[Review] A Million Suns (#2) by Beth Revis

A Million Suns

(#2, Across the Universe)
Across the Universe | A Million Suns

Author: Beth Revis

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 10/01/2012

Publisher: Penguin (Razobill)
Pages: 385

Source: Bought
Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

My Rating:

Perfection!

Summary (Spoilers if you have not read Across the Universe):

Godspeed was once fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos. It’s been three months. In that time, Amy has learned to hide who she is. Elder is trying to be the leader he’s always wanted to be. But as the ship gets more and more out of control, only one thing is certain: They have to get off the ship.

My thoughts:

The story continues with A Million Suns! There are even more secrets that are brought to the fore - all of them shocking and will leave you wanting more. Revis continues to encapsulate perfectly the stifling environment of Godspeed, but it is even more amplified due to the new leadership. Elder is now the Eldest of the ship and he has taken all the ship's inhabitants off the med patches that controlled them, which means that the people now see all that they'd been blind to previously, like Amy and her red hair, as well as the now-uselessness of the Eldest system...

[Review] Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Title: Across the Universe

Author: Beth Revis

Publication: 4th January 2010 (UK)

Publisher: Penguin UK

Source: For review, thanks Penguin!
Age: 16+, there's some . . . sexual scenes. And some violence and serious themes addressed.

Pages: 400

My Rating:

Blurb:

AMY HAS LEFT THE LIFE SHE LOVES FOR A WORLD 300 YEARS AWAY

Trapped in space and frozen in time, Amy is bound for a new planet. But fifty years before she's due to arrive, she is violently woken, the victim of an attempted murder. Now Amy's lost on board and nothing makes sense - she's never felt so alone.

Yet someone is waiting for her. He wants to protect her; and more if she'll let him.

But who can she trust amidst the secrets and lies? A killer is out there – and Amy has nowhere to hide . . .

My thoughts: 

Thankfully both authors are totally rockin' and messaged back. :)

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Who doesn't love a novel that is absolutely plagued with mystery all throughout, leaving its readers guessing right until its thrilling and shocking conclusion? Who can resist a book that introduces readers to a strong base of characters that are hard not to love?

Holy Frex. I am once again left speechless. Across the Universe Blew. Me. Away.

First off, let me just thank Beth Revis for writing AtU, and Penguin Australia & Razorbill for publishing it. Never before would I have believed that I could actually fall in love with a novel that is classified as a sci-fi! But there it is.

Over a week has passed since my reading it, so I'll write a wrap-up of my thoughts in dot-point form.

Positives

• Perspectives
  Across the Universe is written in dual perspectives: Amy and Elders'. Both main characters' stories and backgrounds are enunciated and explored. :)
• The CharactersThese characters, and all others, have heart. They are so, so different to what I'm used to, but they all have qualities that somehow I can reach towards. I was akin to their intentions and their feelings.
• Amy: a seventeen year old girl from 300 years before this novel takes place, and has been frozen along with her parents on Godspeed. She has red hair, fair skin and green eyes. 
• Elder: the one next in waiting to be ruler of the people on the ship. He is sixteen, and like the rest of the population, has dark skin and hair. He is impulsive and adventurous, unlike Eldest. 
• Eldest: current ruler of the ship. Shrouded in a dark past, Eldest has a lot he is hiding from Elder. 
• Harley: "mentally ill" for being a free-thinker. He's an amazing artist, and I just loved him. 
• Pageturner
  At 400 pages, this one is a doozy, but I got through to the end rather quickly.
• Romantic
  Not even just the one between Elder and Amy. There is even capital 'R' Romantic in Across the Universe. The olden time Romantic. And I think it is this quality that I will be looking for in the future when trying to find more sci-fi YA novels. 
• Beautifully written  

Negatives

• The wait
  Revis hasn't even announced the second novel's release date. :(

Beth sure has me waiting on edge for the next book. This is going to be HUGE when it hits stores in early January!

Quotes:

"What can I tell them about Earth? How can I describe how the air smells different, how the earth feels richer, how you yourself are different, just from knowing the entire world is at your disposal? Should I start with the mountains always hidden in clouds and snow--or do they even know what those words mean: cloud, and snow, and mountain? I could tell them about the different kinds of rain, pouring rain that 's perfect for when you want to stay inside and watch a movie or read, or piercing rain that feels like needles in your skin, or soft summer rain, that makes your first kiss with your first love all the sweeter.
They look at me eagerly, wanting to hear about the planer I called home.
I begin with the sky." (pg. 152)

Buy:

Live in Australia?

Fishpond | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

Live elsewhere?

Amazon | The Book Depository

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Series:

Not yet announced.

