Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication: January 15th, 2013
Page Count: 369
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Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.

But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.

Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.

FUELED BY LIES.
RULED BY CHAOS.
ALMOST HOME.

When Across the Universe first came out, I was hesitant to start it.  I wasn't much for futuristic, sci-fi kind of books, but the cover (the original one!) drew me in like a moth to a flame.  So when I finally got around to reading it and gobbling it up like it was Thanksgiving dinner, I knew that I was in for one heck of a ride.  Revis's writing is ingenious and all of the plot twists really know how to keep me at the edge of my seat.

Amy, I think, will always be one of my favorite heroines in the YA genre.  She didn't annoy me or make these extremely stupid mistakes that made you ponder the common sense of the majority of society.  She was a fierce and determined girl that didn't care what others thought of her.  Her character development grew gradually throughout the entire series, but her overall personality stayed consistent and believable.  I know that if I were to be involved in some type of rebellion/revolution kind of setting, I'd want this girl on my side.

Things got crazy in this book!  This was the moment all of us--including the characters--have been waiting for!  Centauri-Earth!  We were finally going to see what this planet was all about!  Danger lurks around every corner for them and even forces within threaten the fragile unity of Sol-Earth and shipborn passengers.  I mean, this is a Beth Revis book, so there isn't going to be some fairytale ending kind of thing going on.   Obviously, people are going to die and things are going to get blown up and things are just going to be so frexing awesome.  Never once was there a dull moment, the plot was twisty-turny as always, and the pace was quick and full of action and discovery.

I don't think I've ever loved Elder as much as I did in Shades of Earth.  He really found his voice and his place in the colony.  He took charge and showed everyone that he was still to his people and to others.  I loved being inside his head as he began to fall harder and harder for Amy and how stronger he became.

Shades of Earth was the perfect ending to an amazing series.  It was a thrilling and intoxicating read that kept me on my toes.  Emotions were high (including mine!), plots were twisted at their abdomens, and tears were in abundance.  Fans of this series will love this book for obvious reasons, and if you haven't read it yet, frexing read it before I frexing throw the book at your frexing face.

A Million Suns by Beth Revis

I read this book right after I read Across the Universe, and let's just say I was extremely excited to see what would happen next.  After reading the first book, I had a change of heart about Sci-fi/dystopian shtoof, so I was eager to delve deep into Amy and Elder's story.

The Synopsis:
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:
So, I'm not going to do anything that refers to Across the Universe, the movie, because, well, the title of this book isn't Across the Universe.  Yup.  Soooo, that's not happening, no matter how many more times I'd like to talk about my love of that movie.
This book did not change my new thoughts about this kind of genre, if anything, it strengthened my positive opinion about it.  It's something completely different from what I'm usually used to reading.  It's still not exactly what I'd consider to be my cup of tea, but I do thoroughly enjoy it.  There's the fast-paced action, and there's more at stake in A Million Suns.  Now that Orion was frozen, more lies have been uncovered.  And you know the thing is, I kinda liked him in the first book.  He had answers and he was pretty cool.
Now in this book, the stakes are up higher than ever.  Now that the entire ship is off the drug, they're now their own person.  And they're angry.  A rebellion starts, one that wouldn't be the size of any modern-day rebellion, but one that's strong enough that Elder nor the ship is prepared for.  Honestly, I found the rebellion thing annoying.  It put twists and turns into the plot, but I just thought it was annoying.  And those med patches!  Don't even get me started on those!  I guess since I come from Earth and wasn't born on a Centari-Earth-bound spaceship, I don't agree with their ways.  It was a little much for me.  But that's the cool thing about Sci-fi, I guess.
Amy is as strong as ever, which I was glad to see.  Her character never faltered and she stayed true to her plans and ideas.  And her determination was yet another thing I admired about her.  A trail of clues appear that could unearth MORE lies that are ridden throughout the ship and never does she ever think to stop searching, even when things start to get dangerous.  The only thing that would disturb me about her personality was the fact that she becomes very cold and hard, a shell of her original self that was brought on by all of the BS that happens on Godspeed.
Elder, he was just an annoying little bugger again.  The one thing I liked was that he would do anything to impress and satisfy Amy.  Practically anything.  And my heart soared and sung with the sweetness of his genuine caring and love for her.  I believe that he is a perfect guy on the inside--and he wants to be that perfect guy--but with all the happenings going on, he couldn't exactly be as personal as he would like to be with Amy.  So, I forgave him for the time being.
And the plot line couldn't be any more twisted than what it was before! Whew!  My mind was BLOWN once again with all the lies and deception.  I can't even imagine how Beth Revis does it, but she does it successfully.  It isn't in the least confusing; all of it is explained and unraveled in time and detail. 
Overall, this baby gets four out of five shiny stars directly from space.  The plot kept me hooked and I could barely put the book down.  I'm excited to see what the end will bring, and I'm smart enough to know not to predict what might happen because I would be wrong.  This book is Beth Revis and only Beth Revis would know what to do for this book.  So, I'll leave it in her very capable hands to let the story end, with most likely, a huge bang.
Happy reading, everyone!

