Title: Across the UniverseAuthor: Beth Revis
Publisher: Razorbill, January 11, 2011
Pages: Hardcover, 398
Series: #1, Across the Universe
Book Synopsis (from 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.
Book Review
The beginning of this book was amazing – the way Beth Revis described how Amy felt while frozen was terrifying. It really made me think about what it would be like if you were in a constant dream-like state and the implications of possibly going crazy because of it.
When the focus shifted back to Elder, I was still intrigued. The ship is described beautifully down to the tiniest detail and I had no trouble imagining what it was supposed to look like as I followed Elder around. It actually reminded me of The Truman Show in that the community essentially lives in a bubble (the ship) and the main characters are in the dark but have no idea about the truths that lay beyond the surface.
In the end, I was hoping/expecting a more epic romance or a stronger connection between Amy and Elder as I thought the cover suggested. The romance seemed a little one sided, however it was nice to have both of their perspectives on the relationship even though I wasn’t completely satisfied with the resolution.
I loved the mystery that Beth created; it felt like a treasure hunt and I couldn’t wait to find out the secrets of the ship along with Elder and Amy. However, the ending felt rushed and it felt anti-climatic. I felt like the pages were dwindling as I wondered if I would be let in on biggest secret at the end. I was, though I don’t think it had as big an effect on me as it was supposed to so I was a little let down with the final twists.
Thankfully, the first three quarters of the book really made up for it and although I didn’t get everything I wanted, Across the Universe was very thought-provoking on many levels and I would suggest it to readers who are interested in a unique mystery with a little dash of science fiction.