Challenge: 2011 Debut Author Challenge

Other Reviews:

• "...from now on I will watch Beth with anticipation."
  - Misty (5 stars)
• "Across the Universe is such an amazing and original read that I can’t praise enough"
  - Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life (5 stars)
• "Across the Universe is a book that you will get lost in and completely forget about the rest of the world. Utterly captivating."
  - Nic, Irresistable Reads (5 stars)
• "Across The Universe is full of twists and turns, which made for an unpredictable plot and a fantastic ending!"
  - Mundie Moms (4.5 stars)
• "‘Across the Universe’ is a dystopian sci-fi romance extravaganza. . . epic and beautiful"
  - ALPHA Reader (5 stars)
  
  

I'd love to read your reviews! Leave a comment with a link to your review and I'll add it to the list. ;)

Learn more about Across the Universe and read more reviews at Goodreads! 

[Miniview] Beth Revis, author of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE!

THE BOOK

AMY has left the life she loves for a world 300 years away

Trapped in space and frozen in time, Amy is bound for a new planet. But fifty years before she's due to arrive, she is violently woken, the victim of an attempted murder. Now Amy's lost on board and nothing makes sense - she's never felt so alone.

Yet someone is waiting for her. He wants to protect her; and more if she'll let him.

But who can she trust amidst the secrets and lies? A killer is out there – and Amy has nowhere to hide . . .




Ooh, Razorbill is sneaky! Not only did they slightly alter the tagline; they have "fixed" up the male figure, just like with the US release. While this is more aesthetically pleasing, I'm still a bit urked by this progression. Your thoughts?

THE MINIVIEW

Miniviews are tiny interviews. These are for when I'm lazy, or when the book has not yet been released, or if there have been many, many interviews already and I have not got many new things to add on to the table.

Q: The story in Across the Universe is told in dual perspectives. I've been curious as to how you made it work so well. Tell us your secret, and will this continue on to the next books?

A: I didn't have any secret in making the dual POVs--it's just the way the story *had* to be told. I don't mean that in any sparkly, metaphysical way--I mean that for the story to be told, I absolutely needed to have both characters telling the story from their points of view. I guess, my short answer is: necessity is the mother of invention (or in this case, writing).

And yes--the alternating POVs will continue in the next two books!

Q: It is not uncommon that a book cover changes since its ARC release. However, with your debut, Across the Universe, the cover change also involved "beautifying" the male figure. Did you have a say in this, and what do you feel about it?

A: While Penguin marketing did ask my opinion on the book covers and were extremely gracious in working with me, I'm nowhere near creative enough to be given free-reign on book covers!

Q: The famous question-- "What was your journey to publication like?"

A: Long! I wrote for ten years--and I wrote ten trunk novels--before I wrote the right manuscript at the right time that enabled me to find the right agent and right publisher. 

Q: Is there anything you can tell us about the next book/s in the series? Can we expect more shocking deaths and mysterious occurences?

A:  Not really! My lips are pretty sealed on the topic--I don't want to ruin any surprises. But I'll officially confirm: more people are gonna die. That's just how I roll...

Last message from Beth:

Thank you for the questions! And I am *so* glad that you liked the book. And dude--I just saw a hard copy of it, and the embossing in the hardback is...stunning. I can't wait to share it with the world!

Going to launch the December contest on the 11th 9th! Penguin's made sure that it's epic!!

Thanks again,

Beth

THE AUTHOR

Beth is a former high-school English teacher, and it is for this reason that she has stayed away from school in her debut novel-turned-series, Across the Universe. (kidding)

Beth can’t help but blog about writing, grammar, and publishing at Writing it Out. She is the founder of the new popular dystopian blog, the League of Extraordinary Writers and blows off steam by trying to come up with something witty in 140 characters or less, lusting after books on GoodReads, or wasting time on Facebook. Beth is represented by Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House.

Teaser Tuesday (11): Across the Universe

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Grab the book you are currently reading and randomly post a couple sentences.

I've always been terrible at keeping with 2 sentences. Can you tell?

"What can I tell them about Earth? How can I describe how the air smells different, how the earth feels richer, how you yourself are different, just from knowing the entire world is at your disposal? Should I start with the mountains always hidden in clouds and snow--or do they even know what those words mean: cloud, and snow, and mountain? I could tell them about the different kinds of rain, pouring rain that 's perfect for when you want to stay inside and watch a movie or read, or piercing rain that feels like needles in your skin, or soft summer rain, that makes your first kiss with your first love all the sweeter.
     They look at me eagerly, wanting to hear about the planer I called home.
     I begin with the sky." (pg. 152)

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Pages: 390

Release date: 4th January 2011 (Penguin Australia)

Genre: YA, sci-fi, romance

Ages: 14+

Blurb (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.

 Hope you enjoy this week's Teaser Tuesday!

What are you reading?

[Elevensies Love #3] Beth Revis, author of Across the Universe

I, like many of you, love debut authors and so to hit off the new year a bit early, I'm doing a weekly feature here. These features will introduce you to new YA authors for 2011: blurbs, links and giveaways--no giveaways from me, but I'll scour the 'net and see if there are any going on at the moment. If I were organised I'd have come up with some interview questions for the authors, but I'm not that smart. :P

Beth Revis...

lives in rural North Carolina with her husband and dog, and believes space is nowhere near the final frontier. Across the Universe is her first novel. Her debut novel, Across the Universe, is coming from Razorbill/Penguin in Spring 2011. A former high-school English teacher, Beth can’t help but blog about writing, grammar, and publishing at Writing it Out.

