Zoe N. reviewed on 9/15/2013 + 20 more book reviews

I can definitely say I have mixed emotions on Across the Universe. I really did enjoy the concept of the story (life in space), but the actual writing was nowhere near my standards - there were so many errors!

The first thing I want to critique is the pacing. It took me so long to actually "get into" the book (which never really happened...), and Beth Revis took so long to simply state a fact or make a point.

Now to the characters...I was actually hoping the characters were going to save the book from a horrible fate. But no; Amy and Elder are just like your average YA dystopia / sci-fi protagonists. They're not very well thought out and I couldn't really feel for them. They both seemed unrealistic and underdeveloped.

Another critique I want to make is that this book is so darn predictable! The mystery element wasn't hard to decipher; Beth Revis's clues were easy to "crack" and "decode." However, there was one twist at the end of the book that I was NOT expecting (you'll know what I mean if you've already read the book...)!

My final critique is the story had no backstory! There is no explanation about why anyone left Earth in the first place. What is so depressing that people are willing to freeze themselves alive so they can avoid being there? It would be nice (and less confusing) if Revis took out all the extra, unnecessary details and replaced them with a solid, sensible backstory.

All in all, I really liked the concept for Across the Universe - it sounded like a great sci-fi novel. And it was - I really DID enjoy it, but there were just so many errors in the writing that it almost pained me to finish it.
        I will definitely not be finishing the rest of the trilogy. However, I would recommend this to fans of sci-fi novels, space exploration, and specifically the novel I am Number Four and Starglass. Happy reading!

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