The Best Reader + TIME

"'Across the Universe' was woven so intricately and beautifully that this plot driven novel is definitely on my 'OMG! I need the next book!' list." — Miss Remmers

From Amazon.com...

"Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed. She expects to wake up on a new planet, 300 years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, Amy's cryo chamber is unplugged, and she is nearly killed. Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, his rebellious and brilliant teenage heir. Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she? All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again."

"Across the Universe" begins a bit slow and confusing; I did struggle with grasping the concept of the plot at first. But once the exposition was laid out and the complication was introduced (Amy waking up), I couldn't put this book down. The plot became fast-paced with endless twists; the last couple of chapters... let me just say, I never saw THAT coming. Yes I had my predications, but nothing came even close.

Revis created this multi-dimensional and multi-faceted world with layers of character and plot that all came together in the end. Besides the metaphorical dimensions of character and plot, she created such a ship, Godspeed, that even without the map it was real and "touch-able" that I felt like I was the one exploring. I highly suggest checking out the official website to check out a 3D map of the ship.

Revis wrote with such raw emotion and feeling that throughout much of the book, when describing the Season, I couldn't help but be horrified for Amy. I can't imagine as an outsider seeing everyone going at it like bunnies without reservation or intelligence. The scene with Amy in the cornfield — I won't lie, I cried. As I read I saw everything that transpired and couldn't help but feel the emotion and shudder away from it.

I did struggle with the alternating perspectives. I feel like at the end of the novel, while I was extremely attached to the plot, I didn't know either of the characters particularly well. Their personalities became blurred due to the alternating chapters and a result I feel like I missed out on two great characters. Often times I would forget half way through a chapter whose perspective it was written in because neither of the characters, I thought, were very strong. Yes, I loved Elder and Amy — but do I feel like I know them as characters, as people? No.

Besides characterization, the only thing I would have liked to see more of was some romance. From Elder's POV I saw how much he was in love with Amy, but with Amy's POV she didn't even seem attracted to Elder. But this, I'm glad, will hopefully be explored more in the next book.

Overall, "Across the Universe" was woven so intricately and beautifully that this plot driven novel is definitely on my "OMG! I need the next book!" list.

I just gotta say: Harley (LOVE him) reminded me so much so of Hurley (LOST). Also, I came across this line — "I never thought about how important the sky was until I didn't have one" (125) and couldn't help but grab my copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird " and find my favorite quote: "Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing" (23).

Originality: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 10/10
My reaction/enjoyment: 9/10
Cover: 8/10
Overall: 55/60 A

To find out more about this author, visit the following links:
-Visit Beth around the web: Website | Blog | Twitter
-BUY THE BOOK: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Nook | Kindle

To the FTC, with love: Library Loan