Book Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis


Picture credit: Mine!

So I’m going to change the way I do book reviews.

Turns out, at least this year, my choices of what to read have been pretty stupendous, because ever since I’ve started writing reviews I’ve read books that I thought deserved five stars. Call me soft or just really good at choosing good books, but it doesn’t help you guys if I rate every book the same way.

So! Rather than rating every book on a number of stars, I’m just going to tell you guys what I did and didn’t like about it and whether or not I recommend it. Fair? I thought so. To sweeten the pot, if you still want a numeric rating, you can friend me on Goodreads, where I will still be handing out the sparkly golden stars.

Onto the review!

I’ll start off by saying that I don’t normally read sci-fi, so if you’re not a hard-core sci-fi lover, don’t give up on this one yet—in fact, Across the Universe is the first sci-fi-ish book I’ve read in years.

So if I don’t read sci-fi, why did I pick up this book? Truth be told, the cover had a lot to do with it—it caught my eye on the shelf and I picked it up and liked the summary, and the first chapter. Not only that, but I read Beth Revis’ blog and she seemed like a pretty cool author. Plus she interacts on both Twitter and tumblr which is a pretty nice bonus if you ask me.

So what’s the book about, you ask?

From Goodreads:

“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.”

I really enjoyed this book. I was worried that it might be too spacey for my tastes (since, as I said, I don’t often read sci-fi), but Across the Universe had me hooked. There’s a murder mystery, romance that isn’t overdone (which, I have to say, is pretty refreshing) and some memorable characters. The only thing that bothered me was the dual-POV—the book is told both from Amy and Elder’s alternating first person POV, which was a little difficult to adjust to at first, but I actually enjoyed it later on. In fact, the dual POV really made the ending particularly fantastic stylistically, in my opinion.

Oh, and have I mentioned the twists? There aren’t many books that have surprised me like Across the Universe did, and I can count on one hand how many book surprised me more than once (Across the Universe, of course, being one of them).

Mystery. Romance. Twists. I highly recommend this one. It’s a great read and I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel.

So I’ve got to ask—what are you guys reading right now? 

18 comments:

Katie Mills said...

I really enjoyed across the universe!  Can't wait for the sequel.  I just finished my first indie book and I was NOT dissapointed!

Jennifer Bennett said...

I've hear a lot of good things about this book and now I want to check it out even more! I'm reading an indie author right now becasue I'm going to review her book on Friday :)

Ava Jae said...

A Million Suns comes out in January, so we don't have to wait TOO long. :) 

What was the indie book?

Ava Jae said...

It's definitely one worth checking out. I'd ask how you're enjoying the indie book, but I guess I'll just have to wait until Friday to see your review. :D

shilpa mudiganti said...

I have heard a lot about this book and love the author's blog as well. She is honest and very nice. I have to read this book soon!

Ava Jae said...

I highly recommend it!

Wendy Scalfaro said...

Ava, I don't read Sci-Fi usually either, but the publisher released Chapter One last November and I somehow managed to get my hands on it. I read it and was hooked. I passed it along to a few of my students who quickly began inundating me with the same question: "When is this coming out?!" I loved the rest of the book as well, as have my students. I can't wait for the sequel.

Ava Jae said...

Across the Universe really impressed me. Turns out you don't have to be a sci-fi fan to enjoy a sci-fi book! Who knew? :) 

A Million Suns is only three months away!

Susan Sipal said...

I'll say ditto on not usually reading Science Fiction, but this sounds great. Intriguing review. Thanks Ava!

Ava Jae said...

You're welcome! Let me know what you think if you try it out.

Laura Marcella said...

Hi, Ava! I'm here from Laura Pauling's blog. :) I've heard great things about this novel. It's been on my to-read list for awhile; I should move it to the top of the list! I don't read much SciFi either, but I'm always up for it when someone recommends a great read. Thanks for the review!

Ava Jae said...

You're very welcome! I'll admit AtU was in my TBR pile for a while, but once I started reading I really wondered what my hesitation was. :)

Thanks for visiting!

Stina Lindenblatt said...

I haven't read it yet. It's on my list (which is super long), but a number of my friends couldn't get into it, so it's not near the top of the list anymore.

I love dual POVs, so at least that point won't bother me. :)

Ava Jae said...

*Across the Universe* was the first book I read with dual first-person POV, which is why it took a little getting used to on my part, but once I did I found that I really liked it after all.

I personally enjoyed it so I recommend it, but no book is perfect for everyone. :)

Chihuahua Zero said...

What were your thoughts on The Season?


And have you read A Million Suns yet? I did, and it was a fantastic book. After reading a couple of books that were the second in their series, yet they were not as good, AMS was a refreshing read. It manages to shake up the status quo without losing the charm of the first book, and a little more liberty in terms of prose is used.

Ava Jae said...

To answer your first question, I thought The Season was a little disturbing, especially since it seemed realistic in that environment--I could easily imagine something like that being manufactured in the way Beth Revis wrote it.


As for your second question: YES. I actually wrote a post about it (I think it's one of the mini-book review posts) but I absolutely loved AMS. It's easily one of the best sequels I've read.

Robin Red said...

I just got this book today. Hope it's as good as you say, and I love Beth Revis's posts.

Ava Jae said...

I haven't looked at this review in forever, and I was kind of laughing to myself about how much I've changed. I now love Sci-Fi and dual-POV that I even started writing it. Heh.


Anyway! It's a fantastic series and definitely doesn't disappoint. I've read all three books down and loved them all. :)


Happy reading! I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

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