Review: Across the Universe (Take Two)

Book: Across The Universe
Author: Beth Revis
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: January 11th 2011
Pages: 398
Date Read: 2/5/2011

From Goodreads:

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.

Yani's Analysis:
You can never go wrong by starting a novel with a quote from The Beatles.

That being said, this novel is intense. You feel it from the first page to the last. Amy POV starts off the book with her memories of the freezing process. It so heartbreakingly vivid and torturous it makes you wonder why someone would go though such a thing.... almost feels like dying.

Then Daddy squeezed my hand, once, hard, as they crammed the tubes down his throat, and I crumbled, inside and out.

Once awakened, Amy finds herself in a completely new society onboard the Godspeed, a ship where history has been rewritten, the sky is painted on, and a dictator controls everything. The people are pods, as Eldest believes the society thrives as long as it is monotonous. Anyone who do not follow these societal norms are labeled as crazy and live in the hospital.

Part mystery, part reflection on humanity and survival, this book keeps you guessing till the last page. Beth Revis did a brilly job creating an isolated world inside a spaceship and reflects very well the consequences of being captives of space for so many years. Even the language and slang is adorable.

For a young adult novel, the themes in this book and the language lend to a more mature audience. This book was not at all what I expected and although it is labeled as Sci-Fi and takes place centuries from now, I think its a great novel that reflects the times. Can't wait to see more from this debut author.

Ratings:

Plot: 5/5
Writing Style: 5/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Characters: 5/5

Similar Titles:


Memorable Quotes:

"So, I do what any reasonable person would do when faced with a crying girl. I get the frex out of there." Elder

"Everything is wrong here. Shattered. Broken.
Like the light.
Like me.
I never thought about how important the sky was until I didn't have one.
I am surrounded by walls.
I have just replaced one box for another."Amy

"A leader doesn't make pawns- he makes people." Edler

Waiting on Wednesday #2

WOW is hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine.

From Amazon:

The small town of Cryer’s Cross is rocked by tragedy when an unassuming freshman disappears without a trace. Kendall Fletcher wasn’t that friendly with the missing girl, but the angst wreaks havoc on her OCD-addled brain.

When a second student goes missing—someone close to Kendall’s heart—the community is in an uproar. Caught in a downward spiral of fear and anxiety, Kendall’s not sure she can hold it together. When she starts hearing the voices of the missing, calling out to her and pleading for help, she fears she’s losing her grip on reality. But when she finds messages scratched in a desk at school—messages that could only be from the missing student who used to sit there—Kendall decides that crazy or not, she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t act on her suspicions.

Something’s not right in Cryer’s Cross—and Kendall’s about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.

I love the Wake series. Its not as fluffy as my usual style, but Lisa McMann brings together this suspenseful beautiful novel, with these intense emotions, and you can't help but get sucked in. Can't wait for this book coming out next week: February 8, 2011.

Update: Just got Cryer's Cross ARC, can't wait to read. Don't know if I should put down anna and the french kiss or wait till I am done???

Review: Invisible Things

Update 1/3/2010: Just found out this is a sequel, still from what I have read of this book, the author's style is not to my liking. I probably will not read the first one, but if you were a fan of The Explosionist, I think you will enjoy the story progression of Invisible Things.

Book: Invisible Things (The Explosionist #2)

Author: Jenny Davidson

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 272

Book Received from Star Book Tours

Date Read: 12/19/10 - 12/22/10

From Amazon:
Sixteen-year-old Sophie knows there is more to the story of her parents' death. And she's on a mission to find the truth. To aid her in solving the decades-old mystery, Sophie has enlisted her best friend, Mikael, whose friendship has turned into something more. It's soon clear that Sophie's future is very much wrapped up in the details of her family's past, and the key lies with information only one man can provide: her parents' former employer, the elusive billionaire Alfred Nobel.  As the threat of war looms in Europe, dangers to Sophie and her loved ones grow. While her determination to solve the mystery doesn't waver, forces beyond her control conspire to keep her from her purpose. Then, news of her great-aunt Tabitha's death sets off a chain of events that leaves Sophie questioning everything.

The more Sophie learns, the more she realizes that nothing—and no one—in her life is what it seems. And coming to terms with the dark secrets she uncovers means imagining a truth that she never dreamed possible. Full of gorgeous settings, thrilling adventure, and romance, invisible things is a novel that dares to ask, what if?

Yani's  Analysis:

"What if" is not the question of this book. Its more like just "What???" When I first started reading I kept looking around and going to the front to see if I had skipped something. Still, even after having completed the book I felt like there are many unanswered questions and not the good kinds that make you anxious to read the sequel. Maybe I had too much expectation for what seemed like a unique and thrilling storyline as it is described above. First, there was no mission, things happened to Sophie, she did not make anything happen. Second, while Mikael is her love interest I did not feel his back story as a best friend was formed. Also, for being mentioned in the synopsis I thought there would be a little more love or flirting going on between them, but alas nothing ::sigh::

You could tell from her writing style that Jenny Davidson is very intelligent. I usually love books that are witty and so well versed, but her writing style just irked me. The story is slow to pick up, confusing, vocabulary is foreign, and the back and forth between memories and her current thoughts just made me want to pull out my hair. Still, the novel had some good moments. Female power and all that good stuff was included, plus relevant issues on what is right and wrong when a country is at war... see below for a great quote on that topic.

Overall though, there was too much left unsaid. Like what was the point of the supernatural element? What exactly is the agency her aunt ran? What does legation mean? These thoughts consumed me even after I put down the book. And while I love a good open ending that leads to a sequel, this is one sequel I won't be picking up.

Ratings:

Plot: 3/5

Writing Style: 2/5

Characters: 3/5

Uniqueness: 4/5

Memorable Quotes:

"But there was kind of a hypocrisy, wasn't there, in congratulating oneself on not having to assent to such things while simultaneous benefiting from living in a world where espionage and even assassination might be the only way for one's country to maintain it's independence."