As Amy's father prepares to be cryogenically frozen, he offers her a chance to opt-out and continue living her life as normal on Earth. She chooses to be frozen herself, and follow her parents aboard the Godspeed, to be woken up 300 years in the future on another planet. When she is thawed out, it is extremely painful and 50 years too soon. She quickly makes a friend in Elder, a boy roughly the same age as she is and second in command on the ship. But Amy is from Earth, and her different appearance and behavior does not fit into society on the ship at all. Before long, sinister acts begin happening around Amy, turning allies into suspects. With lies being revealed and secrets being overturned, Amy and Elder hold on whatever truths they hold in themselves.Across the Universe is breathtaking science fiction, the kind where I feverishly turn the pages to find out what happens next. One of those books where immediately after the last page is turned, I want to start over from the beginning and read it again. It really is that good. I was hooked right from the start, with the detailed process of being frozen. I am usually pretty squeamish but I could not stop reading. I felt every inch of Amy's claustrophobia and every ounce of Elder's frustration. The futuristic swearing is reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica and works well with Elder's character. Revis goes to great lengths in order to let the reader discover what is what in the world she has created. There are no lengthy passages of exposition. Some aspects are very cool (grav tubes) and others are a little far-fetched (mono ethnicity), but overall the concepts are deeply thought out and well executed. Fans of Maria V. Snyder's Inside Out and Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games will love this book. I eagerly look forward to more from this author!
Overall Rating: 5 Stars
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