revealed. Definitely recommended for anyone who likes Sci-Fi and doesn't mind the world-building in the ship.

Too many books generate a buzz but don't live up to expectations. This one didn't disappoint! The characters were well-rounded, the world was believable and interesting (and creepy and claustrophobic). There were no obvious plot holes, and believe me, I looked. Several important things are revealed near the end that made me go back and check. I was hooked from the beginning, and the plot held my interest until the very end. This book is the beginning of a trilogy. Beth Revis left enough hanging to make me look forward to the next book, but wrapped enough to leave me satisfied. I can't wait for the next book!

Imagine agreeing (with reservations) to accompany your parents on a ship to wake up 300 years in the future. And then imagine not being asleep during the trip. Your'e woken up before you reach your destination, while your parents are still sleeping, to a society that doesn't make sense. Oh, and someone is killing the cryogenically frozen people. You don't trust the leader of the ship, and you don't know whether to trust his young, good-looking protege. That's what happens to Amy.

This book has a mix of dystopian, sci-fri, thriller, and romance. Great YA!

The idea for this book could've been good. It could've gone somewhere and left me satisfied that I'd put off doing a major project until I finished it. But (sadly for me) it wasn't. The plot was bad, the characters were boring, the author put far too much emphasis on Amy's "pale, luminescent skin." And Revis did absolutely NO research. Humans do not have cell walls. So unless 300 years from now we somehow develop them (becoming plants in the process), the start of the book is inaccurate. Although that is a pretty easy mistake, the science only gets worse. Beth Revis believes that Amy could remain conscious while frozen. Her brain cells would be frozen, practically dead. She would not be able to dream. Also, people who share identical DNA would not have the same fingerprints. They aren't genetic. Harley was an amazing character. The only good one. But our wonderful author had to (spoilers) kill him off. (spoilers end). Amy and Elder just don't work together. And the fact that they switch perspectives is just confuzzleding. They sound and act the same. I could go on and on about how bad this was, but I won't. Don't buy it. You'll regret every penny spent, and every tedious second spent reading.

Warning: a bit spoilery.

"Across The Universe is Titanic meets Brave New World."

This tagline doesn't make me want to read the book, but I did. As someone who doesn't read much sci-fi, I thought that the premise was very interesting. A ship called Godspeed is bound for a new planet, with it's passengers believing they will see it land in their lifetime. But that's only what the vast majority aboard are led to believe. It's a combination of murder mystery and dystopia, featuring the alternating points of view of a teenage girl who has just awoken from cryogenic slumber and that of a teenage boy who is a sort of unwitting (at first) totalitarian leader in training.

There are very many things to like about this story, like the lessons about what is normal and what we mean by crazy, and how willing people are to put their trust in those who don't deserve it.

Even though there are layers of social commentary in the book, the story is driven by the two very different main characters. Amy is determined to keep her parents safe from the mysterious killer who has started unfreezing the people meant to lead the colonization efforts on the new planet. Elder is fascinated by how different Amy is from him, and lets himself be diverted into her mission to find out who is behind the seemingly random killings.

The book is fast-paced and interesting, with enough layers to think about yet not so many that you get bogged down. Happily, romance is not the focal point of the story. This is something that will set Across The Universe apart from a lot of the YA of late. And no love triangles!

Across the universe..
I loved this book..
The book is written in two perspectives one Amy's and the other Elder's...
the book starts with the present day .. a mission that is to be 300 years long... then the it moves on to the lives of people on the ship Godspeed which centuries in the future (450years)... this ship is ruled by a tyrant called the eldest ( who thinks that Hitler was a good leader)... the population of the ship is divided and limited to doing only certain jobs... everything is regulated... everyone is monitored and drugged to the level that individual thought is impossible making them emotionless...
Amy and 99 others are frozen on this ship...
Amy is unfrozen way before time... who woke her up?? ... there is someone out there trying to kill the other frozen people.. but why??
This ship is filled with lies.. everyone is being deceived or is a decieved...
I enjoyed the way things unfold...

p.s: my review not be good enough but trust me this is a good read...

Alright, I have to be honest with all of you. I fell victim to all of the hype surrounding Across the Universe and just automatically assumed I would love it. I am a fan of science fiction books, I love teen romances and the cover is beyond stunning. I should have been more cautious going into this, because I feel like my expectations overshadowed my reading and unfortunately, I was left disappointed.

First of all, let's talk about the characters. I can't say that I loved any of the characters. I certainly didn't hate them, but I wasn't crazy about them either. Neither Amy nor Elder had that spark - that thing that connects you to a character and makes you pull for them. I felt like they were simply characters on a page, I did not feel bonded to them at all - especially Elder. Elder has no backbone whatsoever and I often found this irritating. I get that he was raised to follow Eldest blindly, but my god, the whole point of the book is rebellion. Why can't he stop acting like an idiot and actually do something.

Also, the romance between Amy and Elder felt off and a bit out of place. Sadly, there was absolutely zero chemistry between the two of them. After seeing that phenomenal cover, I was expecting these two to knock of socks off. First off, why exactly does Elder like Amy? Yes, I get that she is different looking, and he likes her crazy red hair... but what about her? All she ever says about Amy is that she is different. Um, okay. But why are you suddenly madly in love with her - surely isn't not simply because she is different.

I was also a bit disappointed with the plot. The mystery was predictable; I figured out the majority of the outcome very early on. I kept thinking, "that cannot possibly be right, it's too easy!" But alas, it was too easy. Then, to make matters worse, the ending climax is nonexistent. It just sort of explains what happened and then ends. I am the kind of person who loves a big ending and that was not the case with Across the Universe.

I did however, enjoy the "rewriting of history" where all of the previous leaders change Earth's history to highlight societies without differences. It's both interesting and horrifying to see how Revis makes Hitler into someone Elder respects. When I first read that section, I immediately felt like throwing the book away. I felt dirty. But as I got to thinking, I realized that in the Across the Universe world, this was plausible. If you alter history enough and omit certain horrors, you can make people believe anything. Like I said, I was both intriguing and terrified by this concept.

I was also totally creeped out by the idea of the "season"; which, I guess, was the point. When it was first introduced, I was all sorts of disturbed, but still fascinated at the same time. Unfortunately, Revis doesn't know when it quit and I quickly grew tired of hearing about random people going at it in the background. For the record, I am completely with Amy on this one - if you simply tell people the results of incest, they will be careful of whom they form, relationships with. There is simply no need to have people going at it like rabbits on the streets. Ew.

Overall, I think that Across the Universe was an entertaining read, but it wasn't a great read for me. I will probably continue reading the series, but it will not be on the top of my reading list.

I really, REALLY wanted to love Across the Universe. I've been eagerly anticipating this book for months. And then...I started reading. And it put me to sleep three nights in a row.

I hate that feeling when a book you've looked forward to for so long turns out to be...meh.

Part of my problem? I read Maria V. Snyder's Inside Out last week, and I couldn't help but make comparisons with Inside Out so fresh in my mind. Inside Out is so unique and compelling that Across the Universe felt flat, weary, and (frankly, in some parts) disturbing in comparison.

(As an aside, I highly recommend Inside Out for sci-fi lite, dystopian fans. It's a little tedious in the beginning with all of the ship descriptions--props to Across the Universe for including the ship diagram--but Inside Out hits its stride and turns into a riveting tale of contained life inside a ship of secrets.)

I admit--I had lofty expectations for Across the Universe, which affected my enjoyment. The novel has such a promising premise--I love the idea of blurring the genres into a this sci-fi mystery romance in a dystopian world--and I guess I was just expecting too much. The characters weren't unlikeable, but I didn't find myself really cheering for them, either. The best character in the novel went the way of Cogon from Inside Out, and I'm disappointed this character won't be back for the sequel.

The worst part of Across the Universe is the overuse of "The Season" hammer. I get it--the Season is disturbing and creepy and unnatural--but I felt like Revis kept hitting me over the head with it again and again. I think a few mentions would have been okay since it is important to the plot, but I feel like I spent the entire middle of the book scrunching my nose and saying, "Eeeew, gross." I wanted to scrub my mind with some disinfectant afterwards.

Across the Universe was not a terrible read, but it just never felt completely engaging and compelling--I never had that crazy obsessed feeling you get when you're reading the most amazing book and just CANNOT. PUT. IT. DOWN.

Across the Universe poses some intriguing questions regarding survival, leadership, individual thought, and differences in society, and I hope these ideas will be explored in even greater depth in the sequel, as some of the answers at the end felt too simplistic. The mystery is a little obvious and you'll figure it out way before Elder and Amy, but it did add another dimension to the novel. However, for me, Across the Universe did not live up to the hype. I think I would have liked it more if I wasn't expecting such an epic read.

Beth Revis' Across the Universe was an eye opening novel about a dystopian society aboard a spaceship en route to a new Earth... hopefully! I am always surprised when I find a novel with a NEW story arc. It was a fun to read, new sci-fi story. The characters were similar to those in Eleanor & Park, so I was sold!

Amy is a seventeen year old girl who was woken up early. Doesn't sound like much, BUT it's a much bigger deal when you're cryogenically frozen and supposed to wake up with your mother and father on a NEW habitable planet. Amy is immediately panicked and dismayed when she awakes in the goo and finds that she woke up WAY too early. Her parents are essential to the new planet, her mom is a scientist and her father is a military leader, and Amy can't wake them up early to join her.

She's stuck on Godspeed [the spaceship] with a crazy set of laws and social constructs. The population is drugged and the leaders are controlling. Amy starts to uncover the secrets of what keeps Godspeed so peaceful and complacent, but is the population ready for the big reveal?

GREAT characters and fun story. =) Can't wait to read the second novel in this series!! A fun, sci-fi love story for all you geeks out there!

-Sarah
[...]

Across the Universe started solid for me. Beth Revis doesn't hold back on the not so pleasant details of cryo freezing which I LOVE. It was realistic, not sugar-coated and with a book like Across the Universe, modesty will get it no where so I was happy through out the book to see that it didn't hold back on the uglier details (like the season).

Across the Universe rocked until Amy woke up. She is the reason the book got 3 hearts instead of 5. She was the single most annoying main character I had the pleasure to read from. Her actions were idiotic and didn't make sense. The way she stood up against Eldest, was that supposed to be ballsy? It was pure foolishness. I didn't find it her heroic and I wished she DID get thrown out the ship. The whole thing about protecting her parents was just stupid, what was she going to do when she caught the 'killer'? pull out her gun in defense? She didn't think any thing through and I enjoyed the parts when she was drugged, crying, and in despair. Yes, how cold-hearted! but I really hated Amy, every single action she took made me want to pull my hair out. She complained and disagreed withe everything about the ship and how they lived and while yes I agree with Amy it was wrong, I wanted to scream YOU ARE 250 YEARS IN THE FUTURE YOU IDIOT, OF COURSE TIMES CHANGE AND THEY LIVE DIFFERENTLY! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?! She signed up for being on the ship, she wasn't forced and she got what she deserved.

At least I liked Elder, he did grow through out the book and his actions were justified and weren't completely moronic. Though I do believe the romance between him and Amy is LUST. All his life he saw the exact same faces then this fiery red head pops up in his life, he's either going to think she's an exotic freak or an exotic beauty, that doesn't equal romance and love. I wish there was more between the two characters and I'm hoping for more in book 2.

All that aside, I liked the world in Across the Universe it was very interesting, from the Eldest system to the season it was all very fascinating. Also, I understood Eldest and the previous Eldest's actions. They did what they thought could get them through the journey and while it wasn't a perfect solution, it was justifiable (unlike a certain main characters idiot thoughts + actions -__-) they just had the best in mind. Even the 'killer's' actions made sense. His/her reason for doing what he/she did were true! I loved the 'villain's' in this book more then the main characters but in the end, I will be looking forward to book 2, A Million Suns.

Rating: 3 hearts~ had my problems with it, but it's not bad

-thank you&come again.

I listened to this first book as an audio book. Somehow hearing a story often grips me more than the written word, being an oral storyteller myself. But I got hooked and I couldn't wait for the rest of the series. I just finished reading the third book and I loved it. This first book....listening to it I felt the claustrophobia that Amy would have felt on the ship Godspeed. The whole culture that has evolved on that ship was drawn to detail by Reevis. I finished it longing for the sequel to see how both Amy and Elder would mature and find their way in the mess that they inherited.