* ACROSS THE UNIVERSE *

Author: Beth Revis

Release Date: January 4th (UK) /11th (US) 2011

Publisher: Razorbill, Penguin

Genre: Sci-fi, mystery

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 awake 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 a 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.

Don't you love the cover? Unfortunately it seems Australia & UK are sticking with the old cover, but the content will stay the same. ;) Anyone who has read it already has RAVED about this book. It should prove to be a great read, even to non-sci-fi fans.

Early Reviews:

• "I spent one whole day with my eyes glued to the page, my heart beating out a samba in my chest and my hands were shaking as I read the last page."- Alpha Reader

MORE EARLY REVIEWS

Interviews

THE INTERVIEWS

Follow Beth:
Check out Beth's site
Follow Beth's blog
Twitter | Facebook | Email
Goodreads

Giveaways

Beth is hosting another SUPER giveaway in December. Follow her blog to keep updated!!

US only giveaway at GOODREADS. {link} Ends Dec-01

Pre-order

The Book Depository | Amazon

Australians can support Aussie shops!

~~~

Learn even more about Beth Revis here!

That's it for this week's Elevensies Love featurette!

In the future I'll be able to host more contests--I've emailed a small number of 2011 authors, and I will be giving away swag in the future. ;)

Previously on Elevensies Love:

Sara Bennett Wealer, Rival (Feb 2011)

Kirsten Hubbard, Like Mandarin (March 2011)
Beth Revis, Across the Universe (Jan 2011)

Trapped in space and frozen in time . . .

Old

New

I am, of course, talking about Across the Universe by Beth Revis! Now, I was lucky, and thanks to Penguin Australia, I already have my own ARC/proof. However, for all of you who don't, and are DYING to get your hands on an early copy, and even more--if you live in Australia; this giveaway is for you! (Ends Oct-20)

If you do end up scoring an ARC, remember you are not to sell it!! Respect the ARC. :)

Tell your friends, tell your blogger buddies, tell anyone who cares about books. There's no denying it. Across the Universe is going to be BIG when it hits stores.

I'm unsure whether or not the UK & Australia will be getting the new cover, but even if not, it looks fabulous! 

Amy has left the life she loves for a world 300 years away

Trapped in space and frozen in time, Amy is bound for a new planet. But fifty years before she's due to arrive, she is violently woken, the victim of an attempted murder. Now Amy's lost on board and nothing makes sense - she's never felt so alone.

Yet someone is waiting for her. He wants to protect her; and more if she'll let him.

But who can she trust amidst the secrets and lies? A killer is out there – and Amy has nowhere to hide . . .

 This book is hitting stores (worldwide?) January 4/11th 2011. Mark your calendars!

Check out more...
First chapter preview
Beth Revis' site
Beth Revis' blog
Across the Universe site
Contact Beth Revis

Waiting on Wednesday (7)

What's happened last week (9-15 Sep)?
- I'm currently reading Minder by Kate Kaynak
- The contest for Nightshade by Andrea Cremer is still rolling along. Hosting for Squeaky Books!
- I'm taking part of the ARC Tour for Daughter of Xanadu {link}
- Review: The Dead by David Gatward {link}

ALSO...
- Epic Giveaway of Epic Epicness! {♥}Ends Sep-25
- Win a copy of Firelight by Sophie Jordan (ARC)! It's international, guys! {♥} Ends Sep-30

- Four prize packs to choose from to win! Intl' {♥} Ends Oct-15
- Six Month Blogoversary Giveaway Intl' {♥} Ends Oct-27

Anyway...

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

For this week, I am swooning over Across the Universe by Beth Revis, which is due for release on January 2011! I actually just received an ARC of this in the mail today. I flipped out when Erin at Penguin Australia (Between the Lines) let me know that it'd been sent over to my place, and now it's here and sitting happily on my shelf! Looking beautiful . . .

Why I'm Waiting on Across the Universe:

On the back of the UK ARC, the first thing it says is "Titanic meets Avatar". Sounds good to me! I've read the first chapter preview and not only does it sound extremely well written, but it's eye catching and intriguing. Definitely a book to look out for! Also, looking through the book, it seems as though the book may be written in DUAL-POVs!! Did I not mention yet that the cover is BEAUTIFUL? Also, on my bookshelf, it is so so so eye-catching and just in your face. I'm usually not for sci-fi, but this sounds really good! It's not even sci-fi, so much as it is a romance, thriller/drama/suspense, YA . . .

Synopsis (Goodreads--US):

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.

Links:
Goodreads page

There's more! Looking for ARCs or swag for AtU? Well, Beth is kind enough to offer her help. Click the {link} and fill in the form to apply for some ARCs/swag, and she has even given some links to recent giveaways! You won't want to miss this. :)

Thanks for visiting my weekly WoW post. 2011 is looking to be a promising year in the YA book department. ♥

What are you waiting on this week?