Across the Universe (Across the Universe Trilogy 1) by Beth Revis

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Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents in a cryogenic state as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awake 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... read more

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Summary edit see section history

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... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Characters edit see section history

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Amy Martin: Amy is a teen girl who chooses to be cryogenically frozen along with her parents. She is supposed to be frozen until they reach a new planet, but something goes wrong. She is a strong-willed individual who loves to run. She has red hair and pale skin, which stands out to the inhabitants of the monoethnic ship. Number 42.
Elder: Elder to born successor of the leader of the ship, Eldest, and his clone. He is currently in training to succeed Eldest; Eldest is teaching him. He often challenges Eldest on the lessons and is somewhat rebellious. He has olive skin, cinnamon colored eyes and is a mix of races. His people on the ship are monoethnic.
Eldest: The current leader of the ship and Elder's instructor.
Orion: Orion works in the recorder hall. He is quiet, reserved, and helpful. He leads Elder to an important revelation. He is, however, a very mysterious character and keeps to himself.
Harley: Harley is Elder's best friend. He is an artist who lives in the Mental Ward of the hospital. He is extremely devoted to Elder and is caring and kind.
Doc: The doctor on board the ship. Normally defers to and sides with Eldest's decisions.
Steela: An elderly woman who leads the group of farmers responsible for a portion of the ship's food supply. She defends Amy when no one else will and she plays a role in uncovering a secret kept for years by Eldest. A Gray, one of the last of her generation.
Maria Martin: Amy's mother and a genetic splicer who is needed on Centauri-Earth; Number 40
Robert Martin: Amy's dad; battlefield analyst; 6th in command; Number 41
Victria: She is an author and fears the new world
Luthe: Creepy guitar playing guy in the Ward. Is constantly staring at Amy
William Robertson: Numer 100; leadership specialist, cryogenically frozen.
Theo Kennedy: Number 26; bioweapon specialist.
Kayleigh: Harley's girlfriend; she killed herself. Because Amy reminds Harley of her, Harley nicknames her "Little Fish" after Kayleigh's beloved koi fish.
Jason: Amy's boyfriend from Sol-Earth
Edmund Albert Davis: One of the men who froze Amy and then joined the ship's crew.
Hassan: One of the men who froze Amy.
Edmund Alvis Davis Junior: Son of Edmund Davis. First person born on Godspeed.

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Quotes edit see section history

“"I'm the one who unplugged you."”
-Spoiler(You can find out at the end of the book)
“"I can get closer."”
Harley
“And in her face, I see something more beautiful than the stars.”
Elder
“"Eldest is a great leader, but we disagree on the issue of differences. I like differences, quite a lot."”
Elder
“"The last man who thought that way no longer thinks at all." ... "This ship is built on secrets. It's run on secrets. And if you keep asking about them, you'll see how far I'll go to keep mine."”
Eldest
“"All better?""I'll be okay.", I say, but we both know I'm lying.”
Orion and Amy
“Amy's right, but that doesn't mean Orion's wrong.”
Elder
“More than the sound of my own beating heart, I miss the sound of a ticking clock. Time passes, it must pass....”
Amy
“"Although you should know this. I am Eldest." Good for you, I think. Congrats on being old.”
Eldest and Amy

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I realize the simple truth is that power isn’t control at all—power is strength, and giving that strength to others. A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger; a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others so that they may have the strength to stand on their own.
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This is the secret of the stars, I tell myself. In the end, we are alone. No matter how close you seem, no one else can touch you.
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I never thought about how important the sky was until I didn’t have one.
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dreams are like that: they go in and out of memories and scenes, but they’re never real. They’re never real, and I hate them because they aren’t.
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And in her smile I see something more beautiful than stars.
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Eldest has always taught me that Hitler was a wise, cultured leader for his people.
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“’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,”
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“The third cause of discord,” he says in a terrible monotone, “is individual thought. No society can thrive if a single individual can poison its members into mutiny and chaos.”
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“If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development.” —Aristotle
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And that’s why I’ll never be as good an Eldest as he is. Because I like a little chaos.
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Setting & Locations edit see section history

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GodspeedProject Ark ShipBefore Amy is frozen the ship is called Project Ark Ship and is funded by the FRX (Financial Resource Exchange). When it was built, it was the largest ship ever built. It was so big, it was built in space. Shuttle launches brought different components up. Its mission is to colonize a planet in the Alpha Centauri binary system. Alpha Centauri is the closet star to Earth at 4-5 lightyears. When Amy awakes she discovers the name of the ship is Godspeed. Godspeed has four levels which are named different things throughout the book. They are: Contingency, Feeder Level/Biological Research, The Shipper Level, The Keeper Level.

Outerspace
Keeper Level: Where Elder & Eldest Live. Also includes the learning center and great room.
Shipper Level: Where Shippers live and work. Contains the Bridge and engine.
Feeder Level: aka: Biological Research. Where the workers live. Contains the city, where Feeders work and live. It also includes farms, greenhouses, the hospital, and the recorder hall.

Organizations edit see section history

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): Nasa made the space ship where the story is based.
FRX: Financial Resource eXchange; origin of the word "frex"

First Sentence edit see section history

Daddy said, "Let Mom go first."

Table of Contents edit see section history

80 Chapters (Interchanged between Amy and Elder) Ex. Chapter 1 - Amy, Chapter 2 - Elder, Chapter 3 - Amy... etc.
Amy
Acknowledgements

Glossary edit see section history

Frex: A swearword aboard the ship, "Godspeed". It seems to replace the "F Word". Derived from FRX.
Brilly: Seems to be used in the same context as the British slang "brilliant" can be used as good or bad description.
Chutz: Is loosely tied to the word "chutzpa". Chutz however is used many different ways, all of which can be defined as "Audacity". At a closer too, it can be used to describe someone being "arrogant" or even "impertinent", to someone being "daring", having "nerve" or "boldness", to an insult of being a "moron" or "idiot".
Wi-Com: Wireless communication link. Refers to a small device implanted into the heads of all occupants of the ship, just below the left ear, that allows them to communicate instantly.
Grav Tube: a tube linked with the ships gravity allows transport between levels of the ship.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

Dysotopian and Eutopian: Describe this theme.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 4 in Across the Universe Trilogy. (standard series)

Preceded by As They Slip Away, and followed by A Million Suns.

This is book 8 of 10 in Amazon.com Best Books of January (2011). (authoritative list)

This book is in 2011 Locus Recommended Reading List: Young Adult. (authoritative list)

This book is in 2011 Published Books. (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

Beth Revis (Author)

Other Contributors:

Penguin/Razorbill (Publisher)
C.A. Marshall (Editor)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Razorbill
Country: USA
Publication Date: January 11, 2011
ISBN: 978-1595143976
Page Count: 416

Awards edit see section history

Sakura Medal (Finalist, 2012)

Classification edit see section history

Library of Congress: PZ7.R3284
Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Includes some near graphic sex scenes, pseudo cuss words replacing real cuss words, and many many adult concepts, including lots of gruesome deaths and rape.