The beginning of Across the Universe by Beth Revis was a bit slow but it quickly picked up. Amy and her parents believe they will be frozen for three hundred years and they will wake up on Centauri-Earth. However something happens and Amy is woken up fifty years before the scheduled landing. Godspeed is the ship Amy and her parents are on is controlled by Eldest a tyrant who wishes to keep the passengers abroad Godspeed dumb and compliant. Elder is Eldest protégée but he is attracted to Amy for some unexplainable reason. Amy is certain that Godspeed has secrets and she immediately begins investigating. The majority of Across the Universe is investigating the mysterious happenings on Godspeed and the development of Amy's and Elder's romance. The story is being told in both Elder's and Amy's perspectives so you do get a good grasp of the storyline and there are not many plot holes. One of the things that irritated me was Amy calling her dad "Daddy" constantly most seventeen year olds do not call their dad this. However I suppose she is just missing her parents. There are some unique concepts in Across the Universe such as the Season, ethnicity, and how the ship is controlled. I would suggest Across the Universe to dystopian, science fiction, and romance fans.

Once I started reading, it was so hard to put this book down (even when I had other things I really should have been doing instead). The story really drew me in and kept me thinking until the end. It raises questions about morality and ethics and truth and lies. Yeah, some of the plot twists were easy to figure out, but I actually like that aspect. It drives me a little crazy when everything is saved for the last chapter. I thought the plot was perfectly drawn out over all 398 pages. Also, I thought Beth Revis did a great job with the descriptions of the ship and Amy's feelings about being trapped inside. More than once, my heart was pounding, imagining what it must feel like. I highly recommend this book, and I can't wait for the next in the series.

Amy is cryogenically frozen with her mom and dad for a space mission to populate a new planet, but she's woken up 50 yrs early when someone starts unfreezing (and murdering) the frozen people on the ship. The reality she wakes up to is disturbing and completely unfamiliar.

I'm excited because I hadn't expected much from this book, but now I find myself really looking forward to reading the sequel. Going by those first few reviews and the recommended age, I had expected it to be badly written or something... It wasn't.

Yes, there are many plot developments that you'll be able to see coming, but it's not going to go down exactly as you might guess. I wish I could be more specific but I don't want to ruin it for anyone.

I also didn't find this book too juvenile or lacking in nuance... Eldest was a total fascist and they aren't exactly subtle. They are extreme to the point of being absolutely ridiculous, but no less dangerous for it. I guess I just really liked the theme and the questions that this book brought up.

Some other YA scifi books that are worth checking out are: A Long, Long Sleep and Skinned (Skinned Trilogy)

Before I started Across the Universe, if you had asked me? I would have said "No, I do not like Science Fiction." But now, I am not so sure. In fact? Beth Revis may have turned me into a fan of the genre.

The opening Chapter, with Amy and her family being frozen is one of the creepiest things I have ever read. (I have had an odd fear of being frozen, ever since I watched my one and only episode of Star Trek at a somber party in third grade.) And as Amy is freezing, she overhears the workers talking about an extra year - she was prepared for 300 years, but 301 is just too much.

Once we fast forward and board the Godspeed 250 years later, I could not put this book down. The world that Beth created on the ship is both fascinating and frightening. The characters are real, and the plot moves quickly and has enough twists to keep you guessing.

There's one plot point that I found predictable, but it didnt take anything away from the story, and the even bigger twist that followed had me floored.

I would recommend Across the Universe to anyone and everyone. Now, I have to run out and purchase A Million Suns! (It comes out today - January 10, 2012!)

First off: don't expect a typical storybook romance. Maybe you like those, but I think the literary world NEEDED something like this. People don't fall in love over the course of a month, and those that do should seriously reexamine their definition of "love" and compare it to "infatuation".

I've read other reviews concerning the lack of depth in the characters. Or the lack of depth in the story. Or the bleakness of it all (this story does not let up, not one ounce, and you will find yourself loving and hating it in equal measure). While it's true that some of my favorite writers slather details on like a kid pouring chocolate on a sundae (I'm looking at you, Stephen King), I don't think the flaws people have been calling out are flaws at all. Of course that's MY opinion, and those are OTHER people's opinions, and we'll just have to agree to disagree, eh? That's why it's a review.

Brief Synopsis: After the main female protagonist (Amy) is woken from the ice, we immediately begin to sense the wrongness of the society she's been plunged into the heart of. Centuries of living aboard a cramped ship (named Godspeed) have caused all the people on board to become monoethnic (they all same the same physical traits). Breeding is controlled, religion is a joke, and anything that is not productive is regarded with absolute disgust. With no differences there's no strife; with no strife there's nothing to bring excitement into the lives of the people aboard Godspeed. That goes to say that when this pale, red-haired, green-eyed girl is introduced to the population they react almost the same as you or I would if we were confronted by an alien from another planet. And that's literally what this girl is: she is from a planet they don't know, will never know, and even if they did learn about it they wouldn't experience it firsthand. To them the world is the ship, and she's an unwelcome reminder of how much larger things on the outside really are.

I for one enjoyed the writing immensely. For someone who reads a lot of the literary classics (I just finished the unabridged version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and DAMN, that description of Paris in the middle felt like someone reading city schematics to me for 40+ pages) it's nice to sit back and find a book that gives me just enough to keep me hooked but not enough to lose my attention in the details. The book reads fast and hard, seizing you like a rottweiler and shaking until you fly to pieces. I fell in love with characters that I didn't need to know a lot about: with the first-person view the entire book is written in I could plug myself into their shoes with ease. "How would I react to this? Would I be as horrified at this newest revelation as this character? What would I do if I were in charge?"

I highly recommend that you read slowly, because without a lot of detailed descriptions you have the privilege of forming the world of Godspeed in your image. The entire time I was reading I was struck by how bleak my thoughts were. "There's no wind? No rain? No snow or storms? There's no sunsets, no sunrises, no long drives in the car or staring up at the stars? There's no beach to play on or mountains to climb?" It all seems so claustrophobic. I felt terrible just imagining it, and that in turn made me sympathetic toward the main characters. If you're not into books that make you feel like shit (which now makes me feel a little masochistic) then don't read it. But if you love books that can make you feel strong emotions --ANY emotions-- then pick up Across the Universe. And don't be surprised if you don't cry at least once.

So I guess, in summation, I liked it precisely because it was so open-ended (which was done on purpose; this was initially meant to be a stand-alone book). It's bare bones story-telling at its best, with sophisticated ideas that flesh out as the series progresses!

For a scifi book, the science is seriously wrong. A very basic knowledge of physics and genetics would show that. And i read YA because, as a general rule, they tend to be clean. There were a few parts that would keep me from letting my daughter read it until after high school. There is not much of a love story, which is ok, though i wish there was more. The social structures on the ship are interesting, but not developed enough. And overall it was predictable.

As someone who normally loves Science Fiction and YA dystopian novels, I was deeply disappointed by this book. When I first heard about this book, my interest was piqued- the concept is definitely a good one. However, Revis fails to deliver. Do not be fooled by the gorgeous cover; the characterizations and attempts to establish the futuristic setting feel forced and lack the subtlety that makes the best Science Fiction/dystopian novels stand out (e.g. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer).

I literally had to force myself to finish this book. It was boring, predictable, and the characters weren't especially likable. In fact, they were often extremely aggravating.

If you want to read a good Science Fiction/Dystopian novel, I would suggest Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, the aforementioned House of the Scorpion, or Unwind by Neal Shusterman

3.5 stars

I'm not sure what to make of this book. I still can't seem to determine if I liked it or not. The story was interesting and I liked the concept but the scenes change really quickly and some parts were pretty confusing.

I'm going to move on to the second one and see if I have a different opinion.

Across The Universe is one of my first forays into the sci-fi genre, and although I didn't love it, I still found it an enjoyable read with some great world-building.

The chapters detailing Amy's claustrophobia while being trapped in the ice were, in my opinion, the strongest of the book. I could feel the horror right along with her, and I applaud Revis for being able to evoke that kind of response. These chapters really showed her strength as an author, and I wished more of this had been captured in the later chapters.

I enjoyed getting to know the ship along with Amy, all the rules and rituals that she saw. This world-building was the author's strong point and was definitely a highlight. I liked all the secrets behind the Elder/Eldest plot and the Season was particularly disturbing. I hope we'll see some stronger characterization in the next book now that this is out of the way, because I felt that sometimes it was lacking compared to the detail that went into the world-building.

Now for the romance - or lack thereof. I'm not sure what I missed, but I just didn't feel any spark between Amy and Elder. I actually wanted Amy to end up with Harley - and I'm sure that's not what the author intended. I think the next book will explore the relationship more, so hopefully my mind will be changed.

Across The Universe is a solid debut that has some strong world-building and interesting characters. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel and am excited to see where Revis takes this series.

I'm so glad I read this book, I have a love of sci-fi stemming from a childhood obsession for the Aliens movie quadrology (ok, it was a duology back then) starring my favorite hero of all time Sigourney Weaver as Ripley. I truly believe she would have out smarted and taken on all those beefed up boys-club action stars of the eighties. But I digress.

Part sci-fi horror, part political and moral cautionary tale (Stalin would have approved of the Eldest leadership methods), there are no straight lines or soft edges to this story.

The claustrophobia in the ship- from the air to the populace in the ship is palpable. But also from space itself, an infinite, inhospitable vastness all around you. It's a weight that us always there when you're reading the book. There is nowhere to run, that is one of the more scarier concepts I've read in a long time. I will most definitely keep reading the series, it's too good and too unique to pass up.

I have to give this book props for ingenuity - the premise is pretty unusual for the young adult sci-fi/fantasy romance genre. The futuristic dystopia is making a come-back with books like Matched and Divergent (not to mention the Hunger Games trilogy), but Beth Revis is the first to take her romance into space! I fell in love with the idea of this book the moment I saw the cover. Unfortunately, the actual novel fell short of my expectations. To be sure, it has its moments, but for the most part the characters are under-developed and uni-dimensional and the writing is consistently mediocre. The chapters from Amy and Elder's point of view might as well have been narrated by the same character. If the premise weren't so awesome, this book would not be worth reading, but as it is, the amazing setting almost makes up for the bad writing. If YA novels are your vice (as they are mine), then go ahead and read it. You know you want to! If YA novels aren't so much your thing, don't make an exception for this book.

I simply love this book.. It was a great read filled with tons of action.. I thought Godspeed sounded pretty good. Unlike most YA books this book's romance was annoying at all. This book didn't remind me of Twilight in any way and for that it's a thumbs up for being original. As you read you won't stop reading until you find out what the hell is Elder's problem. I simply can't wait to read A Million Suns.. too bad my library sucks and doesn't own it. Also the title comes from one of the best Beatles songs and the cover is cool looking.

I wanted to like this one more, but I found it horribly depressing. I'm not sure if that was what I was supposed to be feeling, but after getting to the end I couldn't help but think "That sucks!" on Amy's behalf. But I still liked it and enjoyed the story.

I have been watching a lot of Battlestar Galactica lately and so I was able to full get into this one with the aspect of a floating home for it's inhabitants. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the novel. The who-dun-it storyline. But I was bogged down with the parts I thought were really depressing and I couldn't shake it. I know the other two in the trilogy just might be just as depressing, but I am looking forward to see how it turns out. To see Elder become Eldest and see how or if he can turn things around.

I will be reading the next one, even anticipating I might not get a happier outcome, but the storyline is very interesting and I want to see how it plays out.

I would first like to address the cover. Does anyone else see the fangs on the girl??? That is seriously disturbing considering that this is NOT a vampire book at all. Has the vampire craze gone so far that the publishing companies feel the need to add some sort of vampiric element to a novel so that it would sell? If so, that is just plain sad. Next are the anecdotes from the two main characters supplied on the back cover as a summary. To be honest, the publishing company made this book to sound like some general teeny-angst I-need-him/her-or-I-die romance. Wow, they are trying really, really hard to sell this book as something it isn't. No, everyone. If you're looking for another Twilight, look elsewhere.

Across the Universe is a science fiction / dystopian novel, intended for an older audience than young adult in my opinion. Yes, I know that it is shelved in the YA section, but there are issues brought up in this novel that I feel 14-year-olds should not be exposed to yet. Furthermore, Revis brings up philosophy and politics that add a unique touch too. This is a story about a girl Amy from the past who is stuck in the future due to being re-animated from her cryo chamber 50 years earlier than expected. Her point of view is alternated with Elder's, the future leader of the spaceship she wakes up on. I am not going to go into the summary because it's already stated here on the store. I'll just give my two-cents of the novel.

