Across the Universe

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Razor Bill, 2011
398 pages
9781595143976

Amy has volunteered to be a part of a mission to build a new planet. The only catch is, she must be frozen for 300 years. The plan is, when the time has come, she will be woken, along with her parents and other personnel needed to colonize the new world.

Elder is the next in line for leadership of Godspeed, the massive spaceship containing thousands of people, including Amy and her family. He knows there's something going on on the ship, but he can't get his mentor, Eldest, to let him in on the secret.

When Amy is accidentally woken up 50 years too early, her and Elder must figure out what is going on before more people are woken up and possibly killed.

Why I picked it up: I won an ARC copy of this through Library Thing's Early Reviewers program. The description was very compelling, so I signed up, never ever thinking that I would actually win. Very glad that I did.

Judging by the cover...: Very chic cover. Sexy and otherworldly. And Carrie Ryan's quote about the book is on it, which seals the deal for me.

Favorite Elements:

• Sci-fi + mystery + a little romance = very hard to put down. The combination of the two genres makes it an instant hit for me. The very flirtatious scenes don't hurt, either.
  

• Best friend - Elder's best friend, Harley, calls to mind Tiny Cooper from Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Outgoing, friendly, and eager to hook his bestie up with a girl. Add to that his heroic actions and you've got yourself a friend that you should never EVER let go. A part of me wanted to hug someone every time Harley was on the scene.

• A library - Let's face it, I'm a library nerd, so anyone that has a library as stocked as these guys is going to get my lust. Yes, it's filled with massive amounts of misinformation, but give me a month alone with the collection and I'll gladly fix that.

Overall (out of 5): 4.5
After a slow start, I was beginning to have doubts. But by the time Amy is unfrozen, the action picks up and never stops. The characters, right down to the lowly feeders, are fascinating studies of human nature. Revis asks questions that just beg to be answered. Would you do the same as Elder? Or Eldest? How would you feel if you were on Godspeed, knowing what they know? I know that I will NOT be joining an interstellar adventures for a while, as this book left me claustrophobic about everything, even my car!

Recommendation: Do not let the sci-fi aspects of the book fool you. The setting is secondary to the plot. It could happen anywhere, any time. Feel paranoid yet? Good! Now go and get this book. Its release date is 1/11/11.