Author: Beth Revis
First Published: January 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Series: Across the Universe #2
386 pages
Well, colour me surprised. I didn’t have my expectations too high for this book initially. I loved Across the Universe which was the first book, but my experience with the middle book of YA sci-fi/dystopian trilogies wasn’t too good (Catching Fire and Insurgent come to mind) even if I loved the first one, so I was wary going into this second one. However, it turns out I loved this book. I think it was even better than the first one!
After the shocking revelation that happened at the end of book one, it turns out not all of Godspeed‘s secrets are revealed yet. Orion, murderer of several of the cryo-frozen Earth humans, is locked and frozen away in his own cryo-chamber, but is still haunting Amy. He has left a series of clues that will guide Amy to what he calls the “true” secret of Godspeed. However, someone else is sabotaging all the clues, meaning someone already knows the secret and is desperate to keep it that way. In the meantime, Elder is fighting for his right to rule the ship. His leadership is called into question, by his very own best friend, and the entire ship is at the brink of a mutiny. At the same time, he must also figure out how to get Godspeed‘s engines running again so that they are not stranded in space for all of eternity.
I truly enjoyed this book, but it is not without its flaws, so I will get those out of the way first. I felt a teensy bit miffed, I guess, that the so-called secret revealed at the end of book one was brushed aside with the “real” secret in book two. I felt like it made the ending of book one a little cheap, like it doesn’t matter. I also felt that when Amy was hunting down the clues, it sometimes felt like she took a great leap of logic in order to get the next hint, and that kind of bugged me too. Lastly, Amy was kind of annoying near the end of the book. I felt bad for Elder, who had to put up with her while also juggling his responsibilities as the leader.
The plot starts off a bit on the slow side, but quickly builds momentum. I was totally sucked into the mystery and it was driving me crazy with curiosity! I stayed up very late reading this book, I just had to find out what the “true” secret was. After all, the entire ship seemed to be in a pretty hopeless and doomed situation at the end of book one. I knew it had to be a secret that gave the ship hope. I had two theories, and actually one of mine turned out to be correct, although I didn’t know the exact details. Even though I had my suspicions on what the secret could possibly be about, I was still in awe when it was all revealed. A Million Suns also has a shocking ending like its predecessor, and I’m so upset that I won’t be able to find out what happens until next year, when the third book comes out.
I also want to say it was really great reading about Elder’s character and how he develops. He is thrusted into a leadership position before he’s completely ready, but does his best in the role. Sometimes he comes across really difficult decisions where there isn’t a clear right or wrong answer. He also had to go up against all the people who doubt his abilities. It made me think, “What would I do in this situation?” I don’t know what I would do in his position, he comes up against some tough problems. I think Elder’s character was the best developed in this book. Amy, on the other hand, was pretty much the same as book one.
I don’t really have too much else to say on this book. It was just a really good read, and for the most part, I can just sit and be completely absorbed into the story without a care for anything else. I love it when a book can do that to me! I am definitely looking forward to the third and final book, can’t wait to see how it all ends.
My Rating: 5/5
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