Even though I gave this book 5 stars, it is actually supposed to be 4.5. I took off 0.5 due to the ending, which I felt could've been more strongly concluded. However, I was still satisfied. Amy annoyed me in the beginning a bit, but I overlooked it due to her situation. I mean, come on, she was woken up on this claustrophobic ship of which she will probably live on for the rest of her life and never see those she loved ever again. What I have to praise Revis for though was how she wrote Elder's part. Unlike Beautiful Creatures, Revis really wrote the male part well. It was believable that Elder was a guy, unlike the male protagonist in Beautiful Creatures, which I felt at time was a little too feminine. Revis also created a believable setting, with futuristic technologies, interesting slang, and rich history about the ship.

If you're a fan of The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins or especially The Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, I highly, highly recommend Across the Universe by Beth Revis. It is a brilliant mix of romance, mystery, and a bit of philosophy. You will not be disappointed, I promise.

I was skeptical cause I don't venture to far into space and sci-fi but I found Across the Universe very entertaining. I like the alternating POV because without it so much would be a lost. Amy and Elder are both very likeable. Just two people trying to make sense of a difficult set of circumstances that are very personal for them. Beth really surprised with the revelation near the end, I did not see it coming but I appreciate it it's a nice twist.

One last thing. I did not realize at first this was a trilogy and I was so upset at the ending. I felt ill and unsettled. Thank goodness for A Million Suns!! All very good read worth the time. Very chilling and mysterious I might add.

This book is amazing. That being said the idea of this is absolutely terrifying. To be stuck in a spaceship your whole life and be so confined. And that doesn't even include the stuff going on behind the scenes that makes your skin crawl. The mystery in this book was excellent, I loved the twists and turns, and there were plenty. Elder and Amy were wonderfully compelling characters. I'd probably go mad if I was in Amy's position. This book is a wonderful addition to the dystopian genre.

I almost didn't finish this one and by the end of the book I wished I hadn't finished. I thought this would be a light, teen love story in space, sounded intriguing. What you get with this book is a very sad look at people left on their own in space. I felt trapped and claustrophobic as I read and give props to the author for that. The love story was barely there and was not the main point of the book, so the cover and side flap are a little misleading. The only thing teen about this book is that two teens are the main characters. This book deals with series mental illness that leads people to do awful things that are described in the book. Their was a almost rape scene that was a too detailed for a teen book. There was lewd references to sex and violence and murder.

I'm more apt to say 2 stars but I realize I'm not the YA audience this was intended for. I liked the concept and the basic plot but it was delivered rather poorly. Again though, it probably wasn't delivered as poorly as I perceived it since I'm not the intended audience.

I liked it. It's a bit boring until Amy wakes up but gets really interesting from there. There are some twists and turns along the way some unexpected and some predictable and the sex on the ship was something very unexpected in a young adult novel. I enjoyed the budding romance between Amy and Elder and want to know what is next for them.

I think the characters were beautifully portrayed in this book and it was impossible not to connect with them. Amy had such a tough road from the beginning; she had to choose between being cryogenically frozen with her parents so she could be reunited with them 300+ years in the future or stay on Earth and live out the rest of her life with friends and family. She made a hard choice, but I think it's the same one I would make in that situation, in hopes that I would see my parents again when the spaceship reached the new planet. She remained tough through everything, especially when she is prematurely awakened on board Godspeed (the spaceship). Not only was she different in the respect that she had lived hundreds of years ago and wasn't accustomed to how life was on the ship, but she also looked different than everyone else. They had decided to make sure everyone looked the same in hopes to avoid war over skin color, so they controlled breeding to ensure that everyone had the same features. With her pale skin and red hair, Amy stuck out like a sore thumb and drew unwanted attention to herself. Not only was she an outcast but also she had been awakened much too early, so by the time her parents were to be awakened she would either be very old or dead. I just felt for her, with all that she had to endure. It wouldn't be easy to continue with life the way it was for her, but she toughed it out. I liked Elder as well. He had definitely been brainwashed by Eldest into a certain way of thinking, since he would one day take over the ship, but he also had a mind of his own and knew enough to question the strange occurrences on the ship. He had a good heart and it was great to see him mature as he learned all of Godspeed's secrets.

I enjoyed how the book jumped back and forth between Amy and Elder to get different perspectives. I thought the characters were very well developed and relatable. The first chapter was especially good, yet also very sad and gave me goosebumps, all at the same time. All of the creepy details about the cryogenic process and her having to say goodbye to her parents, then having to make the difficult decision of joining them, definitely affected me. I can honestly say I haven't read anything quite like this book before. I don't read a lot of dystopian/sci-fi novels, so this was a welcome change for me. The author did a great job of describing the environment so I felt like I could accurately envision what the ship looked like.

This book hooked me from the first chapter and I just couldn't seem to put it down. Being able to see things through both Amy's and Elder's eyes really enhanced the story. I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series, A Million Suns, which is scheduled to come out in January 2012. I can't wait to see what the future holds for Amy and Elder!

Agreeing to travel with her parents as frozen cargo aboard the spaceship Godspeed, expecting to arrive on a new planet 300 years later, was the hardest decision seventeen year old Amy ever had to make. Nothing could prepare her for the actual horror of being frozen nor the semi-conscious state she inhabits afterwards. Unfortunately Amy doesn't understand true fear until she is awakened from her sleep fifty years too early to find herself surrounded by people who all look alike, speak differently, and who see her as nothing more than a deranged freak.

Everyone except for Elder that is. Although he is next in line as leader of the spaceship, Elder is the youngest person aboard and has felt always felt different. Tired of half-truths and avoidance by Eldest - the ships current leader and his mentor - Elder spends more and more of his time with the unique girl who came from Earth itself, hoping for answers. But instead of helping, Amy's life and experiences on Earth only create new questions for Elder - ones that could very well destroy everything he ever believed to be true.

I think I first decided to read Beth Revis' sci-fi debut after reading an online excerpt. Across the Universe doesn't just have a killer first line, the entire first chapter is so gripping I was dying to find out what would happen. Like right then. Make no mistake, Amy's account of watching her parents being cyrogenically frozen (and then experiencing it for herself) was riveting. It wasn't pretty or simple and Amy's fear and revulsion are just so palpable. After that initial burst however, I slowly began to lose interest in Elder and Amy's story, with my attention only being caught now and then by some tidbit or scene.

Although the idea of Across the Unvierse is extremely appealing, I wasn't too thrilled with the direction Beth Revis chose to take Amy and Elder. Instead of taking the time to discuss some of the wicked cool technology developments (which, okay, she does - but only a bit and my inner geek-girl was practically drooling for more) or the background on why the space expedition was even happening in the first place, we got pages and pages on the Season (uck) and a murder 'investigation' that seemed more stale than CSI-worthy. Not to mention the 'romance' of Amy and Elder, which never went past the attraction phase in my book. I'll admit, there were several pretty brilliant ah-ha! moments of discovery, but most came in the last 50 pages or so and consequently felt rushed and not as well developed as I would have liked.

Overall, Across the Universe reads a bit like it's cover. Upon first notice, the spectacular star-strewn sky and title are appealing but then the almost-kiss and cover tag line ("What does it take to survive aboard a spaceship fueled by lies?" ::gag::) go and mess things up for me. Which also applies to the story itself. This is a book with a basic fascinating premise: How would humans truly handle a 300 year long journey through space? Beth Revis gives her readers a believable portrayal but one that ended up getting bogged down by other details. So not really a true sci-fi novel (other than it takes place aboard a spaceship), but perhaps YA fans who like mysteries and romance will find this one fulfilling. It just didn't suit me.

Across the Universe is an intresting book and a very good first book from
Beth Revis

The book starts out with Amy about to be cryogenically frozen in the present
time. Then we get into Elders charecter some odd years in the future on
the space ship Godspeed as he is trying to learn how to beome a leader
for the ship. His teacher is the actual leader Eldest...Eldest is pretty
much the villain of the story. As the plot progresses we discover there
is a murderer on Godspeed who is trying to kill by unplugging the cryogenically
frozen people and Amy is one of them Elder gets to her just in time to save her
life and he is in aww by her because she is so diffrent from everything he
knows and together they try and find the murderer and unlock all of the
secrets on the ship that have been hidden for centuries.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was the creativity used
to build such a massive ship that is suppsed to pretty much be a small world
for all of those who live on it.

I really wish there would have been a little more romance between Elder and
Amy but I also liked that it wasnt all about there relationship.So im 50/50
on that one. I also really enjoyed discovering the secrets and finding out
the twists in the book.

Across the Universe is a great read and different from what I'm used to in the YA sphere. It had great characters and came complete with action, mystery, and with being set in space, it had a kind of claustrophobic atmosphere that makes you feel the suspense and danger right along with the characters. This is definitely a book to check out and I cannot wait to dig into the next installment, A Million Suns: An Across the Universe Novel.

*9.5/10*

"Across the Universe" has one of the most amazing first scenes. Amy watches as both her father and mother submit to the process of cryogenic freezing, preparing for a 300-year journey that will carry them to a new planet. Their literal and metaphorical vulnerabilities are exposed, and she is forced to make the choice, on her own, of whether or not to follow.

It's incredibly well done. Evocative without being mawkish, maintaining intensity while steadily establishing the world of the book. I had prepped myself for "Across the Universe" by reading other reviews: I knew there might be questionably facile science and morality, and set my expectations accordingly. But my breath was taken away by that scene, and I thought: who cares, as long as the story is this gripping?

Then Amy goes to "sleep," we switch POV to Elder, and everything just... downshifts a gear. Or three.

It's not that stuff doesn't happen. A lot happens! Amy is awakened 50 years ahead of schedule and can't be put back into cryo, she explores the ship and finds a frightening new society where all "differences" have been wiped out and most people act like mindless, if satisfied, drones. (Dystopia: it's the new vampires! Thanks, "Hunger Games.") Not content to hide away in the infirmary, Amy sets out in search of answers: who flipped the switch on her stasis, what's causing people to act so strangely, and who IS the mysterious and all-knowing Eldest? What plans does he have for his successor Elder, and how do they involve Amy?

"Across the Universe" should be a page-turner. It's got all the earmarks of a juicy thriller, and the science fiction angle gives old tropes much-needed spice. However: slowly but surely, the expected fun of the reading experience turns into mild but constant nausea. The problem? This book is freakin' bleak.

I'm serious, the emotional summary is something like: bleak. Bleak bleak bleak. So bleak! ... possible smidgeon of hope? NO, ALL IS BLEAK.

And if that's your thing, rejoice. Enjoy a steaming hot cup of oh-god-does-it-ever-let-up. (Spoiler! It never does. We're hit by stomach-churning details up until the last pages.) For the rest of us, though, this unrelentingly oppressive atmosphere may prove difficult to digest. Most dystopic fictions are careful to interweave a little sweet with the bitter -- hope for humanity, unconventional romance -- and this does more than alleviate the overall gloom: it reminds the characters WHY they're fighting this seemingly impossible fight. (Or the readers why they keep plugging away at the book.) Otherwise, why not give up? But there's no real evidence of or even potential for joy in the world of "Across the Universe."

And some characters do give up, committing suicide. Oh, what, you thought I was being cute by stressing the bleak? I'm not kidding! Suicide, murder, virtual slavery, eugenics, attempted rape -- it's all in here. At least the book knows it's a downer and wears its pedigree with pride.

I agree with another reviewer about the cover: it may lead you to suspect romance. Don't set yourself up for disappointment. The relationship between Amy and Elder perhaps wins the dubious honor of being the skeeviest aspect of all. It's not a love story, it's a "last people on earth"-type situation, where they're the only two people near in age and who aren't emotionally stunted or psychotic. There's barely any romantic interaction, and while I understand this is the first book in a trilogy, you may end up perplexed as to how Revis will find any tender feelings after painting herself into a doom corner. (This goes across the board, actually. I have no idea where Revis will take it from here, and that's not a good thing: that means no idea (or no hope!) of what to look forward to, aka no concrete reason to pick up the next book.)

I'll take a moment here to mention: I was really happy that the cast was, sans Amy, made up of characters of color. But the fact that Elder's fascination is jump-started by the features which distinguish Amy as Caucasian, and he never lets up the mental rhapsodizing of said features (to wit: the color of her hair is so unexpected and gorgeous! the color of her eyes is so unexpected and gorgeous! the color of her skin is so unexpected and gorgeous!) was... kind of gross. Less of that, please?

