Review: Across the Universe - Beth Revis

Where I got it: ARC from publisher
Rating: 5 stars 
Cover Rating:  4 stars (It's enjoyable. I really like the stars and the sex appeal.)
Genre: Young Adult  
Publication Date: January 11, 2011
Publisher: Razorbill
Page Count: 398 p.


Amy goes with her parents to get cryogenically frozen and put upon the spaceship Godspeed. Her parents are vital for the new planet that the FRX wants to colonize. Amy, is not so important, but can not stand the thought of leaving her parents. She has fitful nightmares while frozen and even worse ones when fifty years before the scheduled landing time, someone unplugs her chamber and nearly kills her. Now Amy is stuck on the ship, she can't be refrozen and she can't unfreeze her parents. The spaceship seems so small to her, and the people are completely bizarre. Eldest, the spaceship's leader, has taken complete control and everyone willingly allows him to. Elder, his heir to the rule, seems so different, almost enough so that Amy can trust him. even with Elder on her side and the eccentric Harley, Amy knows there is at least one person she can't trust. Someone tried to kill her and they may just try to kill some of the other frozens.

Wow. This book is freakin' fantastic! Buy it right now. Now that that is out of the way let's continue (I certainly hope you bought it). This book was one that I could not put down. I tried, I put it down and tried watching some 21 Jumpstreet while eating lunch. I just couldn't stop thinking about it and had to pick it right back up again. That is truly the mark of an excellent novel. There were so many things to love. The whole entire would that Beth Revis created on board of Godspeed was just to realistic and perfect. All the bouts of tricky and deception were well plotted and the lies were perfectly deceitful. It was pretty easy to figure out who(really who) the bad guy was, but the rest of the mysteries were complete surprise until the end. I loved Harley. I loved that he painted and that he became easily obsessed with things. He was a truly emotional and caring character and that was in short supply aboard the ship. It was really interesting trying to understand the fact that everyone aboard the ship except for Amy, had never seen the sky, the ocean, real mountains. It was a little mind-blowing to think that these folks were completely contented in their small metal world. I loved the romantic tension in the novel between Amy and Elder. It was exceptionally good when Amy was trying to battle against her memories of her long-since dead boyfriend Jason. The characters were well-rounded and fantastically delicious. I loved how well you got to feel you knew each and every one of them. The ship was a completely new world and you could certainly feel the claustrophobia that Amy was experiencing. The chapters alternate between Amy and Elder and I really like how that flows throughout the novel. I think it is key to be able to get inside both of their minds while they both uncover the truths of Godspeed. I also love how Beth Revis wrote about some of the medical happenings. They were raw and unflinching and at times made me a little woozy with there details. There weren't many medical things, but IVs especially make be a little bleh. This is a 2011 debut that can not be missed and I'm so glad I got a copy to review, otherwise I may have missed this epic novel. I will be buying a hardcover promptly, because one it's amazing, and two the jacket is completely reversible which is wicked awesome. Make sure you bump this one up on you TBR list (if it isn't already #1).

First Line:
"Daddy said, 'Let mom go first.'"

Favorite Line:
"It is like a piece of my soul had been lost, empty, and it is now filled with the light of a million stars."