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hannah_rose_reading 's review for:
Across the Universe
by Beth Revis
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.