I'm still impressed by the power of that opening scene. I have no doubt of the author's skill, or of this series' ability to create a complex world which makes me feel transported from my own.

But after spending about 400 pages there, I have no idea why I'd WANT to be transported -- or why I'd ever go back.

Look at this cover. Look at it. It is phenomenal. Seriously, take off the words and I'd hang that on my wall. But sadly I cannot say the story inside the book was as wildly exciting as the cover. I rarely think that books are overwritten, but There were so many plot twists it got to be too much and I found myself figuring out everything long before they were revealed and rolling my eyes.

The biggest problem in Across the Universe is world building, as is often the case with lack luster science fiction. I did not understand why there needed to be a society of people to maintain the ship in the first place. Couldn't there be a group of frozen technicians who are awaken at certain intervals? Couldn't most of the ship's functions be run by computers? Also, what was the point in the mission at all? I don't remember if that was explained but I never really knew why Amy and her parents were frozen in the first place.

I found myself really disliking Elder and Amy, the two main characters. I felt like there wasn't anything special enough about either of them to make them stand out and I couldn't relate. Amy was particularly bland. I came away from the novel knowing she was different because she had red hair, liked track and field, and spent a lot of time whining about her parents, her ex-boyfriend, and how different life on the ship is. I got a bit of a better feeling for Elder, mostly because he had the opportunity to develop as he learns more about Eldest and the deceptions of the ship's government. What really bothered me about these characters was how terrible things could happen to them but then they'd get over it in a matter of minutes. Amy, in particular, had some very unbelievable reactions. The romance between these two was boring and poorly paced. By the time they finally meet we're a third of the way through the book and I found it very difficult to care.

There were some good themes in Across the Universe, namely does quality of life matter if something can survive? It questions government control through various means: medicinal, class structure, and religion. It was like Revis had these great ethical themes that were bogged down with poorly built science fiction and tiresome romance.

Across the Universe looks like a beautiful romance set in outer space, but don't let that cover fool you. The book plods along with a clunky and more than slightly creepy romance and while there are some huge plot twists, they're hinted at with extremely obvious clues and then solved with extremely convenient solutions. This would have been a one star read, but that stunning cover is worth a star all on it's own.

I will give Revis credit where it is deserved. She keeps me turning the pages. It gets to a certain point where I cannot put it down for the life of me.

However, where she falls short is that she doesn't weave things well. Both this story and the next one (A Million Suns) have things that come up that don't get resolved. (For example, in one of these books, Amy covers up a murder but no one seems to notice.)

Also, the characters don't seem to react quite correctly. Sometimes I'll figure out things WAY in advance of the characters, so that when they do finally get it figured out I'm thinking, "Seriously. I took you that long." Also, the characters don't seem to have good communication skills. Someone might discover something really important and potentially dangerous, but not tell another character. It would be like I find out there is a piano hanging from the ceiling in your dining room, and I say you just might not want to go into your dining room, but don't mention anything about the piano.

I also don't like how young both Amy and Elder are. But overall, I like it enough I'll read the new one in January. (And probably not put it down when I do.) But it's not like this is my favorite book ever.

I was expecting it to be more exciting, especially since it was described as a dystopian/mystery/thriller/romance type thing.

It fulfilled none of my expectations.

I had a hard time caring about what was going on. I found Amy's struggle to adjust to a new life mildly interesting. I thought Elder's issues with becoming a leader were a little intriguing. But there was very little to make me actually CARE about anything or anyone. The only person who actually had an interesting personality and backstory was Harley.

Furthermore, the suicide of a character was EXTREMELY underplayed. I was saddened because I liked the character; not because the moment was terribly emotional. It just fell flat for me, and hardly did the character justice.

In fact, the only time the book really roused any emotion in me (besides disgust) was when Amy was trying to solve the murderer. I actually got excited when Amy started playing detective. Oh, so it's gonna be like Miss Marple! In SPACE!

Nope. The mystery lasted about two chapters. Then at the end, the killer is magically revealed. No detective work to be had. I was very disappointed.

The romance is almost nonexistant. There is little to no chemistry between Amy and Elder. Amy barely looks at him, except when she's imagining him to be her long-gone boyfriend. Elder obviously likes her, but for not because of her personality (or anything substantial like that), as far as the reader can tell. It's because she looks different from anything he's ever seen before. And no doubt because the first time he saw her, she was naked.

Speaking of which...the Season. This reminded me a lot of the novel Brave New World, only Huxley had the ability to get his point across without raping the reader's minds with overly graphic depictions of animalistic sex. The rape scene is particularily horrific, and seems to have no other purpose but to pound into our heads what's wrong with their society. Give us a little credit, Revis! We KNOW that it's disgusting and wrong; we can understand that without having the debauchery constantly described to us.

This book was very disappointing to me. I wouldn't recommend it.

I am not a big science fiction fan and have not read a lot of science fiction. However, I really enjoyed this book. There are also a lot of dystopian elements to this book as well and I enjoy most dystopian young adult fiction. The beginning of the book hooked me right off the bat. Amy and her parents were cryogenically frozen and the description of that act was very scary but not hard to believe. When Amy is awaken earlier than she is supposed to be, she acts very much like I would think anyone would. It is major culture shock and finding out that her parents are still frozen makes it that much worse. Amy is a great main character. Her reaction to being stuck on this ship and not able to go anywhere else is spot on. I'm not surprised that they put her in the mental hospital. She meets Elder there as well as one of the coolest characters in this book, Harley. Harley is one of the best and most heartbreaking characters I have read in a long time. I felt for him so much because he lost the love of his life and it was so sad how he had to be medicated to deal with everything. I believe he was truly happy when he didn't take the medication and was able to see the real stars. I won't spoil what happened to him but I will say that his story was one of the best parts of the book. The ending of the book was full of lots of surprises and ups and downs and I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this trilogy.

Such a great book! I felt like I found a hidden gem hidden at Ollies. It was only a $1.99 and sounded interesting so I gave it a try. I was hooked from the first chapter. I absolutely could not put this book down! After I finished I had to purchase the sequel: A Million Suns from the store kindle because I could not wait for the paperback to get here.

Bottom Line: Try this book you won't regret it! It is one of the best books I've read all year! It is a suspense driven mystery novel wrapped in a sci-fi package.

Fabulous book! Great story, great depth, great background info. I really enjoyed this book and am willing to buy books 2 and 3! This was an e-book library loan. There was a lot of inner turmoil. I liked the Elder/Amy POV every other chapter. A lot of things were done right with this book. I couldn't stop reading it!

**Spoiler** This book was really good, except for the massive plot hole (my boyfriend discovered it). Newton's first law of motion: an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force. So if the ship is truly in space it should not slow down because no other forces would be acting upon it. The fuel would only be needed to change the direction or to pull out of some other planet/star's gravitational field. Soooo that kind of undermines the whole book.

The rest of the book is great though and kept me guessing the whole time. I really like the epiphany moments.

I wrote my full review on my blog, which you can view at best5zach.blogspot. The long and short if this book is: you will spend more time wondering how you will be duped by a plot twist than actually reading and enjoying it. The plot was transparent very early and I found myself reading simply in hopes that I would be wrong.

This is the first Sci-fi book I read. Verdict? I really enjoyed it.

This book captured my interest from the first pages. The way the author describes the experience of being frozen alive was scary. I remember pulling my blanket and shivering at the idea. Amy is an extremely brave girl, I cannot imagine volunteering to be frozen after I seeing how horrible and painful it is.

The dual narrative was great in this book. I like knowing what the characters are thinking and it was especially nice to read about the same event from two perspectives. I was able to see Godspeed and its inhabitants as an outsider and also as their future leader. This allowed for me to care about the people but also see their dark side. There was a scene that I almost put the book down because I was literally scared and disgusted but it showed how inhuman people can become.

The story kept me interested and eager to discover Godspeed's secrets. I admit, I wanted Amy to finally notice how awesome Elder is but the story also kept me reading. I love when books shock me, and this one has a few twists that left me reading with my mouth open in shock.

I like knowing why characters behave the way the do and what leads them to become who they are. So I was a little disappointed that the reasons behind Eldest and some other character's actions where not explained. Hopefully, more will be explained in the next installment of the series.

I will definitely take another journey aboard Godspeed, a spaceship full of secrets, hope, and love.

I really anticipated reading this book. Like so much so that when I received the ARC I sat down to read it almost immediately because the premise just tickled my mind so much. It looked to be a cross between one of my favorite (and definitely not young adult geared) sci-fi movies Pandorum and Veronica Mars (which I adore -- as stated in my Waiting on Wednesday entry earlier). Mystery and futuristic settings and space ships (yeah, I was a Star Trek fan, so what) and all of that thrilled me to death.

Let me say that the book did not disappoint me on any of the fronts I had been eagerly awaiting. The mystery starts off a bit slowly but it definitely builds as we get to see the world from the perspective of two very different young people. Ms. Revis fleshed out her characters very well and, if you're a constant reader of my reviews, you know that is an extremely important factor for my enjoyment of a book. I love watching characters develop and grow and change and they must MUST be multi-layered if I am to care about them. Even the background characters and supporting players were brilliantly and thoroughly designed to have nooks and crannies to their personalities that made me want to know and understand them better -- regardless of their motivations.

I've read in other reviews that the story was slow-moving and overly scientific. But I did not find that to be the case at all. Perhaps every moment wasn't action-packed like The Maze Runner or The Hunger Games series but I don't think that was the point. The science in the story was important for understanding the world within the ship and perhaps I'm a science geek but I enjoyed reading all about it as each thing came up. There was nothing teachy about it; I didn't feel like I was in school. It was simply full-world saturation and I was aboard the Godspeed with Amy and Elder, learning alongside them because they are likable and interesting people.

The one drawback I felt with this book was the ending. I had gone into reading the book not knowing that it was the first in a trilogy and so when I read the ending originally I actually had a mini tantrum because I felt that it came completely out of left field and was totally unnecessary. Now that I know it's the first book in a trilogy I realize that the ending served as a cliffhanger of sorts to propel readers into wanting to read the next book to find out what happens but it just so happens that this reader doesn't appreciate that sort of cliffhanger at all.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE a good cliffhanger but I felt that I had been on a 400 page fun ride only to get to the last couple pages and be smacked in the face. Not a fun experience. It won't stop me from reading the next book by any means, but it certainly drops this down from what would've been a 5-star rating to a 4-star with a heartfelt plea to Ms. Revis that perhaps she could please find a different way to create a cliffhanger than a seemingly rushed, out of the blue sucker punch? Pretty please?

I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book from the publisher, and I cannot even begin to describe how grateful I am that I did! This book was amazing, truly. I was going to give it four stars, but the ending was so great I had to give it five. Ms. Revis sure knows how to write a good twist. Or six.

*mild spoilers*

I'll be honest; I don't read a lot of space books. But the premise for this book was just so intriguing that I had to read it. This book was something for everyone. It really does. Mystery, romance, science fiction. Across the Universe appeals to girls AND boys. And the reversible cover is genius!

There was one particular aspect of this story that I found fascinating. People on the spaceship are either in their 20s, 40s, or 60s. In order to keep the population under control, no one has has any kind of sexual relationship except when they are in their 20s. There is literally a season for humans, just like animals. After that, they return to their previous celibate existence. Now, apart from this being just VERY strange, it was also very interesting. I mean, humans only having sex to reproduce? Can anyone actually imagine that? It was a pretty cool concept, and it definitely put a certain flavor to the story.

The only bad thing? We have to wait so long for the sequel. Seriously. That's it. Buy this book.

So I was expecting a standard YA teen romance with sci-fi thrown in for interest. I was very surprised at the medical detail the author included, as well as strong character development. There were a few surprises, clever use of plot devices, and a psychological depth that I was delighted and surprised to find. Old school sci-fi fans might find scientific detail a bit lacking, but people who are into social detail and interactions will definitely be interested.

I loved this book SO much more than I thought possible! The first chapter was chilling, in such a good way, that after reading it I just couldn't put it down!

The point of view alternates every chapter between Amy and Elder, which I usually don't like but in this book I greatly enjoyed! Instead of being confusing it added to the story and helped to describe things that would otherwise have been harder to understand.

The story had so many moments that shocked and surprised me. For quite a bit of the latter half of the book I was just exclaiming things and was so surprised, which I really wasn't expecting at all. I love when a book does that and this one did it until the very end!

