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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Shades of Earth is the finale of the Across the Universe series and what a finale it is. It’s dramatic, sad, but gets hopeful towards the end. Still, I wasn’t one hundred percent happy with it, so it gets 4.5 stars from me.
After a rough and chaotic landing – which was written so well –, the people from the Godspeed are finally on the new earth but nothing is like they imagined it to be. Not only this, but there’s something already on this earth that doesn’t want the Godspeed people to stay there. Hence, this book was even creepier than its predecessors since we only can guess who or what is killing the people. There were so many creepy moments and sometimes quite disturbing imageries, like the shuttle with which they want to return to earth including poisonous gas that killed everyone or Elder’s return ingto the Godspeed where it’s unclear if he survived or not .
Both Elder and Amy have their own problems they have to deal with. Amy was so excited to meet her parents again but, in the end, she gets just disappointed since she can’t spend time with them since they have to work this much; it also made so sad how she has to lose both of themin the course of the story. She deserves so much better, and you can wonder if it even was worth it when she loses everything . Elder still has to figure out which role he wants to play on the new earth, and he must assert himself against Amy’s dad who was so unlikable.
There was so much drama and many plot twist towards the end but I didn’t understand all of it; this is the reason why I can’t give a full five star rating: So apparently, the Godspeed people should be enslaved like Orion predicted it – talking about Orion, it would’ve been way more exciting if he came back to life but he just died which was so boring. We then get to know that they were people from earth already on the new earth and they did some gen manipulations or something. It was clear from the beginning that Chris was a traitor and working together with them. Then, they just make peace and everything’s fine, I guess? . The only thing I appreciate about the ending is that it’s not your cliché happy ending. Instead, it’s more bittersweet with Elder being luckily alive .
When looking at the characters, it was a bit sad to see how different the people from the ship and the frozen ones were. I really disliked how the people from the ship were depicted as stupid, even though they’ve never been on a planet before. Especially Amy’s father treats them so terribly and is honestly just racist? Another character that annoyed me was Bartie since he was normal again compared to the last book. Amy in contrast has grown to me in the course of the story and she developed so much. We sadly get a small love triangle for her, but her little romance with Elder is kinda cute.
This is probably one of the main strengths of the Across the Universe series: romance only plays a subordinate role but instead the very interesting and engaging story is in the centre. Adding to this is this creepy atmosphere throughout the series that keeps you on the edge of your seat. There were some aspects of the story here and there that I didn’t like, but it’s still a very solid YA sci fi series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: War and Pregnancy
lisbet's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Not quite 4 stars, but close.
This is my favorite of the three books in the series, but could almost have worked as a stand-alone novel. I think it had a quicker pace and more character development than the earlier books.
It was nice to get answers to some of the “But why?” questions I’ve had since the first book.
Overall I think the series is a worthwhile read if this is a genre that appeals to you.
This is my favorite of the three books in the series, but could almost have worked as a stand-alone novel. I think it had a quicker pace and more character development than the earlier books.
It was nice to get answers to some of the “But why?” questions I’ve had since the first book.
Overall I think the series is a worthwhile read if this is a genre that appeals to you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Slavery, Murder, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Blood
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