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

No, not this Across the Universe, although, that was one wicked awesome movie.  I was thinking more of this Across the Universe:

I'm not sure why I didn't read this book any earlier because it was awesome.  I almost picked it up numerous amounts of times and almost got it yet again at Breathless Reads in February, but I didn't.  I was convinced that I was a No Dystopian kind of person.  I think I Am Legend--remember that movie?--kind of spoiled the wonder of it for me.  Though, I was a youngin then that was scared of everything that went bump in the night.  But I think what really convinced me to pick up this book and read it was Beth Revis when I met her at Breathless Reads.  She's amazing, you guys.  She loves violence and killing off a whole bunch of people, but also those tender and heartfelt smooching scenes that makes your heart swoon and your mind sigh.  I may not be a romantic, but I sure enjoy having those brief moments of it in books.  I think they really do make a YA book.  They make it whole.  And just between you and me, I'm a hopeless romantic deep down.  Might as well tell you guys this now.

So overall, it was the hilarious and completely mad scientist-like Beth Revis that convinced me that I should read Across the Universe before I die.

The Synopsis:

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.

My Thoughts:

I loved Amy.  She was tough as nails and didn't take any crap from anyone, including the most powerful person on the ship, Eldest.  She never really broke down, no matter how upset she was.  I really admired that about her personality.  She hated it on board Godspeed because it wasn't Earth.  It wasn't freedom.  Everything was artificial, including the people.  Lies were tangled around every thought and hung like a dark cloud of doom to Amy.  And she wasn't about to sit back and take it all; she was going to find out the truth, no matter what people thought of her: crazy, different, slow, unwanted, a freak.  I was applauding her every step of the way.  And honestly, if I were her, I probably would have cried like a little baby 90 percent of the day and then stuffed my face with as much space chocolate I could find.  Though, they don't have any chocolate or candy, for that matter, and I think that 90 would be a 100 instead.

Elder wasn't exactly my favorite swoon-worthy man, but I really liked his character, too.  He was different in my eyes as Amy is in his.  I surely don't agree with everything he did.  Sometimes, I really wanted to punch him in the face because he was being such a stupid space monkey butt.  I'm not kidding.  It was infuriating, and the biggest problem I thought was that Amy and Elder never really communicated.  They never really talked about their feelings and their ideas, because most of times either Elder was busy or being a jerk or Amy was storming off.  I was practically pulling my hair out throughout the book.

AND THEN THEY KISSED.

And I died.  Not literally, of course, but I thought it was sweet and the hopeless romantic in me was squeeing like a little girl.  It was perfect in every sense and it reminded me of that one Taylor Swift song, I believe, if my memory doesn't fail me here.

The overall story?  It was awesomesauce.  There were so many surprises and plot twists and loops, it hurt my head.  In all of my creative mind, I could not ever in my wildest dreams come up with all she did.  I thought it would go one way, but no, Beth Revis wanted it to skip ten billion feet and do a backwards flip over there. 

It was a fascinating read that kept me hooked on every page.  It was dripping with action and betrayal and awesomeness.  If I review any more, I'm bound to spoil something, and like my blog promises, I do not spoil.  So, there will be no spoils since I'm closing the review here.  If you haven't read Across the Universe, I suggest you do.  Overall, this lovely gets four out of five stars from me.  This could be because of my reluctance towards dystopians, but I feel as if it was missing just that extra wow factor to it.  Don't get me wrong, there was plenty wow to it, but it's not quite there yet.

And because I'm such a romantic here you go!  This is because I love The Beetles, Jim Sturgess, this song, this movie, and love--duh.

And that's it for my Across the Universe review! Up next, A Million Suns by Beth Revis--oh, yeah!