A Million Suns by Beth Revis

Title: A Million Suns

Author: Beth Revis
Publisher: Razorbill
ISBN: 978-0-141-33368-7
Pages: 386
Series: Across the Universe #2
Type: Young Adult Science Fiction
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Amy is trapped upon the Godspeed, woken from her cryogenic sleep decades early and her only friend is Elder. Elder is now leader of the ship but rebellion threatens as he struggles to take charge. Torn between her feelings for him and the chaos beginning to pull the ship apart, Amy stumbles across the first in a series of clues to a deeper mystery. Godspeed has more secrets to reveal...but will Amy survive learning them?

This is the second book in the Across the Universe trilogy (after Across the Universe) which I adored, devoured in a single day and then grabbed a copy of this the next morning. After all of the mysteries solved and secrets revealed in the first book, I didn't think there could be much more to come. I was wrong. Really really wrong. This is full of even more twists and turns and hidden secrets than the first book.

I was glued to the page throughout as the action unfolded, from the opening scenes of Elder meeting with the shippers (who control the ship) and Amy talking to her still-frozen parents to the shocking revelations and dramatic choices of the ending. This book is so well written, so detailed, so deviously twisted I couldn't put it down.

Amy and Elder have both grown and matured over the three months since her awakening. Their developing feelings for each other are somewhat pushed into the background as they struggle with their new roles and responsibilities. For Elder the change is the most dramatic. He is now leader of the Godspeed but he is finding it hard to step into Eldest's shoes and it turns out that there was much he hadn't learnt.

The dystopian element is still going strong and is even more pronounced in this book as the inhabitants of Godspeed start questioning their lives and the system of control. While everyone was happy to be a farmer or a weaver or a shipper before, now people are coming into their own identities which frequently clash with the established order of things. Godspeed is unravelling into chaos but how can you escape from a spaceship in space?

All in all this was another awesome read and I can't wait for Shades of Earth.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 49/50

Best of the Bunch (1)

Best of the Bunch is an awesome end-of-month meme created at Lyrical Reviews and now hosted by Sally at Always Lost in Stories. All you have to do is pick your favourite book of all the books you've read that month and post it.

My favourite book for May is Across the Universe by Beth Revis.

This was one of those books I never expected to like but ended up loving. I grabbed it from my TBR shelf thinking I'd read for a bit but ended up finishing the entire book in a single day, and then going out early the next morning to pick up a copy of the sequel.

I loved Amy and Elder and I was glued to the page trying to figure out the many mysteries and secrets aboard the Godspeed. This is kind of a science fiction/dystopian cross and it is an incredible read that I adored :)


My review can be found here.

So what was the best book you read this month?

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Title: Across the Universe

Author: Beth Revis
Publisher: Razorbill
ISBN: 978-0-141-33366-3
Pages: 398
Series: Across the Universe #1
Type: Young Adult Science Fiction
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Amy has left Earth and her life behind, cryogenically frozen and bound for a new home 300 years in the future. But Amy is violently awakened 50 years before schedule and she finds herself trapped aboard the Godspeed. The ship is controlled by the Eldest and his successor Elder. When it becomes clear that Amy's awakening was an attempted murder, she must turn to Elder to discover the many secrets hidden in their world.

This is the first in a new trilogy and, despite all the great things I'd heard, a book I approached with trepidation. I'm not really a big fan of science fiction so I was concerned I wouldn't like the spaceship setting but I was happily surprised to be wrong and finished the book in a day. The plot is cleverly written and with lots of twists and turns (although I figured a big one out pretty early on) and kept me glued to the page. The narration is split between Amy and Elder which means we get the benefit of both perspectives.

There is a heavy dystopian angle to the storyline which I loved. Everyone on Godspeed is monoethnic, everyone has a purpose, everyone is satisfied by their life - but by having Amy act almost as our "normal" person on the Godspeed the reader gets to see just how strange the society there has become. Elder's impressions also help show this, especially when he starts talking about historical events which are very different to how we know them to have been.

Amy is a great lead character managing to be strong and independent while still remaining vulnerable, especially about her past and her parents. Elder compliments her really well, picking up her questioning nature but also helping her to explore the strange new world she has found herself in. Eldest is a creepy leader and I pretty much disliked him from the start, especially as it is clear he is hiding a lot of secrets. My favourite character though has to be Harley who lives in the Ward with the other psychologically different individuals. His passion for art and relatively normal perspective on Godspeed adds another dimension to the story.

I was a little surprised that there wasn't a huge amount of romance between Amy and Elder. The appropriate sparks flew, but the characters got so caught up in the events around them that it wasn't developed. This works in the books favour though as it means more focus is given to the creepy fascinating secrets being revealed.

The ending is brilliant, managing to be surprising (despite me having figured out a major twist) and action packed. It also ties up the storyline in such a way that you are ready for the characters to continue but feel that most of the issues have been resolved.

All in all this was an awesome read and I can't wait to read A Million Suns.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 9/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 49/50

Teaser Tuesday (27)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My teaser:

"Once, I was ice. Now, I am pain."

~ Page 79, Across the Universe by Beth Revis