I highly recommend this book and can hardly wait to read the next book!

"I never thought about how important the sky was until I didn't have one." ~ Amy

Imagine you're on a journey to a planet 300 years away and you're frozen the whole time ... and you wake up 50 years too early, to discover that everyone on the spaceship is brainwashed and living in a dystopian society, and there's a murderer loose who's killing all of your frozen comrades off one by one.

This is the story of Amy, and this is her reality.

Across The Universe is such a fantastic read -it's a great page-turner.
beautifully written, mesmerizing and thrilling as hell! you can see that the storyline is very well thought out -Beth did amazing job.

I loved the main characters, they were just epic. period.
It's might seems like cheesy love story, but actually thats NOT the case. if you won't think of it as 'Twilight in space' then you won't be disappointed.

And the ending... oh, the ending... it was crazy-good and unexpected.

Just do me a favore and read this book.

I don't want to give away too much of the story here, but the basic concept of the book is a solid read. Earth has decided to send a colonization ship to another planet. Some of the "to-be settlers" are frozen in cryo, and others are sent to keep the ship moving along. The difficulties arise when one of the main characters is sent out of cryo too early into the community that has been created on the ship from the generations that have lived isolated in the ship. There are mysteries abound as each layer of the story is peeled back to expose the bitter truths of what happened to the ship generations, and what the current status quo is for these people.

I can't help but draw a parallel to The Giver, if you happen to recall the story there, however the plot in the book is excellent and well thought out, and while I had some guesses to what was going on, it was never so boldly obvious that the book became boring. I would have liked more depth to some of the characters as I felt many of them simply existed for the story and not as characters in their own right but I still highly suggest this book and the one that is available now as the sequel.

This book could have been much better. It was an interesting idea though and I will read the next one and see where it takes. It seems that everything on the book is a lie and you really do not know what is real and what is not. There were quiet a few unexpected revelations on this book and I enjoyed it very much.

Across the Universe, is an ambitious teen sci-fi, suspense, romance and somewhat dystopian novel that tries to tackle complex moral questions such as the root of discord, authority and human nature itself. But the biggest problem of this book is, other than bad science, is that the author looks at these problems in a very simplistic and, very very AMERICAN way.**SPOILERS BELOW**

A. Human behavior in a tightly controlled, fatalistic environment -- Basically everyone is stuck on this ship that's been in space for centuries and the heroine is woken up from a cryogenic sleep accidentally before the ship lands on a new planet. We learn that all humans from Earth are still frozen (except her) but there are people working the ship. They are all brown, "monoethnic" and are mindless drones who do what they are told, kind of like a caste system with specific jobs assigned (feeders grow food, etc). So our American heroine has a big issue with this as this society refutes all American values such as choice. We learn that a drug makes these people passive because generations ago people learnt that the ship's journey would be much longer due to an engine issue and learning they'll never land became furious and rioted. Therefore a leader stepped up and came up with a system to control this violent behavior. First they are drugged to make them passive (they feel unnaturally content living on the ship, basically no free will to question their existence). Then, they are amped up with a hormone to make humans go into heat like animals at the same time so they give birth at the same time. Once, the mating season is over, and all the women are pregnant, the leader tells them the ship won't land during their lifetime, but keep it together for their kids. And everyone obeys, no discord. So our heroine obviously hates this and wants free will for everyone. The book ends very simplistically, everyone gets their free will but we don't know what's going to happen. I thought the author unconsciously inserted what she thinks is right for a society, even a society in very fatalistic conditions such as a ship stranded in space, in to the story in the typical American way. We are told Lincoln is one of the greatest leaders, the old leader is evil because he twists history to make Hitler look like a great leader, etc. For a ship from earth it does not represent earth at all, just a tiny fragment of American society. Why is everyone also heterosexual, how do they control THAT?By the way, everyone on the ship is brown and our heroine is a white redhead so everyone thinks cause she's not monoethnic she's a freak. White girl in distress.

B. Author's obsession with incest-- We are repeatedly told of the importance of DNA replication so the "horrors" of incest won't happen. Obviously, within a tiny, isolated population, mating choices are few. However, I wonder if this author ever took a biology class. In my intro to genetics class, we learned that all the stereotypical, horrors you read about "inbred freaks" is just a matter of mathematical chance. It depends on the genes you have. If your family has a genetically transmitted disease and you keep marrying your cousins (like a Royal family) the offspring have a higher chance of getting that disease, same way, if your family has a "genius" gene, like for an immunity, your offspring have a higher chance of getting that gene. The act of incest itself doesn't produce any genetic anomalies. It's pure myth. you may have moral obligations against incest, but remember, the human race started off with incest. (Personally, if the relationships are consensual, like siblings, who am I to judge?)

C. The "profession" gene--Also, the populations genetics are carefully controlled to make sure smart babies are born. Apparently, there are genes that can make you a scientist or an artist. /eyeroll/

D. Aren't we all stuck on this planet anyway?--All the problems on the ship arises from its contained and hopeless environment. We see our heroine repulsed by air and water recycled for centuries and artificial lights pretending to be stars. Then again, isn't it the same on earth? Aren't we all stuck on this planet, breathing air naturally recycled for millenia and drinking water going through the rain system, looking at stars that never changes to the untrained eye?

E. If you don't come to democracy, democracy will come to you--Ultimately, the conclusion is that everyone gets to choose,idealistic American style. It's about becoming an individual, instead of the drone manufactured by society. The author wants to welcome diversity, but we never see a variety of ideas, people or cultures to celebrate said diversity. I keep thinking, by the author's assertions of free will and choice , the same often and popularly cited by American politicians, media and in schools, isn't the author flouting her own conclusion by failing to think outside her box of American society? In the end, the people themselves never get a choice whether they want to live in drugged bliss or be aware of the reality of their dire situation. Their new leader and the heroine chooses it for them. The same leader who overthrows and old leader for autocracy. Ironic much?

This book was truly something. I couldn't put it down when I read it, and I finished it in a day. The plot twists! The lies! AGH! You have to read this book. I don't know what I was expecting when I started this book, but it definitely wasn't this. Oh my goodness. This book does get dark, and I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight! I needed reassurance that this book wasn't real from everyone around me. The pacing was excellent as well! Every time it switched from Amy to Elder, I just wanted to skip Elder's chapter and keep reading what Amy had to say. I felt such a strong emotional connection to both Amy and Elder! Whenever Amy said anything about her dad, I had to go into the other room and make sure my dad was still there! Ugh, this book has changed me, and if you need a book to read, look no further than Across the Universe!

I was lucky enough to be able to read this book as an Early Reviewer so I read it before its release date. Once it came out and I saw displays of it, I actually found myself telling people looking at the display how great it was. I felt proud of it somehow.

I really enjoyed this book. I expected it to be a little more of a romance then it was, and was pleasantly suprised that it wasnt. Not that there isnt romance, it just doesnt dominate the story. The last third of the book was filled with unexpected twists that litterally put me at the edge of my seat and I couldnt turn the pages fast enough.

At the end I was sad to see how open ended it had been left, but now know that this is a trilogy and I am instead very happy that I get another 2 books of it!

GENERAL
The novel is split into two points of views: that of Amy (a girl who was frozen a couple of hundred years ago) and Elder (a boy who was born on the ship and is destined to be the future leader of Godspeed). I always like when there is more than one POV in a novel and it is especially important in this novel. I mostly sided with Amy's view of the ship, the strange behaviour of the people there and I could understand her feelings of hopelessness and loneliness. But Elder's side was refreshing, it gave me time to breathe and understand why everything was the way it was and not just be appalled at the consequences. I couldn't put this book down at all - I read it in one sitting (starting sometimes around 1am and finished at about 5am), which isn't technically a rare thing for me but considering the time it's quite a feat to keep me interested this early (or late?) in the morning.
I didn't like the chapters much where Amy was still frozen and were told in her POV. I know they were necessary and showed probably how horrible it is to be frozen but it slowed the plot down - maybe they were supposed to do this.

CONS
Uuuh ... I don't really have anything to mention here, to be honest. It was a very well thought out and exectued idea - and I can't really criticize the Frozen-Amy chapters because I know they were necessary.

PROS
I loved everything! The strange behaviour of the people, the little flashbacks Amy has of her boyfriend and coming to understand that everything she knows is long gone, like her dream of participating in the New York Marathon. She realized later that the New York she knew some hundreds of years ago doesn't exist anymore. I loved Elder and the Harley! Oh Harley ...
The best thing was probably that I couldn't see the twist coming. I knew something was wrong with Eldest but I did not expect the solution at all. Oh and the final twist and ... I love it. I love the book and once I have let things drift for a while I'll definitely re-read it. Again and again.

CONCLUSION
Buy it! Read it! Read it again! That's all I have to say.

Also posted at 30nightsinsomniac.blogspot.com

This was a compelling story that I enjoyed reading (and I am now reading the second volume of the trilogy). The presentation of life on the generation ship and the problems Amy faced were excellent. Unfortunately, the enormous plot hole crated when the author ignored Newton's first law of motion definitely reduced my enjoyment of this debut novel.

I enjoyed this story, a little different twist than other sci fi stories. I liked how the story centered around the perspective of 2 of the main characters. I haven't looked yet but I hope there's a sequel

There really are no words that come to mind to describe how thoroughly I enjoyed this book. In the first few pages my thoughts were already enslaved by both Elder and Amy and the mystery of how they would meet. Flipping through the pages I began to fall in love with the characters amidst all their differences and flaws. My curiosity deepened and deeply speculated on what would really happen if we were all packed on a ship and carted off to a different planet far away from what we knew as home. Beth Revis's brilliant ways of threading this novel together kept me on the edge of my seat as well as on the brink of tears. If you are even debating whether or not to read this stop speculating and buy the darned thing. You will not waste ANY time marvelling in the wonderful mystery of this book.

All in all-- eh. This book took me back to watching Zenon: Girl of 21st Century [VHS] on the Disney channel. Except much much much less fun. Highlight of the book was its commentary on the danger of stifling individuality and free thought. (Liked the re-inventing of the philosophy of Lincoln and the depiction of Hilter as a leader to be emulated.) The book was two protagonists-- Amy and Elder-- and switches off between who is the point-of-view character. I didn't really care for either of them, though, which was likely my biggest problem with the book. That and the fact that it was incredibly predictable. So like many of these young adult futuristic books, interesting enough universe but poor characters and plot.

I had mixed feelings about this one. Good world building but very slow start. I had trouble liking the characters because I found them whiny and self absorbed as the book began, but that seems to be a common trait in recent YA books. The book was redeemed for me by the last half. The pacing picked up, characters became less whiny and I enjoyed it much more.
If you generally enjoy YA dystopian fiction you will like this too.

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is wonderfully written. The world on Godspeed is unique and engaging. The plot was easy to follow along with and kept me interested from page one. Although the ARC I received had almost 400 pages I found it to be a pretty fast read. Beth did a good job with switching from POV to POV. The characters were great and I had no problem connecting to them and cheering or yelling at them as needed but the plot is the big selling point for ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. This is a great Science Fiction novel that you should pick up if you get the chance. I'm excited to see what comes next for Amy and Elder.

I loved this book. It was really interesting to see how things played out at the end. I love just how it was so metaphorical. Eldest the political leader and no one realizes exactly what he's been doing, or done. _____ the uncharted person causing problems. Elder the guy who realizes what he has done is wrong and can make a difference. Amy the girl who has the courage to overcome obstacles she never even imagined possible and still fights for what she believes in. The rest of the ship uninformed and manipulated. Now that I think about it, it was a very political story, I don't like politics, but the book was written very well. It keeps you reading until the last page. So many twist are put in place it just adds so much to what you think the ending. It answers all the questions through out the story and I strongly recommend it.

I love reading. It usually takes great effort for me to put a book down. But this book...
Okay. This book has the backbone of a good plot with some twists. It's just, between those parts, it is incredibly boring. The lack of character development is tremendous, and to me, that is one of the most important elements. Elder and Amy are always talking and pondering, and their narration is not exciting at all. Their personalities are the same. The plot was also incredibly predictable. The author tries to make the narration sound more dramatic, but in the end her style just sounds monotonous. If you are looking for some romance in the novel, don't expect to find any, other than extreme detail of people humping like rabbits.

It's a little late after I read this to be writing a review, but I just don't understand why everyone ignores that this happened.

I found the main characters, both of them to be kind of annoying. The premise was...idk it was ok I guess but kind of unbelievable.

