Monday, March 19, 2012

Across The Universe by Beth Revis

I added Across The Universe to my library queue because it seemed like everyone who read it said it was the best book ever. And they didn't lie.
Why don't I read more books set in space? Space is cool. The Godspeed is like a little world, traveling through space. Not only do you have all the people on the ship, there's the journey, where they are going, how they are going to get there, and what might happen when they get there. So much packed in to this book. I cannot imagine a world in the ship. Dirt, animals, farming. It makes a certain sense but seems so odd for that to happen in a metal container, flying in space. Revis creates this amazing world. It's similar to Earth (Sol-Earth) but not.
Can I just say cryogenics freaks me out? Ever since Demolition Man, I cannot understand why anyone would choose to be frozen. Amy and her folks have the opportunity to be frozen and wake on their new planet in 300 years. But Amy wakes up 50 years before the Godspeed is supposed to land on the new planet. She's different than the others on the ship. All the ships residents are monoethnic after years of inbreeding. The ship's leader, Eldest, thinks that difference causes conflict and thinks Amy's red hair and pale skin will cause people to fight. Eldest thinks a lot of things will cause conflict and uses those as excuses to control people. Across the Universe will cause you to think about dictatorship, racism, agism in a whole new light. It certainly gave me a lot to think about.
But what about Elder? Isn't there a love story? Yeah but Across the Universe is so much more than just Amy and Elder. I loved the mystery surrounding the ship, the cryogenically frozen people, and the placidness of the ship's residents. The story is paced so well. I loved how everything unraveled.
Highly recommended. I'll be reading the second in the series, A Million Suns. Others who shared their thoughts on Across The Universe: Books Devoured, Midnight Book Girl, Melanie's Musings, Fluttering Butterflies, Reading Rocks, and Library Queue.

6 comments:

  1. I can't wait to read the next one too! Thanks for the link love. :)

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  2. I'd like to get to this book one day, too. I've seen it at my library, so I guess it's ready whenever I am! :)

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  3. Sounds cool :D
    Confession time, it took until someone pointed out for me to see the faces

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  4. I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed this one because it has been on radar for some time now. It does sound like everyone likes it :) I'll pick it up the next time that I go to the library!

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  5. Usually me and space don't mix so well...so you're saying that this isn't Science Fiction, right? I would give it a try just because you enjoyed it so much and the whole premise does sound intriguing to me. I'm with you on not wanting to be frozen....gross!

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  6. I've read reviews on this before, and to be honest nothing has really had me interested until this one. I think because most of the reviews I read focus more on the love story and I had no idea about the science fiction part. It definitely puts the book into a new perspective for me.

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