Review: Across the Universe, by Beth Revis

Title: Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1)
Author: Beth Revis
Publication Date: January 11, 2011
Genre: YA science fiction

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

My Rating: 5/5 stars

I have been searching for an awesome science fiction that is mind-blowingly cool. My search is over.

Everything about this book was brilliant. I think I adored this so much because it is about a subject in science that is so interesting.

I have read few sci-fi books in the past, but I don't think any of them would be on my favorites list. I don't know; they were missing something, and fell short in my opinion. Because of my past with science fiction books, I was rather reluctant to pick this one up. I am so glad I did. Across the Universe is right on the mark, having every component necessary to make it the best of science fiction books.

It did take me a few attempts to actually get engaged into the novel, as the beginning didn't exactly pull me in. But, as the story progressed, I started to feel more connected to the characters and their story.

I just want to make something clear, but this is not is a romance novel. I am unsure as to why the synopsis makes it seem to be about "love" and "romance", but in all reality, it is a largely dystopian/ science fiction book. There is a hint of romance, but to say that it is a full-on romance book is inaccurate.

Some may complain about the relationship between Elder and Amy in this book, and claim that Elder fell head-over-heels for Amy before he even got to know her. I don't believe that Elder had so much interest for Amy because he had romantic feelings for her, but because he felt curiosity. He had never seen anyone like her in his life, so naturally, it is to be expected that he would feel curious about her.

I am not sure if the author intended to write a romance book, or she just wanted Elder and Amy to be friends, so I will just give my opinion on both scenarios:

1. The author sucks at writing romance.
OR
2. There isn't supposed to be that type of connection between the two main characters.

If it was number 1, then the author did horrible at executing it. That was the awkwardest, most forced relationship I have ever read about. Or, if it was number 2, then I would have no problem with how the author made their friendship. I, personally, believe that the author meant for it to be number 2, and that she wanted them to gradually grow fond of each other through the series.

Now, as individual characters, Amy and Elder were very realistic and three-dimensional. Truthfully, I thought Eldest was the most well-written character in the book. He wasn't likable, but he was a very strong character.

At first, I was completely against Elder for what he did, which was revealed to us at the end. After much thought, I began to understand why he did what he chose to do.

Some people might steer clear of this book, worried that they will get a lesson on science-related stuff instead of an enjoyable read. Before I began this book, I was reluctant about it. I will assure you, however, that this book did not have an information overload at all. Rather, the author gradually revealed to us this information, giving the book a suspenseful feel.

That being said, this book was packed with details and descriptions. Normally, I would have given up on this book if there was way too many details and not enough action, but the author managed to make a balance between the two.

When I read this book, it was clear that the plot was very well thought out. It was complex, and probably took the author a while to actually get the general idea of the plot together. In all honesty, I wish that all books in the YA genre were like this.

If you are a geek like me, and enjoy science-related things, then you will, more likely than not, love this book.