Anyway, I wasn't really enjoying the book as I read it, but I would have stayed to the end to find out what happened but what really cinched the DNF for me was the casual handling of the main girl's almost rape.

What happened here was really uncomfortable.

The main girl was almost raped by men in the throes of chemical induced lust and the scene was really graphically uncomfortable although not explicit. And yes she was mildly traumatized after. but not a few pages later she is kissing the main guy and falling in love like she was never almost raped.

I'm glad she can be happy and all but it just really threw me out of the story. I found it unrealistic and irreverent. And really that the whole thing happened was just inappropriate and unnecessary.

The reviews seem to be split between amazing and underdeveloped.
I think this is an excellent book because of the questions raised after it is read.
Yes, there could have been more character development, yes things could have been spelled out for us, but
I think the most valuable thing is the ambiguity. This leaves us to think about what we would do in the difficult situations. I value this book for the questions raised inside of me. What does it take to be a good leader? What would I have done if placed in Elder's shoes? Amy's? Eldest's? I think each character was written true to their age and environment. The biggest question raised, is what is truth? How can we believe with any certainty in history?
So many questions, I will be thinking about this book long after it collects dust on the shelf.

I enjoyed this trilogy so much I read it twice. Every element of this book captivated me and I could not get enough. I hope Revis continues writing such exciting stories and that someone makes a movie that is true to the books.

To anyone who has ever felt far away from home, this one will hit close to the heart.

This story was nothing like I expected it to be from when I first read the description and I love that my first idea of it was wrong. Here's why: I hate/loathe/detest a story that I can guess the ending to before I'm halfway through the book. Across the Universe is a lovely coming-of-age story of a seventeen-year-old girl who didn't want to leave home but couldn't bear to stay away from her parents and chose to stay with them even if it meant 300 (or, as I found out in the first chapter, 301) years of being frozen.

I think the most terrifying part about Amy being frozen is that she is conscious and aware the entire time, even if she can't tell how much time has passed. It's terrifying how she's woken up improperly and nearly dies. The world that she has been brought into is terrifying because it is so different from the world that I know and love.

I love that the narration is from the first-person, present tense of two characters because, ultimately, I got to see through the eyes of someone I could relate to and another that had knowledge of the new world I was experiencing and, in the end, I needed both perspectives to completely understand the story properly. So, thank you Beth Revis for writing through both Amy's and Elder's eyes. The layout of the ship was easier to imagine than I thought possible thanks to their dual perspectives.

Finally, I'd like to say that this is an incredible, breath-taking debut. I love reading debuts because there's something about them that is so raw and this story was nothing, if not completely emotional and heart-wrenching when you realize that the smallest bit of hope is all that Amy and Elder's world depends on to survive.

Read other reviews by me at: anoveltemptation.blogspot.com

Apparently a million other people loved this book, too but I had to write a quick review. It's just awesome. Great love story, lots to think about. Elder and Amy... great characters... can't wait for them to get together because I hope know they will. All I wanted to do was run home and 'get back to space'. xo Going off to read the rest of the series cuz I want to go BACK to space and fall in LOVE and dream. Hope this author writes a million more books.

I was very captivated by this book. The story line is great, and the first chapter reels you in. I loved the different POV's and how the book kept you guessing until the end. I know I would never want to be trapped on a ship, and Revis really makes you feel like you're stuck on Godspeed like everyone else. I definitely recommend! I'm starting a million suns tonight!

I purchased 'Across The Universe' by impulse while perusing the book store, and it sounded compelling with an interesting mix of genres. Across the Universe ended up having many of the things I crave in a book: quick pacing, proactive characters and some well-devised plot twists. While I wouldn't say it's a book of perfection, it made a couple nights of entertaining reading, which is just what I wanted.

For me, this book had two things that really captured me in a way many recent books have failed to. First, it had an engaging plot line with multiple questions to keep the reader guessing until the last page. Second, the characters take an active role in seeking out the answers to these questions rather than sitting idly by and hoping the answers fall into their laps. They deal with their problems in their own ways, but the reader is not subjected to entire passages of histrionic moping that takes place entirely in the minds of the characters. Even while Amy struggles to deal with the grief of losing her whole world, she rarely sits in a corner and cries. Instead she goes running, or attempts various investigations into clues about the murders of the cryos. Unmotivated characters means the death of a story for me, but this story does not lack forward momentum.

Secondly, this book switches perspectives between Elder and Amy - something I normally find irritating. In this case it was used to great effect, sometimes giving us insights about the characters and events of the story while other times withholding information so that we're shocked at the end when it's revealed. Normally I find books which switch perspectives do so willy nilly, whenever the author gets bored of writing from a single point of view, and as a result I start to lose interest in ALL of the characters. This is not the case here.

A note to potential readers: I found the cover extremely misleading. The romance of the story is a side plot compared to the main events occurring on Godspeed. Even the murder mystery takes a back burner to the themes of tyranny and the effects of rigidly controlled society. The dsytopian theme is the most prominent, so if you're looking for starstruck lovers inches apart from a kiss at every turn, there is very little of that. While, personally, I prefer romance the way it's done here, I suspect many who pick up the book will be disappointed by the lack of steamy scenes.

The book as a stand-alone has issues (though, with a plan for sequels, I may have to hold my tongue). The ending did feel quite abrupt, with many of the deeper moral controversies brought up in the story left hanging completely. For readers who want a fairy-tale ending, they won't get it - or at least not until further sequels. This book ends on a decidedly bitter note as (SPOILER) Amy comes to the realization that she will not see her parents in 50 years - in fact, she will likely never see them again. Considering her only reason for boarding the Godspeed and being cryogenically frozen was to remain with them, that's a tough stone to swallow for both character and reader.(END SPOILER)

All that aside, I did find it a very enjoyable read and I will definitely purchase any sequels written in the future, in hopes some of the questions that were left unanswered will come to satisfying conclusions.

It was the beautiful cover of this book that first attracted my attention on Goodreads. I bought the book and WOW! This is my new favorite book! Totally unexpected and original I was captivated from the beginning and could not part with this book – for several weeks after I finished it I still carried it around with me. I don’t usually like Science Fiction, but this book has a more Dystopian feel and the plot was so unpredictable with twists and turns that kept me hanging on for dear life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read! I'd been looking for a decent sci-fi novel and found a great one! It was everything I was looking for! I couldn't put it down and I felt like I was a part of the story with every word read. Beautiful read!

I LOVED this book. It held my interest right from the beginning and called to me whenever I had to put it down. It's science fiction or fantasy but so different from what I generally read in that genre. There are not any people or creatures with magical ability. Instead it is set in the future on a futuristic spaceship. I'm pleased there are supposed to be more books that continue where this one left off.

Mediocre is the first word that comes to mind when I think about Across the Universe. I din't really connect to any of the characters, and at about 70%, I found myself not caring at all what happens to them.

The mystery wasn't a mystery at all. I figured everything out almost at the beginning and then just waited for Amy and Elder to catch up. The science parts weren't convincing, and the social structure was pretty unbelievable.
When I comapare this book to Maria Snyder's Inside Out, I really have no choice but to give it two stars. Even though Inside Out was a three-star book for me, the almost perfect second book, Outside In, made me so happy I chose to read the series. I have no desire to read A Million Suns.

Good YA Sci-Fi novels are few and far betewen. Author Beth Revis is hoping to change this with the release of her debut novel Across the Universe, the first in a new trilogy. The industry is already speculating that this novel might do for sci-fi what Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games Trilogy did for the Dystopian novels and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga did for the paranormal genre. If this takes off, expect to see more space-based books on the way.

One of the nicest things about this novel is the fact that one of the two POVs features a female character. Think of all the most famous sci-fi books available for younger readers. Middle-grade series Pendragon by D.J. MacHale features a male protagonist, as does the teen edition of Orson Scott Card's famous Ender books. Sure, A Wrinkle in Time (one of my childhood favorites) has a female lead, but so many schools require the text that many younger readers turn up their noises at it (a true shame). Across the Universe is hoping to speak to a whole new generation of readers--teens no longer interested in middle-grade novels, but not quite ready for adult sci-fi. On top of that, the book is being marketed for readers who don't typically read the genre. I'll admit, sci-fi has never been my first choice of genre. Sometimes, it's hard to wrap my brain around certain concepts. The ideas introduced make my brain want to explode. Not Across the Universe, though. It isn't over-the-top with scientific elements.

The novel starts off with a girl named Amy and her parents as they are cryogenically-frozen and put onto a spaceship. An exploration team has been put together after probes find another life-sustaining planet 300 years away. The government freezes a group of people well-suited for exploring the new planet, and Amy is allowed to be frozen alongside her parents. However, something goes awry and Amy wakes up from her frozen sleep fifty years before the ship is scheduled to land on the new planet.

She meets a boy named Elder who is training to take over the ship's leadership once Eldest passes away. Elder is the 13th (14th? I forget...) generation born onboard the ship. Everyone's features have begun to blend together and look similar, so Amy looks exotic with her pale-skin and vibrant red-hair, a dangerous combination. Amy finds out that someone has been unplugging the frozens, essentially commiting murder. She seeks Elder's help to figure out what's going on before her parents are the next victims. discovers Together, they uncover a sinister plot that will carry over into the next novel. Incorportating a murder mystery with sci-fi elements felt refreshing, leaving the rest of the trilogy full of promise. It will be interesting to see what topic Revis tackles next.

There are things I both like and dislike about the cover. I LOVE the fact that it flips inside out to form a completely different dust jacket. If you turn the cover inside out, the cover becomes Elder's map of the spaceship! What a unique concept. Very innovative! [...] While the original cover is eye-catching, it's also misleading. Looking at the jacket, many readers will assume Across the Universe is a love story. It's not. Maybe in subsequent books, since there is an intense attraction between the two, but not yet. One of my sci-fi-loving male co-workers thought the novel sounded interesting, but decided he didn't want to read it after seeing the cover despite my reassurance that it wasn't a romance. He'll probably read it when I turn the cover inside out, though. (That's how we'll get the guys to read this one...trick them! I mean, look at that inside cover. They'll never know the difference!)

Overall, Across the Universe promises to be an interesting start to a fresh new series, one poised to open up an influx of teen sci-fi novels to a new generation of readers.

Amy is trapped. Trapped in ice on the futuristic spaceship, thousands of years after the 21st century. She and her parents were part of a scientific program in which they were frozen and kept in the Godspeed years after Earth has ended. But Elder, a furure ruler of the ship, is intersted in the frozen humans below the ship- especially Amy. So interested that he touches her- and she melts.
Now Amy is thrust thousands of years after her time, contained within the walls of the Godspeed, with Elder by her side.
This novel was extremely amazing, as well as mature, and a little iffy for teens younger than 13. There are some fururistic mating processes.SPOILER: Such as men's testosterone levels going off and forcing them to rape and sexually abuse the woemen of the ship. however, this is not conidered profound as it is in our day, but completely normal. There is also a scene in which a woman is getting an abortion.

(And GUYS don't be afraid to read this book at school by judging it by it's femine cover. On the back of the jacket is "Elder's cover" which shows a a diagram/blueprint of the Godspeed)

Across the Universe is the first in the only book series that has moved me to tears. This sci-fi trilogy made me grateful for the sky.

My initial reaction:
Wow. Oh my goodness this book hits you like a ton of bricks. That, I believe is the best way to describe the book, as well as the entire trilogy.

There are these moments that Beth Revis crafts with overwhelming emotions and the wording never fails you. To be honest, there are pretty nasty topics addressed, and even though I did not care for them, I was hanging on to every word. This is not a book you simply forget, you must ponder the events untill you are too tired to think. As well as being a fast-paced beginning to a moving trilogy, this book makes you think and leaves you begging for more.

And the characters, I know that they are not the most developed bunch, but there is an entire trilogy to figure them out. Hold on, and you will see them grow exponentially deeper.

Overall, this was one of the most gripping tales that I have ever read. Please do not be alarmed by the simpler characters, they will become stronger with time.

While you wait, let Across the Universe sweep you away to a spaceship where nothing is as it seems. See you on Godspeed.

This book was beautiful! The plot, the setting, the characters, but most of all the story. When I start to cry while reading a book then I know it will be the best one of all. Thank you Beth for an amazing opportunity to visit your world.

I borrowed this book from my library's digital collection for my Kindle on a complete whim. I haven't read much science fiction for younger audiences so it kind of took me by surprise when I fell in love with the book so quickly. Beth has an excellent writing style and this book is incredibly character-driven. I am looking forward to buying & reading the next book in the series!

