Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Title: Across the Universe

Author: Beth Revis

Published: 2011

Length: Hardcover, 396 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Romance, Mystery 

Counts Towards: 

The Dystopia Challenge, Hogwarts ReadingChallenge

Summary:

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 realies 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.

First Line: 

Daddy said, “Let Mom go first.”

My Rambles:

First something that has been bothering me: 

Across the Universe reminds me of a TV show that I used to watch as a kid, called Silversun.  It's also set on a spaceship with carrying a cargo of 550 cryonically suspended colonists to their new home, Silversun. One of the new colonists, Zandie was illegally re-animatied by a crew member. Any of this sound familier to anyone? 

Nevertheless Across the Universe was a fast and fun read. It opens with an intense, emotional and detailed  first chapter. 

Amy was real, she was a character that I would want to be friends with. She could stand on her own two feet and yet she would accept help when she needed it. She was the type of character that you root for. And Elder - oh Elder, Elder, Elder, I adore Elder. I loved the way you could see him grow as a person. He starts out almost oblivious to what is happening around him and we are with him as his eyes finally open to his world. You could see his views shift and see him start to figure out just who he was and who he had the potential to be. You watched as he tried to break his old ways of thinking .You watched as he started to grow into the kind of leader that the Godspeed did and will need. Sure he has a long way to go but he is a character with so much potential and I look forward to seeing where his character will go in the next two books. Another stand out character would have to be Elder's best friend Harley. He was vibrant, brave, tragic, loveable and awesome. His storyline was heartbreaking but I think it actually suited his character. 

Eldest (one of the main "bad guys") could have far more sadistic and he lacked that true villain quality. But maybe thats how Beth Revis wanted him to be. Maybe she wanted him to be sympathetic and for people to understand some of the things he did. 

Overall good characters, fantastic plot, a breathless read. If you haven't already, go and pick up a copy of Across the Universe and see what everyone is raving about for yourself.

Review: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Title: Life As We Knew It
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Published: 2006
Length: 337 pages
Genre: Science Fiction, Apocalyptic/Dystopia, Young Adult, Adventure 
Found where: The amazing BookDepository 

Why did I read it? 
Loved the premise and had heard great things about this one. 


Counts towards: 

The Dystopia Challenge, Hogwarts Reading Challenge

Summary:

Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

My Rambles: 

This book really got to me. The more I read, the more I HAD to read. I HAD to find out how this haunting story ended. At the same time I was almost reluctant to keep turning the pages, terrified of what awaited Miranda and her family. Books like this always get my thinking.. What if? What if it were me who this was happening to? What if this world we know so well was pulled out from underneath us? What would you do to survive? To make sure that your family lived? How would you survive? Would you fight to survive? Or just give up? What would you do about water, heating and cooling? About food?

Life As We Knew It started out a little slowly. We are introduced to Miranda and her family from Miranda's point of view, writing in her diary. I was just letting it plod along waiting for the story to really start, when it did. There was a certain scene in the book that when I got to it.. I knew that this would be a sensational read. And it was. Although is was not an action packed thriller, it was a psychological one. It gets under your skin and won't let you move on. 

I could go on and analyse and explain what happens and say my dislikes and likes.. but really, that would spoil this book. If you are at all interesting in reading Life As We Knew It, STOP reading reviews. Go and get the actual book!!

Review: Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith

Title: Lockdown

Author: Alexander Gordon Smith

Published: 2009

Length:  292 pages

Genre:  

Thriller, Horror, Dystopia, 

S

ci-Fi

Where Found: The wonderful BookDepository 

Counts Towards: The Dystopia Challenge, Hogwarts Reading Challenge

Summary:

My name is Alex and I'm not a killer. The framed me for murder, condemned me to life in Furnace with its punishments and pain.

I've got to get out of here. 

If I don't, it could be me the Wheezers come for.

Me who's dragged screaming from my cell.

Me who's brought back scarred, twisted and hungry for blood.

I've got to get out of here. Before they turn my into a monster.

Review:

Wow! Thats the first thing I thought when I turned the final page of Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith. My next thought was Holy Sh*t, I have to get my hands on the next book in the series. I finished this book late at night.. and I have to admit that it really freaked me out, more than most books do anyway. There were some truly creepy characters in there. There were also c

haracters I loved and characters I loved to hate. Lockdown was a mix of character driven scenes action scenes and violence. Which is a brilliant mix if you ask me. 

This book is definently not a book for the faint of heart. It was very g

raphic at times, and my heart pounded it's way trough the pages. It also has some 

psychological horror here, building up through the novel. I like that the characters feel real.

The main character Alex 

Sawyer. Alex isn’t really a bad kid, yeah, sure, 

he’s been living a life of petty crime, robbing houses with his best mate. But o

n their last fateful job, the boys are caught – but not by the police. Instead, a group of huge, fast and strong men in dark suits corners them, kills Toby, and frames Alex for the murder of his friend. Because of a no-tolerance policy for underage crime, Alex is given the harshest sentence – imprisonment in Furnace (an underground 

penitentiary for teenagers) for life, with no hope of parole. 

Once in the Furnace, Alex is lucky his cellmate, Donovan, is willing to be his friend. They also befriend Zee, another boy who was framed for crimes he didn’t commit.

Things happen that lead up to the boys planning an escape. 

There are, naturally, complications. Including other prisoners, avoiding all the prion gangs, the guards and their terrifying mutant dogs, the prison warden and Wheezers.

There is some information missing from the pages of this book. Why was Alex and others chosen and framed? 

Where do all the female prisioners go? Is there a separate chamber in the prison for them? Do we just not see them or do females not get sentenced to the Furnace?

Overall a spectacular read and a new series for me to obsess over. 

P.S I 

love that this book is British.

*Warning: if you are prone to nightmares, do not read this book before bed.