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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Wow Beth did an amazing job with this story. I am not that into Sci-fi / dystopian but this novel was amazing. I loved Beth's adaptation on what would happen if we had to go in search of another planet. I honesty don't know what to say except that it was amazingly written. I had no trouble falling into Beth's world aboard Godspeed. I feel so horrible for Amy. For a girl who didn't want to leave Earth in the first place to be stuck aboard a ship with people who think she's a freak. Amy starts to notice that things aren't quiet right with the people aboard Godspeed. She just doesn't realize how wrong things truly are. Elder is the next in line to lead the people of Godspeed. He slowly uncovers lies and deception amongst his Leader. He goes out in search of the truth to find things are nothing as he has been told they are. Across the Universe is an amazing novel which captivated my attention from the first page to the last. It was one of those novels I couldn't put down even when I tried. Like I said this is not usually my genre of choice but it was great. Beth makes me want to read more. I highly recommend that anyone who has not had the chance to read this yet go out and pick it up even if you don't usually read this type of novel like myself you will love it I almost guarantee it!
This was almost four stars. I read this book awhile back, before I started using the fabulous Goodreads, so if this has any plot discrepancies I apologize.
Let's start with the premise. Amy, our fiery-haired heroine, has been cryogenically frozen in the present and loaded aboard the spaceship Godspeed, which is slated to arrive on a brand-spanking-new planet called Centauri-Earth in 300 years. Her parents are needed to help terraform this planet, and she gets to go with them. Since she's not really needed, she's proclaimed "unessential cargo."
Sometime in the course of the ship's history, a massive "plague" struck, killing three-fourths of the population and resulting in a new government system in which one man, called Eldest because he is older than everyone else on the ship, is in charge. There is also one Elder, or second-in-command, for every generation. Since the people reproduce all together in this freaky thing called the Season, every Elder is approximately 16 years older than his generation. At the time of the story, Godspeed is set to arrive on the new planet in 50 years, and the current Elder--a rebellious teenager--is being taught the finer points of leadership by the tyrannical and sometimes-cruel Eldest.
Okay. The problems begin when Amy is mysteriously unplugged. She is discovered by Elder, who thinks she's absolutely gorgeous and really likes her. Because all the people on the ship are mono-ethnic and Amy has red hair and fair skin, she is deemed a problem by Eldest and condemned to the ship's psychiatric ward, where all the supposedly crazy people live. The Season is set to begin any day, and then all the people will go semi-insane and start having sex EVERYWHERE. This is extremely awkward for Amy. Obviously she doesn't want to be contained, so she leaves the Ward and chaos ensues.
I liked this book quite a bit. It was a different sort of dystopian than I'm used to, and I thought it was very original. The writing didn't seem distant or futuristic, which I liked. I especially liked the romance. Elder's feelings for Amy were completely normal and not creepy, and he didn't press his likage on her when she wasn't sure ow she felt. (Plus I was a little bit in love with Elder.) Anyway. Even though the lovey-doviness wasn't necessarily reciprocated, they were so cute together. Plus there wasn't any creepy stalking involved like in some books I could mention...
I thought the story was handled well. It didn't seem ridiculous or nonsensical, even though it was far-fetched. It didn't feel rushed. It was actually a little slow, but it wasn't boring. There weren't any huge holes in the world-building, I suppose because it was such a tiny world. Everything matched up and made sense.
The plot was very predictable, but I didn't mind it. The twist at the end was more of a gently curving country lane, but again, that didn't really bother me. As the book evolves, some very interesting revelations arise that make me fear for the characters' safety, and the ending was a total cliffhanger, so I'll definitely be checking out the rest of the series.
And the cover is possibly one of the most drop-dead-gorgeous things I've ever seen.
It was pretty good, it just wasn't stellar enough to get four or five stars. I enjoyed reading it, for sure.
Let's start with the premise. Amy, our fiery-haired heroine, has been cryogenically frozen in the present and loaded aboard the spaceship Godspeed, which is slated to arrive on a brand-spanking-new planet called Centauri-Earth in 300 years. Her parents are needed to help terraform this planet, and she gets to go with them. Since she's not really needed, she's proclaimed "unessential cargo."
Sometime in the course of the ship's history, a massive "plague" struck, killing three-fourths of the population and resulting in a new government system in which one man, called Eldest because he is older than everyone else on the ship, is in charge. There is also one Elder, or second-in-command, for every generation. Since the people reproduce all together in this freaky thing called the Season, every Elder is approximately 16 years older than his generation. At the time of the story, Godspeed is set to arrive on the new planet in 50 years, and the current Elder--a rebellious teenager--is being taught the finer points of leadership by the tyrannical and sometimes-cruel Eldest.
Okay. The problems begin when Amy is mysteriously unplugged. She is discovered by Elder, who thinks she's absolutely gorgeous and really likes her. Because all the people on the ship are mono-ethnic and Amy has red hair and fair skin, she is deemed a problem by Eldest and condemned to the ship's psychiatric ward, where all the supposedly crazy people live. The Season is set to begin any day, and then all the people will go semi-insane and start having sex EVERYWHERE. This is extremely awkward for Amy. Obviously she doesn't want to be contained, so she leaves the Ward and chaos ensues.
I liked this book quite a bit. It was a different sort of dystopian than I'm used to, and I thought it was very original. The writing didn't seem distant or futuristic, which I liked. I especially liked the romance. Elder's feelings for Amy were completely normal and not creepy, and he didn't press his likage on her when she wasn't sure ow she felt. (Plus I was a little bit in love with Elder.) Anyway. Even though the lovey-doviness wasn't necessarily reciprocated, they were so cute together. Plus there wasn't any creepy stalking involved like in some books I could mention...
