A Million Suns (Across the Universe #2) by Beth Revis
Published April 5th 2012 by Puffin (first published January 10th 2012)
Source: received as present
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Goodreads Summary: Trapped on board the spaceship Godspeed, Amy trusts no-one. The ship's ruler is dead and a rebellion threatens. Amy wants to help Elder as he tries to take charge, but she's torn between her feelings for him and the chaos that's pulling everything apart. As more harrowing discoveries are made about Godspeed, Amy is caught in a desperate race to unravel its secrets. Only one thing is certain. They have to get off this ship.
I've read the sequel to Across The Universe some time back, but haven't been able to write a review until now. Probably because I seriously don't know what to say to get the message across. I absolutely love the series, loved it since the first chapter of AtU, and AMS only pushed my fangirlyness to the point that I die a little bit every time I see someone reviewing Shades of Earth. I am *that* desperate to read it. But luckily January isn't far away anymore.
Another reason why it's difficult to write a review of AMS is that it will probably be full of SPOILERS. I advise you not to read on after this paragraph unless you have read AMS or are not bothered by spoilers (I don't mind them, but in this particular case, I would have hated if someone rid me of that gut-punching moment I experienced with AMS.) So if you stopped reading right here, you need to know that Beth Revis delivers an exciting, thrilling and mysterious sequel, and if you loved Across the Universe, A Million Suns has a lot surprises for you.
One of the reasons why I enjoyed AMS a tad less than AtU was something that bothers me with Vampire Diaries as well. If a character is dead, can't he just stay dead? Not pop up at some completely random moment? I was afraid that Orion's "reaperance" would bother me more, but as the story progresses, and Amy discovers the clues he left for her, I grew to enjoy the mystery and like Orion considerably more that before. Godspeed hides secret concealed between and behind) its skeleton. Such secrets that, when it came on the page, I gasped loudly, closed the book and looked up around me. (Yes, the world was still spinning, no one on the bus noticed me going pale.) If that moment, that big revelation, is all that you are taking from AMS, it is so worth it. Maybe I should have seen it coming, but I didn't, and the surprise knocked the wind out of me.
Elder goes through significant changes in the course of the novel. While he tries to fill in Eldest's shoes, but remain true to himself and lead in a way different that Eldest's, he finds out that he is too similar to Eldest to deviate from a path that has been established for him generations ago. It was heartbreaking at moments to watch him struggle against the heritage of his genes, but the conflicts he harbors within made for a great character arch and empathy on my side.
Amy has undergone lots of changes as well. Her resignation at the beginning morphs into initiative that could save everyone on Godspeed. Other minor characters are given more attention (oh, Harley, you poor darling).
As for the ending...brace yourself. A huge cliffhanger. I'd volunteer to enter the Hunger Games arena if the price was an ARC of Shades of Earth.
