Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Across the Universe
by Beth Revis
ISBN-13: 9-781595-143976
Rating: 5 ♥ / 5 ♥ – I loved it!

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 un-plugged, and Amy is violently woken from her forzen slumber.

Someone tried to murder her.

Now, Amy is caught inside a tiny 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 secrest before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

Across the Universe was everything I thought it was going to be. The stark loneliness of space comes through loud and clear, and I’ve decided I never want to be cryogenically frozen!

Amy gives up her life to join her parents aboard Project Ark Ship, cryogenically frozen so that they will wake up three hundred years in the future on a new planet capable of supporting life. But things don’t always go according to plan, and Amy is woken – violently – fifty years too early. Now, with the help of Elder, the heir to the leader of the awake people on the ship, and Harley, Elder’s friend, Amy is racing against time to find her woke her – and tried to kill her – before the other frozens, including her parents, are subjected to the same fate. Along the way. Amy and Elder find out much more about the ship, it’s people, and it’s journey to a new Earth, including an incredibly covered up truth.

So right away, Beth Revis brings you into the sci-fi aspect of the story with her detailed description of being cryogenically frozen. It was creepy, and lifelike and pretty plausible to my non-scientific brain. I immediately liked Amy, as well. She chooses to follow her parents into space, giving up everything she knows to be with her family. I would make the same decision – family’s everything to me. But she doesn’t go blindly, either. She’s upset, she doesn’t want to go. And that just makes her human. Unlike the people on Godspeed. The majority of them are crazy “normal” – few emotions, drone-like and complacent. Those who are called crazy, are the most normal people on the ship. Elder’s quite a naive character in the beginning, but with the introduction of Amy into his world, everything changes and he really begins to see that not everything is as it should be, especially when it concerns Eldest – a creepy tyrannical leader who believes he’s doing everything for the best of the ship. Not quite.

This isn’t just a purely character driven story, though they help make it amazing. The plot moves along at a quick pace, and there is so much information and backstory being slipped in that the story is constantly developing and becoming clear (including the mystery of who tried to kill Amy, and is out to kill the other frozens on board). Hints are given, and questions answered, and when everything is finally revealed it’s like “guh.” You just want to tell Amy that everything will be ok. Especially after one reveal! It really effects her relationships on the ship. But Amy’s tough, and Elder does a lot of growing up over the course of the book and yea. I want more.

I wouldn’t mind reading many more books that take place in the universe Beth Revis has created. It’s full of such incredibly rich detail and emotion. Across the Universe is a must read debut for sci-fi fans, and I highly recommend it to those who aren’t – it might just change your mind!

Across the Universe is part of the 2011 Debut Author Challenge.
I received my copy for review from Penguin Canada (thank you!).