I read this book, and the whole time I read it (it took me almost a week) I kept waiting for it to get really good--so good I would have to stay up all night to finish it. And I waited. And waited. And Waited. And then I turned the page, expecting it to FINALLY be really good because I was almost at the end of the book... and I was on the acknowledgments page. And it never got that good. I guess I was expecting a sci-fi mystery/romance/adventure, but this book is none of those things. It is a whole lot of talking and thinking and pondering and growing crops and looking at fake stars and mating. So I was quite disappointed, especially after all the hype.

And then there was the mating season. Is this book written for kids? Because detailing page after page of graphic, animalistic sex, where people are so focused on the act that they can't separate from each other to help a main character who is on the verge of being graphically gang raped right beside them--I was horrified that the author would put such detail into a young adult book. A brief mention of the Mating Season is all she needed to get her point across, yet she hits the reader over the head with it over and over. The irony is she won't write the "F" word. It was done in bad taste.

Very disappointing.

Overall, I have to say: this book is not appropriate for teens. At all.

This book will definitely make you think. When I finished it, I actually said "wow" out loud. I am surprised that it is a trilogy though; it wrapped up pretty nicely. Good philosophical ideas, some romance, and a lot of mystery. Pretty good book!

This plot driven sci-fi suffers from an emotionally illogical premise and sloppy writing. Amy seems to do nothing but run, cry or scream, which not only makes her character extremely flat, but greatly reduces the intended emotional impact of her predicament. Every time she bursts into tears after about the halfway point of the novel, rather than feel sympathy, I found myself rolling my eyes. An attempted rape scene told in first person includes far too many details that a girl under violent attack would not be realistically noticing. Numerous problems persist throughout the novel, such as errors in psychic distance at emotional high points ("I can feel her tears soaking through my tunic" as opposed to the closer, tidier "Her tears soak through my tunic") and most importantly, lack of credibility in the very premise. Never for one second do I believe that loving, stable parents like Amy's would leave her behind forever for the sake of a job, no matter how exciting. Their willingness to do so in the first chapter is (literally) unbelievable. Even if they forced her to come with them, I STILL would not believe it. Why would they take away from their child all of her extended family and friends, forever, no going back? Then after all of that, the "moral" of the story is an irritatingly direct rip-off of C.S Lewis. "You can't have the joy without the pain." And sometimes, even after the pain of forcing yourself to finish a bad 400 page book, you still can't find the joy...

Across the Universe was a great quick read. I loved the main character and since she was so young her mistakes and perceptions were right on par. The secret she discovered was pretty interesting. This book Is a good weekend read.

When I first got this book at a local library, I said, "I'm not going to read this boring, old sci-fy book". Oh. How wrong I was. When you first start out, you can visualize whats happening to the characters and why they're doing it. This book is a mix of mystery, science fiction, adventure, and most of all, well, hope. I love how this author tied it in together with the chapter in the ending. I quickly followed in by reading the 2nd book--Another wonderful and fascinating book. "A Ship Fueled By Lies" is completely correct. The whole ship has secrets within secrets,some which you can identify, others are hidden until it's revealed. I can say one thing. Read this book, my fellow book readers and/or lovers, and enjoy it. Thank you for taking a part of your time to read this review.

The slang. I don't think anyone's mentioned this but I think Amy would ask what 'frex' means. I believe it's meant to be the F word yet she says things like 'screw' so what's a little swearing? It's unclear what chutz means too as it's slang for penis and courage apparently. Just how Elder doesn't have the 'chutz' to stand up to Eldest and Eldest later says he's thinking with his chutz and not his head! Slang should be explained. Just like 'Brilly' (though I've gathered she means brilliant)?
She uses too much spacing for Amy's chapters and this takes away the dramatic use for it. Amy's 1st chapter is the best - very nice. Yet all the next few are completely pointless. A way to not waste your time? Skip over them! They really mean nothing to the story. I find it annoying because in those she seems to be going 'oh I'm being unfrozen!' then at the end of the chapter goes 'oh it's just a nightmanre' type thing. This is the first hint that the author's messing you about and isn't a nice person. BTW, if you've stated that she's frozen and it's like being dead for 300 years and that your heart has stopped - YOU CAN'T BE HAVING THOUGHTS OR DREAMS. This makes the first few chapters of Amy's redundant and unrealistic!
Amateur style - "He's got my full attention now" doesn't need to be said as you kind of guess that from how intense Eldest is at one point.
We can infer some things ourselves and this makes us think the writer underestimates our intelligence. The sexual activity is too detailed and an almost rape scene is too much for a teenage book!
Unimportant characters as mentioned like Victria and Bartie. Was he properly introduced? If not, he's forgettable and there's no point having him around.
Characters don't randomly go from perfectly okay to seriously depressed. In real life it happens more gradually.
They get the reference to Hitler yet don't know the book Wuthering Heights. What?
Guys don't find girls attractive when they have snot and tears coming from their faces and men don't speak as poetically as Elder did at times. "Her cherry lips" and how fiery her hair is.
It's annoying how she makes Jason out to be so lovely - yet halfway through the book she admits he wasn't so (might as well not give away everything) but as another person says, Elder does the same and lies to us at the end. Characters need to be likeable and honest - otherwise we dislike them! What he does is selfish and proves he is like Eldest.
The girl on the cover's blonde and Amy's ginger!
Decimate doesn't mean annihliate!! Decimate means to destroy the population by one tenth! She also doesn't seem to know the difference between sympathy and empathy as she says the doctor should feel one of these. He should feel sympathy as he could never put himself in their shoes. This writer's ignorant. If you don't know a word please look it up before writing it in a book!
As if you could trust everyone on the ship and not have locks for things!

Positives
It's interesting enough for me to have read to the end.
She uses some nice metaphors that I don't think would cross many writers' minds.
Having a murder mystery's nice.
When Amy's 'not all there' (once again - no spoilers ;) )it's portrayed very well! I thought it was funny!
The plague and some things make perfect sense so you see why Eldest has his secrets.
They develpoed Jamacian-like accents. Accents do develop over the years and I thought this was clever and something that would never have crossed my mind!

Unfortunately, I was a little mad in the end for all the negatives far outweighing the positives. I still found this to be a unique story yet I wouldn't read the next book. What's the point in a sequel?

So the thing about this book is it is so confusing. I'm torn on what to rate it because I was at the edge of my seat while reading it. On the one hand I was so angry at the author because she didn't explain ANYTHING in the first couple chapters. That was such a miss. I keep on looking at the back to see if it was maybe the 2nd book in the series, such a confusing beginning. I was truly disappointed. Why did the publisher or SOMEONE read this and tell the author it was confusing for readers. Terrible! But again such a good read.

Thank god. I've been searching and searching for a book that would grab me and hold me hostage until I had read every page, and this book did just that.
Here is a richly imagined world, a world both recognizable and completely alien to us. The story is engaging, and the characters likable. The switching back and forth between the two main characters' points of view gives the reader an insight and journey that would otherwise not happen. Watching one character struggle to understand, while the other has his world effectively rewritten is something that many books just do not carry off well.
This book is a must read.

This book has a little bit of everything. The elements that pop out at me are Murder, Mystery, and Romance. It was a fun read and I will read it again.

The super fun thing is that I met Beth Revis in Miami in 2010 right when her book was first coming out. She gave me her business card and told me a little about her book, I am ashamed to say that it took me over 2 years to read it, but I finally did.

OK, overall, but for teens? I think not. Yes, the detail says Grade 10 and up, but let's be realistic...there are alot of younger kids reading this book and there's a large section of this that's borderline porn in my opinion. The premise is good, the storyline decent and overall I enjoyed that aspect of it overall. Science fiction focused, a good mystery element. But I found the emphasis on sex during the "season", incest and almost rape to be disturbing in the extreme for a book aimed at teens. It didn't add anything to the storyline at all and could have been handled much more "gently" given the target audience.

It's such an excellent book to read! I'm in my early 30's and I love to read some good young adult books, like Across the Universe. I couldn't put it down! Wanted to keep reading, but I have to put my 10.5 months old son first before anything else. When he goes to bed, I immediately sit down on my couch to read it til I get sleepy or my son wants me. I would recommend this to any person of any age to read it, because it's such a fantastic book!

Enjoy!

If you're looking for an action packed sci-fi book; don't read «Across the Universe». And if want a romance novel, don't read «Across the Universe». If however you want a good twisty murder mystery story, you should definetly read «Across the Universe».There are tons of lies, twists, and guessing. I highly recommend «Across the Universe» for mystery lovers

I really liked this book. Not your typical whiny guy, desperate girl romance. The sci-fi, cryogenics angle was enough to catch my interest but I really was drawn into their "universe" so to speak. I was able to download the audiobook and played it for my husband on a road trip. He then read "A Million Suns" on his own because he wanted to know what happened. We are both looking forward to "Shades of Earth"!

I can't say enough about the storyline. It was unpredictable, twisted, and very well thought out. It is a wonderful blend of sci-fi, murder mystery, and a hint of romance.
The book was also written nicely. Especially that opening scene!

So, why the three stars? For the characters. They NEED more development! Particularly Elder. I couldn't connect with him, at all. I understand he lives in another world, but he should seem a bit more "person", and a little less "object". He just seemed too flat to me. What does he really think about Amy? We never find out his emotional reactions to this new girl. Isn't he curious at all? Doesn't he think she's odd? None of this is addressed.
To me, Elder is an emotionless robot that does plenty of things and wants to get to the bottom of the mystery, but doesn't have any real feelings. Amy is a bit easier to connect to, seeing that she lived on Earth and we see flashbacks of her life that make her seem more relatable, but there's the same problem with her.

Second, I disliked what Elder revealed to us at the very end. We saw Elder's point of view during that time (sorry for being vague, but I don't want to give anything away), and he never said anything to suggest /that/. He pretty much lied to us, the readers. If you can't trust the main character, the main point of view, than who CAN you trust?

But, despite the flaws, the book is the first in a trilogy, and a promising start. I hope they get to the planet before the end of the series, and that the characters develop more.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, because while it's not the best book I've read, it was still enjoyable. If you like sci-fi, and you're looking for a compelling plot, give it a go.

The first 50 pages for me were kinda slow, but as soon as Amy became a bigger part of the story, it really took on a good pace and was pretty great. The imagery is fantastic, the story is very much original, and the characters are easy to connect with. This is a good book.

"What does it take to survive aboard a spaceship fueled by lies?"

The tag on the cover hints that the book should be cataloged under 'thriller,' while the cover itself, a boy and a girl a breath away from kissing, suggests YA romance. In truth, this book is neither. The premise is solid: Amy is frozen with her parents for the maiden voyage of the Godspeed, a vast spaceship flying across space to reach a new planet, only glimpsed from afar. The earth is somehow doomed, so the Financial Resource Exchange (a conglomeration that governs the world in lieu of countries) is sending military and scientific personnel to the new world on a chance that it could be made livable and safe. While the elite colonists sleep, a 'crew' of 2500 settlers will be born, work, and die for 300 years as the ship sails through space. Amy, however, is mysteriously woken up 50 years ahead of schedule, nearly dying in the process. Everything has changed: the people are monoethnic, there is no free will, and difference has been eliminated. The people have given up all control to a governing system of an Eldest and an Elder, the two oldest people of their respective generations on the ship, and go about their lives in a mindless stupor, interrupted only by 'mating season,' the one time in a generation the people go into an animalistic sex craze to create the next generation. The only people who act 'normal' are the inmates of the mental ward, where Elder lives. But when Amy comes among them, the regular workings of Godspeed are thrown into disarray.

So far so good. Amy's sinister awakening is reminiscent of the creepier moments of Event Horizon or Sunshine. The ship itself, humanity's struggle to survive in isolation in a metal can careening through space, and the issues of tyranny and freedom in extreme circumstances smack of the better seasons of Battlestar Galactica. More people are unfrozen, murdered, by an unseen enemy. Amy is befriended by Elder, a young man being trained by Eldest to rule the ship, and his friend Harley, a 'mad' artist from the mental ward. Elder, already expressing dissent about Eldest's autocratic regime and the lengths to which he goes to manipulate the people into obedience, learns through Amy's difference and knowledge that much of what he thought he knew is a lie - Eldest has been manipulating him along with the people of the ship. Together the two of them work to overthrow Eldest and find out who is murdering the frozen colonists.