I thought the story was handled well. It didn't seem ridiculous or nonsensical, even though it was far-fetched. It didn't feel rushed. It was actually a little slow, but it wasn't boring. There weren't any huge holes in the world-building, I suppose because it was such a tiny world. Everything matched up and made sense.
The plot was very predictable, but I didn't mind it. The twist at the end was more of a gently curving country lane, but again, that didn't really bother me. As the book evolves, some very interesting revelations arise that make me fear for the characters' safety, and the ending was a total cliffhanger, so I'll definitely be checking out the rest of the series.
And the cover is possibly one of the most drop-dead-gorgeous things I've ever seen.
It was pretty good, it just wasn't stellar enough to get four or five stars. I enjoyed reading it, for sure.
It was hard keeping up with this, since I was listening at work. Still, storyline was pretty good.
Have you ever had someone tell you about a book so much that you just have to get it? Well that is what happen to me with this book. I had people tell me to read it from my book club, blogging, and Goodreads! So many people told me about this book, that it made me put this book on my Christmas list. Boy am I glad I did. At first I was having a hard time getting into it. But I knew that it was going to get better, and it did.
Amy is frozen. She is frozen because she is embarking on a 300 year trip to another planet so that the human race can start over. But something bad is happening...she is thawing out and she shouldn't be. This might kill her but she lucks out. Here is where she meets the group of people that are living on the ship while it makes its trip towards that new planet. One of the people she meets is Elder. Elder is learning to be the leader of the people. He is going to lead the people until the ship lands so that the people that are frozen know what has happened for the last 300 years. But something is happening on the ship that no one can be explained. The people that are frozen are getting unplugged. This is not good.
This book was a really great! I am so glad that I gave it a chance. I can not wait to start the next book in the series, A Million Suns! Once I get my hands on it, I know that I am not going to have a life for a couple days. :)
Amy is frozen. She is frozen because she is embarking on a 300 year trip to another planet so that the human race can start over. But something bad is happening...she is thawing out and she shouldn't be. This might kill her but she lucks out. Here is where she meets the group of people that are living on the ship while it makes its trip towards that new planet. One of the people she meets is Elder. Elder is learning to be the leader of the people. He is going to lead the people until the ship lands so that the people that are frozen know what has happened for the last 300 years. But something is happening on the ship that no one can be explained. The people that are frozen are getting unplugged. This is not good.
This book was a really great! I am so glad that I gave it a chance. I can not wait to start the next book in the series, A Million Suns! Once I get my hands on it, I know that I am not going to have a life for a couple days. :)
One of my favorite books ever! All the secrets that unfolded a little at a time really kept me turning the pages. Can't wait to find out how Amy and Elder are doing in the next books.
I thought it was a very creative and new story, and it definitely was different from other things I've read. The whole "Season" thing kind of weirded me out though.
It was pretty good, but the ending was disappointing.
I'm not usually a fan of stories set in space, but the concept for this book stood out to me as original and very interesting. The dystopian world building was fantastic. I could really imagine this fictional ship's society in all its intricate detail. It brought up a lot of questions about power, leadership, and trust in authority. I enjoyed getting both Amy and Elder's perspectives as alternating narrators. I connected more with Amy, but Elder kind of creeped me out! I didn't really feel a strong sense of chemistry between them as their relationship developed, so that was a bit disappointing. As more and more secrets of the ship were revealed, I became more intrigued. The ending was left unresolved, so I'm really curious to find out what happens in the next book of the series.
I thought this book was just alright.
I liked it, I enjoyed it, and it was a real page-turner, but I don't think I want to continue on with the series at this point.
I loved the world Beth Revis created, but I feel like there could've been more done with it. I'm sure it's explored in the later books, but especially the first half of this book felt really pointless and empty.
overall I enjoyed it but not enough to read the other books in the trilogy. Maybe someday when my TBR is at 0 I will, but honestly I would just want to find out what happens rather than read the other books.
SPOILERS KINDA?
The insta-love between Amy & Elder was a bit much for me, and especially at the end when there should've been conflict there was barely any conflict. It was obnoxious.
I liked it, I enjoyed it, and it was a real page-turner, but I don't think I want to continue on with the series at this point.
I loved the world Beth Revis created, but I feel like there could've been more done with it. I'm sure it's explored in the later books, but especially the first half of this book felt really pointless and empty.
overall I enjoyed it but not enough to read the other books in the trilogy. Maybe someday when my TBR is at 0 I will, but honestly I would just want to find out what happens rather than read the other books.
SPOILERS KINDA?
The insta-love between Amy & Elder was a bit much for me, and especially at the end when there should've been conflict there was barely any conflict. It was obnoxious.
2013 Review: "OMG. Why did I wait to start this series!?" 5+ stars
2018 Review: "Sweet jeebus. Five years really can make the difference. I have just one question: why is it that near-rape, sex, racism, ageism, etc. can be discussed at length in a YA novel.... but we have to make up new swear words, seemingly because of the intended audience's sensitivities? Seriously. Plus, that male narrator was... atrocious." 2.5 too-generous stars
2018 Review: "Sweet jeebus. Five years really can make the difference. I have just one question: why is it that near-rape, sex, racism, ageism, etc. can be discussed at length in a YA novel.... but we have to make up new swear words, seemingly because of the intended audience's sensitivities? Seriously. Plus, that male narrator was... atrocious." 2.5 too-generous stars