[openbook booknumber=”9781595143976″]
Across the Universe is an excellent young adult science fiction novel.
Across the Universe takes place on the first generation ship launched from Earth in our relatively near future. It’s told from two different points of view, alternating by chapter.
While not as action-packed as The Hunger Games, which I see Across the Universe being compared to in other reviews, it deals with the same themes of authority, rebellion, and relationships. Similarly, it doesn’t presume knowledge of science fiction tropes and culture.
While I haven’t confirmed it by asking someone younger than myself, I believe the beginning five pages are a good hook–in fact, I believe they grab you better than a lot of the recent YA sf does.
In summary:
Is engaging within 5 pages: check!
Doesn’t require the reader to be an experienced SF reader: check!
Deals with authority, rebellion, relationships: check!
Across the Universe will be released January 11th, 2011.
Update:
Across the Universe is the first time I’ve even glimpsed inside the machinations of a modern teen book launch.
There’s a short launch day author video:
which is is different than the book trailer:
and of course, there’s an Across the Universe Facebook fan page.
The book website has interactive diagrams of the ship, done up pretty nicely. Normally I hate flashy interfaces, but it was kinda cute how you could zoom up and get cutaways of the different sections of the ship.
One of the things I do when I read a book I enjoy is look for the author on Twitter. Sometimes they’re fun to follow. Beth Revis, the author of Across the Universe, has a static website, a blog, and a Twitter page, @bethrevis.
Something that’s kinda awesome is that io9 will be posting a 111 pg excerpt from 11:11 AM Eastern to 11:11 PM Eastern on 01.11.11. That’s a substantial portion of the book! The first chapter seems to be on Beth’s site in a more permanent capacity.
All of this is put on by Penguin Teen, which has its own Twitter and Facebook pages.
Anyway, now that it’s released, Across the Universe is available at Amazon, your local indie bookstore, and hopefully your local library!