Across the Universe (Across the Universe, #1) in Mock Printz 2026

Jan 22, 2011 Crowinator rated it liked it

Shelves: 2011-reads, ra-ya-sff, aliens-spaceships-space, dystopia-post-apocalypse, ya, genre-science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I would have given this two stars for predictability, except Elder's moral wavering makes me too interested in him. Leaders on a ship full of people trapped in space with no legitimate destination have to make tough moral choices -- Commander Adama taught us that.

Full review:
From what I heard about this book (without reading GR reviews beforehand), I expected it to be a light science fiction/romance with a murder mystery as a secondary plot. And it is all of those things, except that neither t ...more

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Jun 02, 2011 Christina Getrost rated it it was amazing

Shelves: actionadventure, science_fiction

This was fun! A great action-packed sci fi adventure set on a "planet ship" that is taking several thousand people from Earth in a centuries-long journey across the stars to settle a new planet. The two main characters meet when the girl from Earth, Amy, is awakened from her cryogenic frozen sleep--fifty years too early!--and she meets Elder, a young man who was born on the ship. Elder has been training to take over as "Eldest," the leader of the ship's passengers, when the current Eldest dies. ...more

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Nov 23, 2010 Kathy rated it really liked it

Shelves: tbl-mock-printz-2012

3.5 great storyline. Uneven writing. So much crammed in at times that it through the pacing off. Some parts defied previous logic. Other times I was engrossed and didnt want to stop reading.

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May 05, 2012 Brandi rated it really liked it

Shelves: teen, random-reads-column, librandian-blog, 2012

Amy is technically non-essential cargo. As life on Earth begins to regress, scientists have started to seek out a new planet to repopulate. When Centauri-Earth is discovered, it is up to the best to make the 300 year journey to begin a new civilization. Amy’s father is a well-known military man and her mother is a famous geneticist. When both are asked to help with the new community on the new planet, Amy has the option of traveling with them or left behind with family members. In order for the Amy is technically non-essential cargo. As life on Earth begins to regress, scientists have started to seek out a new planet to repopulate. When Centauri-Earth is discovered, it is up to the best to make the 300 year journey to begin a new civilization. Amy’s father is a well-known military man and her mother is a famous geneticist. When both are asked to help with the new community on the new planet, Amy has the option of traveling with them or left behind with family members. In order for the professionals to make the journey, they are all cryogenically frozen to be woken up in 300 years when the ship lands. Amy is to make to trip on the ship, Godspeed, frozen and stowed away in a drawer. Or so she thought.

Elder is next in line to lead the passengers on Godspeed. Generation after generation of a mono-ethnic race of people have made a home on the ship. When the ship lands on Centauri-Earth, it is the passengers who will start a new life on the new planet. Currently, Eldest is in charge of the ship, but Elder must spend every day learning how to fill Eldest’s shoes when the time comes. Usually life is pretty uneventful on Godspeed. Elder can travel anywhere he wants on the ship, so they aren’t too many secrets kept from him. Or so he thought.

Routine turns to chaos when one of the cryogenic chambers is unplugged. When Elder and Eldest reach the chamber, they see a teenage girl with bright red hair. Amy is alive, but she can’t be frozen again. Instead, she must live the next 75 years as a passenger of Godspeed and wait as long to be reunited with her parents. Amy’s unfreezing is just the beginning of the maelstrom of problems and mysterious secrets that plague Godspeed. More people frozen for the journey are being unplugged and left to die. Amy wants to trust Elder and his friend Harley, but the deeper she looks into the life on Godspeed, the more she fears for her life and the lives of others.

Across the Universe is an out-of-this-world science fiction adventure. Combined with mystery and romance, this first book in a series is impossible to put down. I will admit that it starts a bit on the slow side. I wasn’t sure at first if I could get through it. Then, before I even knew what was happening, I was flying through the book. One of the best things about this book is that you won’t know what is right and who is wrong until the very last page, and even then you aren’t quite sure. Revis fills the pages with misdirection and red herrings. It is definitely worth a read. ...more

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Sep 01, 2010 Liz rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2-star, sci-fi

I’ve been eager to read Across the Universe by Beth Revis since before it came out. After all, the original hardcover is stunning and there isn’t a lot of straight-up sci fi in YA. I wound up finally picking this one up when my book club selected it. While I found Revis’s prose lovely, I didn’t fall in love with her debut the way I had hoped to.