The murder plot quickly falls to the background and the main 'dystopian' plot kicks in. Eldest is evil, his regime is oppressive, and he is keeping the kids apart. Clearly, he must be stopped. Or so the book would have you believe. The author raises some very difficult issues: how does one effectively rule a society on whom the fate of humankind depends? Is it right to sacrifice the lives and happiness of the few to save the many? Is rigid control necessary for order? If humans must be so cruelly manipulated just to keep them from destroying each other, is humanity really worth saving? Is it better to live a pleasant lie or a bitter truth?

Unfortunately, most of these questions go unanswered, or are answered simplistically. Amy and Elder decide that Eldest's methods are too cruel, and he must be stopped. They then set about sabotaging the complex system of controls Eldest has imposed on the ship as the book races to its uneven conclusion.

Elder's desire to overthrow Eldest is sparked by his juvenile attraction to Amy. Amy is motivated by her idealistic belief in black and white "TRUTHS" and "LIES" and her longing for earth as it was before she left. When Eldest threatens to toss Amy out an airlock for being a potential disruption of the ship and is at another point likened to Hitler we are meant to hate him. He's a blocking character for the romance between the protagonists. He does cruel, controlling things. But the author gives far too little attention to *why* Eldest rules the way he does. When we get a major plot twist late in the novel, it will become clear to most adult readers why this oppressive regime was created and why it perhaps shouldn't be tampered with so recklessly. There are many highly complex and difficult issues of rebellion, authority,and control involved, all of which are bulldozed so that there can be a final showdown between 'good' and 'evil'.

What I found oddly inconsistent, however, were the last few chapters. After all of the heavy-handed rhetoric about 'truth' and 'lies' for the majority of the book, some characters express doubt about their actions, and we learn who the initial saboteur was. I wanted to learn more about what was now motivating the characters, why they had second thoughts, and where those thoughts might lead. The ending felt abrupt and forced. I had thought the book was a stand-alone, but now I wonder if the author has a sequel in the works to tie up the many loose ends. If she can engage with some of the deeper questions and moral issues she has raised in 'Across the Universe,' I think I would enjoy that book.

Highly recommend this novel by Beth Revis...I'm not usually a Sci-Fi kind of gal, but this is well worth the read. Recommended it to a sophomore in High School that I know and she loved it as well. Great read!

SPOILER
I was really excited to read this book. I had read very few YA books about space travel and thought this would be amazing. If you are looking for a book that has an incredibly unique storyline, this book is for you. If you want to read something that will capture your attention and hold it this book is for you. If you want to let your child read a good, clean YA book and not be worried about the content, this is NOT for you. Here I was happily reading along, loving it when they start talking about people "rutting"(word from book) in front of them! I understand that this is all a part of the storyline. That the farmers were given drugs to make them behave like animals in mating season but was that kind of language really necessary? And it talks about sex pretty openly, maybe not the most graphic scenes but graphic all the same. Not only that but Amy is nearly raped in one section. I really couldn't believe that this was in a YA book. It was really sad because I really loved the storyline up to that point. I understand the mating is part of the storyline but is that really suitable for children anyway? I can't think of a good way to describe that at all. I hate that the book didn't wrap up at the end. I think there are two more in the series but I will not be purchasing them. This one is already in the donate pile. I gave it two stars becaue the story had promise but was too overly dirty in my opinion for YA.

This book is so well written. I can relate to Amy, the main charactor, so well. I literally felt clostriphobic when Amy describes being trapped on the ship and missing the real sun! I can't wait to read A Million Suns now!

I loved this book. I can't wait for the sequel!!! This book was a great novel that ventures into a romance in the science-fantasy section of literature that leaves the reader wanting for more and devouring every page.

This world has seen some bad books. "Across the Universe" is one of them.

When I try to organize my thoughts about this one, I'm surprised at how across the board they are. "What went wrong?" I have to ask, staring at the lovely purplish cover. "Where did the book fall apart?" Well, in my case, quite literally at the seams (the paperback copy I checked out of the library literally fell apart in my hands). It's a book with some potential, but nothing further - a mildly original take on a wildly cliched setting, several dull-as-doorknob paper-cutout characters, choppy writing, bad pacing... oh, the list goes on. Let's begin at the top.

Seasoned sci-fi readers will immediately recognize the cliche that is the setting - a settlement spaceship, traveling for hundreds of years with its frozen passengers below while a crew mans topside. It's always been an interesting premise, I'll grant that, and furthermore Beth Revis places an intriguing (and currently popular) twist on this familiar story by throwing it into a classic dystopia. But there's another fault - there's a textbook mad dictator, a predictably bland leader-to-be hero (Elder) and his equally dull romantic interest (Amy). The story only truly begins with Amy's arrival into the new futuristic world, but this happens much too late in the book to be of any interest. By this point, I've concluded that Elder is a pretty boring narrator, that Amy is just whiny (plus, I know she's about to wake up, so the suspense is of the false variety...), and I've managed to figure out about two thirds of the "mystery" elements that appear later in the book.

The premise quickly begins to come undone, particularly as Amy joins Elder in true narration. This is the point where the weak characterization takes over, overshadowing many other potential flaws in the book. Boy and girl sound similarly effeminate (with the occasional out-of-place lusty thought from Elder meant, I suppose, to remind us that he is, in fact, a boy) and similarly uninvolved. Elder is the more interesting character but Amy is treated with more care - Revis casually raises issues from Amy's former life in an attempt to add further dimensions, but it's hard to overcome the original impression that this is a whiny, annoying young woman. Add to this the clunky writing and the various behavioral inconsistencies (which I won't go into, as they will include some very spoilery bits, but trust me - one minute the girl thinks one thing, the next minute she's completely forgotten about it... what?!) and what you get is a giant mess of characterization.

As for the story development itself, I suppose I was mostly disappointed because this was the only front that showed potential. Revis' world building is not bad (it's the strongest aspect of a very weak book) and it's relatively easy to overlook the faults. Setting that aside, it's impossible to overlook the plot holes. "Across the Universe" has BAD pacing - things happen too quickly, with little rationale behind the behavior (this relates to the previously mentioned problem regarding characterization...). The backstory is the most interesting aspect of the story but it's hardly delved into (possibly an indicator of sequels...? I sincerely hope not) and what's mentioned lacks some creativity and imagination. Revis builds her story along entirely familiar sci-fi lines but so watered down that it completely lacks punch. Mad dictator Eldest was a weak caricature, the mystery completely predictable, the side-characters following entirely familiar cliches... The potential did not make up for the complete lack of anything else of quality.

My final quip is with Revis' writing. I suppose some readers might enjoy this style of young adult present-tense storytelling but it just didn't work for me. Not only did I feel that the alternating chapters were poorly done (particularly in light of both characters sounding overly similar...) but the alternation meant that I was constantly jerked out of the story. The flow felt awkward, the vocabulary stilted and forced. The dialogue never quite clicked either and I came away feeling uncomfortable and wholly unimpressed. Furthermore, Revis was intent on forcing a romance into the story but there was no chemistry. The characters that HAD chemistry weren't, I suppose, meant to have it and so the problem was dealt with in an entirely ungraceful and pointless manner.

Basically, there was nothing I liked about "Across the Universe". Others have liked this book, I know, but I found that it didn't work for me on a single level. Not only was I frustrated by the hasty and yet predictable ending, I couldn't come to terms with the lack of originality in the story, nor the abysmal characterization. The writing didn't work for me, the backstory and setting felt underdeveloped (a shame, because they had potential), the twist was predictable, the characters sounded identical and equally boring and the whole romance felt strained. "Across the Universe" is one of those rare books that I can label "bad", that I can say I truly disliked without having to blink an eye.

Not a book worth reading. Not recommended in the least.

Across the Universe is an incredible debut.

The spaceship Godspeed is massive. So massive, it's a feat of the mind to imagine the whole thing, complete with pastures of grazing cows, a city meant to hold thousands, and any number of nooks and special rooms designed for keeping secrets -- for centuries. And yet, even at that phenomenal size, the oppressiveness is tangible. Beth Revis does an incredible job conveying the scope of the ship, dwarfed by the infinite darkness of space just beyond the rigid walls. There's a scene where Amy goes for a run, and comes up against the edge of the ship -- there's no place to run, she realizes.

Adding to the oppressiveness is the sense of time, and even time travel, as Amy wakes to a world that's long forgotten her and everyone she remembers. All alone in this enclosed fragment of the future, she would give anything to go back, but that time is hundreds of years past. It's utterly chilling. And all the awaits her is another future even more alien than this, on a mystery planet said to support life -- but exactly what type, nobody could verify.

Elder, who voices half the chapters, is a compelling character, easy to fall for. I did wish for more one-on-one scenes between him and Amy to further progress their romance. (no, not in THAT way!) It was a great choice on the author's part to alternate between a girl new to Godspeed's world and a boy who's never known anything beyond it, not even a glimpse of the stars. Eldest, the leader of the ship, was a frightening villain, though less so than the impossible weight of time and space, draping Amy, Elder and the ship in a cosmic, endless shroud.

With a number of surprises including a second-act twist that sent me reeling, Across the Universe is poised to rock the YA world, and it absolutely lives up to that promise. I can't wait to read the second Across the Universe book, and any others Beth Revis writes.

~YA Highway, yahighway (dot) com

I think this book had a very promising plot, but could have been better. The story was a little bland and the ending in my opinion was kinda lame. It wasn't bad, but could have been MUCH better tha how Beth Revis did it.

I was going to buy this book and read it on my kindle, but then I saw that the kindle version cost over a dollar more than the hardback! I'll wait and pick it up at the library now, I hope you'll think twice about downloading this copy too.

I have been dying to start this trilogy for almost a year now. I can’t believe it took me this long. I know I always say that, but I’m far behind in books, I’m still trying to catch up!

Amy had a perfect life. She loved to go running and had the perfect boyfriend and a great life. Until one day, her parents tell her that they are freezing themselves for the future to help. Now over 200 years since she’s been frozen, she is unexpectedly unfrozen by someone. She wasn’t supposed to be unfrozen for another 50+ years. Now stuck on Godspeed with no parents (because they are still frozen and can’t be because they are too valuable). Living on this ship isn’t all that life’s cracked up to be. It’s the Season in which everyone is mating. Amy doesn’t look like anyone. Everyone looks the same way and functions the same way.

I only had one problem with this was the world building. I had a hard time understanding what was exactly going on. As well trying to imagine how this futuristic world was set up and how the ship looked.

But other than that, I had no other problems with the book. This is told in Amy and Elder’s point of view changing after each chapter. I really liked having both perspectives getting to see Amy trying to cope with the fact that she was unfrozen early and someone who was born on the ship, Elder.

I also liked that the romance wasn’t the main focus of the book. Sometimes it’s nice to get away from the romance for a little bit. There is some, but it isn’t the focus of the book.

I’m so excited to continue on with this trilogy. The ending killed me, I can’t take much longer with that cliff hanger!

I had a very hard time putting this novel down. The writing is so beautifully done that I actually felt like I was on Godspeed. I'm grateful I'm not though. I love the main characters. I Like Elder a bit more than Amy.
I find the book to be very depressing. I can't Imagine being born on a ship like Godspeed.
Or.. having to see people act during the mating season...

Apparently a million other people loved this book, too but I had to write a quick review. It's just awesome. Great love story, lots to think about. Elder and Amy... great characters... can't wait for them to get together because I hope know they will. All I wanted to do was run home and 'get back to space'. xo Going off to read the rest of the series cuz I want to go BACK to space and fall in LOVE and dream. Hope this author writes a million more books.

I didn't realize this was a teen book until my 15 year old son said he had read the whole series. Maybe good taste can be passed down? Really well written with great character development. Enjoyed it a lot and now I'm on the 3rd in the series. Makes you think about human behavior.

This is the story of a colony ship en route to another star system. The trip will take 300 years. Many of the colonists are frozen while about 2000 live on board the ship in the hope that their descendants will make planetfall.

Amy, one of the frozen, is a young girl of seventeen who is awakened early. She finds the situation on board the ship very strange. The ship is ruled by the Eldest who is basically a dictator. His successor is called the Elder whom in this case is a young sixteen year old male.

The Elder and Amy become friends as they discover that much of what the Elder knows about the ship and its history are lies. This setting makes for a very powerful Young Adult novel that can be enjoyed by all ages. My only complaint is that the book leaves us wanting more - which is no problem as this is only the first book of a trilogy.