Review – Across the Universe

Across the Universe by Beth Revis.  Razorbill, 2011.

• Book one of the trilogy
• YA adventure; fantasy fiction; sci-fi; adventure romance
• ISBN 1595143971 (ISBN13: 9781595143976)

The Plot:

Sixteen year old Amy has been voluntarily frozen and placed as cargo on the spaceship, Godspeed, which is travelling to a planet where humans will create a new world.  Amy is suddenly woken from her frozen sleep, and she discovers that Godspeed still has fifty years before it reaches it’s final destination.  Trapped on the ship, with her parents still frozen, Amy must work out why she was woken up and discover the secrets that Godspeed and it’s inhabitants are hiding.

Book Snitch says:

This novel was compelling right from the first chapter where Amy describes the emotional turmoil she felt watching her parents being frozen and stored as cargo on Godspeed.  Revis writes using alternating first person male and female narratives which keeps the reader’s interest throughout, and builds up suspense as we follow these two characters and see their different perspectives.

The second protagonist is sixteen year old Elder, who was born on the ship and is second in line to rule the inhabitants of Godspeed.  Elder is transfixed by Amy from the moment he sees her. Eldest has his own problems, like dealing with the current ruler, Eldest.  Together, Amy and Elder try to navigate their way through the mysteries of Godspeed and being the only two teenagers on a ship that still has years before it reaches it’s destination.  The dynamics between the characters definitely work to raise the tension in the plot, and you’ll find yourself rooting for them.

The plot is cleverly crafted to make you imagine the futuristic world of Godspeed.  Thanks to Amy’s contrasting memories of Sol-Earth and life as we know it, you will also feel the claustrophobia of being stuck on a ship in the future with years stretching out before you and nowhere to hide.  The end of this book will not disappoint, and you will be hankering to read A Million Suns (the second book in the trilogy) as soon as you can get your hands on it!

Who should read this?

Classified as YA lit, Book Snitch recommends this to readers aged eleven upwards.  Fans of dystopian lit, fantasy or sci-fi should also check this out.