Across the Universe is kind of a terrifying read. It starts off with one of our main characters, Amy, being frozen, and then waking up way earlier than ...more

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Sep 04, 2010 Paula rated it it was amazing

In a time when young adult literature is full of vampires, werewolves, and zombies, Beth Revis has given us a breath of, well, recycled air that takes a refreshing spin on the fantasy genre. Told in the alternating voices of Amy, who chooses to follow her parents and be cryogenically frozen aboard the spaceship Godspeed, and Elder, the leader in training of the ship, Across the Universe is a unique blend of mystery, romance, science fiction, and dystopia. Expecting to wake up 300 years in the fu ...more

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Feb 09, 2011 elissa rated it liked it

Shelves: my_10s_reads, capitol_choices_archives, sciencefiction, youngadult

If I was going to rate this on the writing it would be 3 1/2 stars to 4 stars, but since I rate on how much I enjoyed something, I can't give it more than 3 stars. I was sucked in to the story, and had a hard time putting it down (and I cared about the main characters), but I think I'm just tired of dystopias right now (and nothing can live up to the HG trilogy, for me). This is obviously not the book's problem, but mine, and I'm sure that many, many teens would enjoy this. I'm not sure whether If I was going to rate this on the writing it would be 3 1/2 stars to 4 stars, but since I rate on how much I enjoyed something, I can't give it more than 3 stars. I was sucked in to the story, and had a hard time putting it down (and I cared about the main characters), but I think I'm just tired of dystopias right now (and nothing can live up to the HG trilogy, for me). This is obviously not the book's problem, but mine, and I'm sure that many, many teens would enjoy this. I'm not sure whether I'll be motivated to read the next book or not, but I'm sure that teens will be! Two days is awfully quickly for me to read a book this length. I wasn't expecting it to go all BRAVE NEW WORLD partway in to the book, and I found the "breeding" part of the society to be pretty bizarre. It made sense in the context of the ship's society, it was just weird. My almost-13-yr-old agreed that it was weird (and he also agrees that this is a quick read). I don't know of many YA space travel books, so that is one new thing about this dystopia, and being on a ship definitely added a lot to the atmosphere. The blending of mystery and dystopic space travel just wasn't exactly my cup of tea. This was a Capitol Choices nomination from January 2011, the first 14+ nomination for the 2012 list, and I can see myself voting for this on the ballots, unless there are some truly amazing new SF titles this year. This is the first book on my 2011favorites shelf, but it is the only 2011 book that I've finished so far this year. :) Three star books rarely remain on my favorites shelf by the end of the year, though, since I only allow myself 12 books...

Two last notes: I keep humming the Beatles song that it quoted at the beginning of this book. It SO does not fit the feel of the book for me that it's bugging me. If anybody has any thoughts about that, please let me know! The words seem fitting to me, but not the calm and almost syrup-y music. It's not one of my favorite Beatles songs, so maybe that's one of my problems. Also, I agree with other reviewers who think the cover is beautiful. ...more

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Feb 15, 2011 Megan rated it really liked it

Shelves: teen-fiction, action-adventure, sci-fi-fantasy, mystery, finished-2011, finished-2012

This book has a little bit of something for everyone. Science Fiction: Amy and her parents are cyrogenically frozen so that they can embark on a 300 year trip to another planet to start a new life. Mystery: Who tried to murder Amy by pulling the plug on her container when there were still 50 years left in the journey? Romance: Elder, the ship's next leader, and Amy are undeniably attracted to one another. Action/Adventure: The ship's leader, Eldest, despises Amy and wants her off the ship ...more

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May 29, 2012 Jess rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, sci-fi, dystopia

A slightly claustrophobic page turner. There are plenty of interesting issues going on - individual thought and freedoms, the ethical use of scientific advancements, etc. - but Revis never lets those slow down the action. The writing doesn't really shine, but the pacing is great for a quick, plot-driven story (which was what I was just in the mood for). I'm curious to see where she takes things in the sequel. ...more

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