Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Sep 14, 2012 Megs rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I absolutely loved this book! It's the best book I've read in a long time and definitely one of my top picks! I loved this book in a way that makes it a little hard to write about it and say anything other than "READ IT!" But I'll try.

Let's start with the characters. I loved Amy and Elder so much! I loved seeing life on the ship through two very different sets of eyes. I can't imagine how difficult to wake up on your own in an entirely different society than you started in, so I could definitely ...more

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Jan 26, 2017 Chaitra rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, first-of-a-series, romance, science-fiction, space-opera

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I wanted to watch Passengers late last year, until I heard the story. Chris Pratt's character wakes up in the middle of a long journey through space because of a malfunction. He's lonely, and depressed. Then he falls in love with a sleeping beauty, and wakes her up, misrepresents himself and makes her love him back. And then he tells her the truth. And just as it gets interesting and stalker-y, Jennifer Lawrence's Aurora decides to forgive Jim and stay with him. I think her forgiveness takes hal I wanted to watch Passengers late last year, until I heard the story. Chris Pratt's character wakes up in the middle of a long journey through space because of a malfunction. He's lonely, and depressed. Then he falls in love with a sleeping beauty, and wakes her up, misrepresents himself and makes her love him back. And then he tells her the truth. And just as it gets interesting and stalker-y, Jennifer Lawrence's Aurora decides to forgive Jim and stay with him. I think her forgiveness takes half the movie and some big stakes.

In Across the Universe, it takes 3 pages. And if it wasn't written, it wouldn't have changed the story very much. In fact, it actually doesn't make a lot of sense as written, because at some point in the beginning of the story, when Amy gets unplugged, Doc and Eldest speak of it happening before, during the past Season. However, when Orion speaks of the unplugging spree, he mentions it was Elder who gave him the idea, having seen him unplugging Amy. This is an alternating first person POV, a chapter between Amy and Elder, and we don't know that Elder unplugged Amy until the last 3 pages. I hate such a device, because this deceives the reader, and it makes your main character more unlikable than if I could have seen some ambiguity in him throughout. The little guilt in the last 4 pages is not enough.

It is quite terrible even without any of the useless ambiguity of its main character. Everything is very obvious, and it's frustrating to read of these people trying to figure it out. (For example, it takes several days and beatings of head and some flow charts to figure out that the three other people who were unplugged where employed by the US Armed Services. This is information that they have as soon as they see that the people are unplugged.) They're so dull, and whiny. I didn't understand why Elder became Eldest, because there are many people older than him who still have their senses, and I'm guessing they would have done a better job being leaders than someone not only young but also half-assedly trained. Amy is a nothing personality - she has red hair, she runs. She loves Jason, and her parents, and she doesn't have a lot of common sense. But it doesn't matter, because Elder and his sad sidekick both worship her immediately.

Ugh. I've started it, and so I'll end it, but I wish it would have been a better story. ...more

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Dec 10, 2013 Iris rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2014

This is the secret of the stars, I tell myself. In the end, we are alone. No matter how close you seem, no one else can touch you.

3.5 stars
An OK book, I guess. It was enjoyable, but I didn't find it amazing.
Across the Universe has a very interesting premise, but the slow paced writing ruined it for me. I didn't connect with the characters very well, Amy was annoying worrying about "Daddy" but didn't give an ass rat about her mother. Elder showed a side of him, then switched and was another perso ...more

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