An unsolicited review of Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Across
the Universe, by Beth Revis, is a Young Adult dystopian novel about a 300-year mission to settle
a new home on Centauri-Earth because resources on Sol-Earth have been depleted.
The story is told from the first-person point-of-view of two teenagers. Amy was
born on Earth and raised in a traditional family. Elder was cloned on the space
ship, Godspeed, during its trip and doesn’t
understand the concept of family. The chapters alternate between these two main
characters to set up the contrast between Earth-that-was and the social changes
that have occurred during the multi-generational trip.
The story’s opening grabs the audience with Amy facing
a teenagers’ worst fears: leaving her home, her boyfriend, losing her parents,
and seeing them naked. Amy’s mother is a scientist renowned for her genetic
splicing work, which will help grow crops in the alien soil. She’s essential to
the mission and must go. Her father is a battlefield analyst in the Army, a
tertiary figure in the overall goal to claim a new planet for humanity. Amy’s
mother wants her to go with them, so thinks Amy should be the first to be
processed in the cryogenics chambers. Amy’s father insists that Mom goes first
so Amy can see the process. And what a process it is! Amy sees her mother naked
for the first time and it surprised by “her…rice-paper-thin” skin and “her
stomach [which] sagged in a wrinkly sort of way that made her look even more
vulnerable and weak.” No wonder Amy is disconcerted by the workers’
indifference while processing Mom in a clear cryo box that looks like a coffin.
These uncaring workers pierce Mom’s pale skin with IV needles and simple say,
“Relax,” which is “not a kind suggestion.” The fluid in the IV bag is as thick
as honey and Mom “hissed in pain… [her eyes] filled with water.” If that
weren’t bad enough, the second IV bag is filled with “blue goo… [that]
glowed…her eyes were clamped shut, two hot tears dangling on her lashes.” As
the indifferent worker squeezes the IV bag to force the fluid faster, Mom bites
her lip until it bleeds and she “whimper[s], soft, like a dying kitten.”
Watching Mom in the cryo bed reminds Amy of another coffin when she was “looking
down at Grandma last year at the church, when we all said goodbye.” The workers
are impatient to “get on with it” as they push lens into Mom’s eyes with “big,
calloused” hands. Then they force three thick tubes down Mom’s throat and the
cryo bed fills with “water flecked with sky-blue sparkles.” After watching this
terrifying process, Daddy surprises Amy by giving her a choice of whether to go
through the cryo process and travel to the new planet with them or to stay on
Earth with her aunt and friends. He then goes through the process himself,
leaving Amy to choose without parental input. The choice between the familiarities
of the life she’s known or the uncertain life that would keep Amy with her
parents is difficult. Dad giving Amy this choice shows he respects her as a
young adult. It’s an adult choice thrust upon on a teenager, but what teenager
doesn’t want that respect from their parents? Both prospects seem terrifying to
Amy, however she chooses to go with her parents. Amy’s goes through the painful
freezing process, consoling herself with, “At least I’ll sleep. I will forget,
for three hundred and one years, everything else.” But Amy’s cryogenic state is
anything but unconscious. She thinks about her old life and floats in an
uncertain consciousness the entire time she’s frozen.
By contrast, Elder doesn’t have a choice which path
his life takes. He was cloned specifically to be the next leader of the Godspeed as it hurdles half-way through
its journey to Centauri-Earth. The ship is divided into different levels and
the only the current and future leaders are allowed on the Keeper Level. Eldest
and Elder share this level, but not all the knowledge of its workings. The
Shipper Level is only for those who maintain the ship and the Feeder Level is
for the simpler farmers and their fields. Though the ship is huge, it’s still
confining for the growing population, so privacy and closed doors are greatly
respected. Therefore there are no locked doors on Godspeed… except one. Eldest keeps his room locked and keeps
secrets that are important for Elder to know as future leader. Eldest has also
kept Elder from seeing the great engine that powers the ship and the hatches
through which the stars can be viewed. And certain files about the Plague that
wiped out a large portion of the population. It’s little wonder that
16-year-old Elder is frustrated by his mentor’s secretiveness. Eldest reluctantly
reveals his secrets one at a time and only as needed for training his student. It
is a sign that Eldest lacks respect and trust for Elder. Though the people see
Eldest as a compassionate protector who is always kind to them, Elder sees his
flashes of rage and his threatening demeanor. The tension between Elder and
Eldest is apparent and we know there is trouble brewing.
The plot moves smoothly from one crisis to another,
leaving small clues as to the next predicament awaiting the two teenagers. It
is resplendent with description of the new culture that has evolved over
generations in space, but not to the point of being a distraction to the
reader. I recommend this book, not only to young readers, but to adults who
sometimes need a simpler read without impediments. My sister recommended this
book to me, so I, in turn, recommend it to you.
Happy reading until the next book review. If you care
to join me, I’ll be reading Red Rising
by Pierce Brown. Please don’t forget to add your comments agreeing or
disagreeing with my opinion and adding your take on the story.
