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Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1)

Beth Revis

Start date: May 1, 2013

Finish date: May 31, 2013

Discussion: BOTM Currently Reading

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What Members Thought

Aug 09, 2012 ╟ ♫ Tima ♪ ╣ ♥ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013, 5-stars, genre-young-adult, genre-sci-fi-or-dystopia

The only thing I can really say about the book, without having to hide every other sentence under a spoiler tag, is that the description does not do it any justice at all. It makes it seems like another run-of-the-mill dystopian-style YA book.

IT ISN'T.

It deals with things much more fascinating and complex and reads like a thriller - though it isn't for most of the book. ...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Kirsten rated it it was amazing

Take Twilight, mix liberally with Doctor Who, and add a dash of Logan's Run and you have Across the Universe. This book reads very fast and is a lot of fun. The first of a trilogy, I am really looking forward to the next one.

There were a lot of questions I was interested in. Why was the ship set up in the way it was? What was FRX? Why were those people leaving? A lot of fun. ...more

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Aug 08, 2011 ✿ ~Yessenia~♥︎ rated it it was amazing

I thought this book was absolutely stunning :) I loved it so much! From just the cover I figured it was going to be an interesting. It kept me reading the whole day non-stop. It was so entertaining to read that I often was left in suspense of not knowing what happens next. :) Good book! Elder is my favorite character. I'm not just saying this because I'm a girl but because the way he was charaterize was nice. I actually felt like he was a real character and not fiction. I can't wait to read the ...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Alyce (At Home With Books) rated it it was amazing

I was so excited when I picked up Across the Universe from the library, but then I had to set it aside for a few days before I could read it. During those days I couldn’t get the song of the same name out of my head, I quickly realized that I had “Across the Universe” on the brain.* I had to chuckle when I opened the book and saw a quote from the lyrics of the song right before the first chapter. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one who made the connection between the song and the book.

Ac I was so excited when I picked up Across the Universe from the library, but then I had to set it aside for a few days before I could read it. During those days I couldn’t get the song of the same name out of my head, I quickly realized that I had “Across the Universe” on the brain.* I had to chuckle when I opened the book and saw a quote from the lyrics of the song right before the first chapter. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one who made the connection between the song and the book.

Across the Universe is the story of Amy, a girl who is frozen with her parents so that they can be shipped with other scientists through space, with the intent that they would all be woken up upon arriving at the planet some 300 years later. Of course there is a hitch in the plans, and Amy is woken up many years early.

What she discovers upon waking is that the shipboard workers have developed a culture so strange that it is unrecognizable to her. The power structure is very much what you would expect to find in dystopian fiction: a controlling government leader, thought control, criticism of anything “different,” etc. Almost all of the population seems content with their living environment, but not everyone is docile – some mystery person is sabotaging the units containing the frozen scientists and researchers.

The other main character is the “Elder,” who is actually around Amy’s age, but he is being trained to be the future leader (the “Eldest”) of the ship. Seeing things from his perspective lets the reader view both sides of the shipboard society. To him life on the ship is ordered and normal, everything working as it should (at least until the saboteur starts complicating things). Amy’s new perspective acts as a catalyst to help him to start questioning the status quo.

Across the Universe has a brisk pace and should please fans of dystopian fiction and science fiction alike. Some of the mysteries were easy for me to figure out (like who was the saboteur), but there was one major element that caught me by surprise at the end, and I’m curious to see how that will play out in a sequel.

There was a little bit of romantic chemistry between Amy and the “Elder,” but I thought it was realistic in that they were more focused on the problems aboard ship than they were on building a relationship. In fact, it was refreshing that things weren’t taken too far too quickly with their developing friendship. Sometimes it feels like writers of young adult books throw in make-out/sex scenes randomly because they are expected. I don’t mind them if they make sense within the plot, but much prefer a logical progression of relationships over gratuitous sex scenes.

I loved the story, especially the aspect of the passage of time while characters are frozen. I also enjoyed the characters, and I can’t wait to see how they address the problems that are sure to arise in the next book. This is exactly the type of science fiction I like.

For those interested in the sequel, there will be two more books in the series. The title of the second book is A Million Suns. To learn more about her books and to see updates about her writing, visit Beth Revis’s website.

Those who enjoy Across the Universe will probably also like Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder and its sequel Outside In.

*Coincidentally the movie “Across the Universe” was on TV while I was typing up this review (not that I watched it). I didn’t even know there was a movie with that title. I guess it’s just like when you learn a new word and then see it everywhere. ...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Courtney rated it liked it

Shelves: teens, audio

I had heard it was good, but wasn't really interested in reading it (not a huge sci-fi fan). I actually enjoyed it more than I expected. Amy, along with her parents and other essential members of society (scientist, military, etc.) are cryogenically frozen and placed aboard a ship headed toward a new planet. The plan is to unfreeze them when they arrive (301 years later) so they can effectively colonize. Amy gets "woken" of mistakenly early. What she finds is a ship full of zombielike, monoethni ...more

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Apr 14, 2012 Renuka rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, young-adult, mini-reviewed, science-fiction, dystopia, adventure, fav-couples

Whoa. This book is going to give me claustrophobia. That's how incredibly vivid this book was! I couldn't sleep I was so convinced I was going to wake up stuck on a ship with no family and no hope of ever setting foot outside again. Putting that aside I LOVED this book! It was absolutely astonishing how much can take place on a little ship sailing through place. Overall, a amazing book for sci-fi and dystopian lovers with a great plot. ...more

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