Across the Universe - Beth Revis
Synopsis: 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.
I haven't read a ton of science fiction, I've always thought it wasn't really for me. But if this is science fiction, I may be a convert. There are so many cool elements in this book (plus it set of my colonial theory sensor...) and really, they're elements I wouldn't normally be into, but they are just wonderful in this capacity.
Across the Universe is a mix between science fiction and mystery (like I said before - both genres I usually stay away from). But I've heard nothing but raving for this books so I needed to see what all the fuss is about. Now I get it. There's a little of everything - exploring the unknown, an admirable boy, a corrupt leader, a mass of brainwashed citizens, a completely shocking moment in a garden, claustrophobia, wandering through stars, love, loss, family, friendship - I could go on...How Beth Revis managed to pack so much awesome into 400 pages is beyond me.
Plus, she explores some of the bigger issues: The future of humanity, who's telling our history, genetics and science (how far is too far?), the definition of madness (I love that part of the book -), and leadership is a big one - what makes a good leader? The quote from this book that had me scrambling for a pen was:
"I realize the simple truth is that power isn't control at al - power is strength, and giving that strength to others. A leader isn't someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strenth to others so that they may have the strength to stand on their own" (344-5). Word.
I adored this book up until the ending. To me, it seemed a little rushed and disappointing. I'm not sure why it ended the way it did, because it felt like Beth Revis was trying to wrap everything up, but there's another book (A Million Splendid Suns) so she could have potentially left it open. I am way excited to read the second book, though because there's so much I still want to know. I definitely recommend this book whether you're a fan of science fiction or not.
Across the Universe - Beth Revis
Synopsis: 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.
I haven't read a ton of science fiction, I've always thought it wasn't really for me. But if this is science fiction, I may be a convert. There are so many cool elements in this book (plus it set of my colonial theory sensor...) and really, they're elements I wouldn't normally be into, but they are just wonderful in this capacity.
Across the Universe is a mix between science fiction and mystery (like I said before - both genres I usually stay away from). But I've heard nothing but raving for this books so I needed to see what all the fuss is about. Now I get it. There's a little of everything - exploring the unknown, an admirable boy, a corrupt leader, a mass of brainwashed citizens, a completely shocking moment in a garden, claustrophobia, wandering through stars, love, loss, family, friendship - I could go on...How Beth Revis managed to pack so much awesome into 400 pages is beyond me.
Plus, she explores some of the bigger issues: The future of humanity, who's telling our history, genetics and science (how far is too far?), the definition of madness (I love that part of the book -), and leadership is a big one - what makes a good leader? The quote from this book that had me scrambling for a pen was:
"I realize the simple truth is that power isn't control at al - power is strength, and giving that strength to others. A leader isn't someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strenth to others so that they may have the strength to stand on their own" (344-5). Word.
I adored this book up until the ending. To me, it seemed a little rushed and disappointing. I'm not sure why it ended the way it did, because it felt like Beth Revis was trying to wrap everything up, but there's another book (A Million Splendid Suns) so she could have potentially left it open. I am way excited to read the second book, though because there's so much I still want to know. I definitely recommend this book whether you're a fan of science fiction or not.
