A Million Suns

December 15, 2011
Opening soon after the bleak ending of Across the Universe (2011), this captivating middle volume takes Godspeed's 2,763 residents through commotion, twists and game-changers. Sixteen-year-old Elder (he refuses the title Eldest, despite being the ship's leader now) learned in the trilogy opener that Godspeed's weakened engine offers no chance of planet-landing for many decades. But Elder's been studying physics, and he's newly skeptical. Confronting the Shippers who physically run Godspeed begins a string of surprising reveals, and so does a set of clues left by a cryogenically frozen rebel. Among this population that's been shipborn for generations, Earthborn Amy sticks out like a sore thumb (in race-coded ways that are troubling when examined closely). Amy wants off the 10 square miles of this metal-walled spaceship. The environment (levels; elevators; fields under a solar lamp; crammed stacks of city buildings) gives the plot (food hoarding, rape, riots, revolution) an acute tension. Amy and Elder alternate narrating in first person. Their voices aren't distinct, their actions and characterizations frustrating in many ways, but it hardly matters: Revis' shining brilliance is the fierce tension about survival (is Godspeed deteriorating? can people survive terrorism inside an enclosed spaceship?) and the desperate core question of whether any generation will ever reach a planet. Setting and plot are the heart and soul of this ripping space thriller, and they're unforgettable. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 1, 2012

Gr 10 Up-In this sequel to Across the Universe (Penguin, 2011), it's been more than three months since Elder woke Amy from her cryogenic state. In that time, life on Godspeed has become increasingly dangerous and unpredictable. Since Elder demanded that the tranquilizing drug Phydus be removed from the water supply, people have awakened to their real emotions, and many are violent, angry, or depressed. Elder is faced with the very real possibility of rebellion, which he doesn't have time for because he's desperately trying to figure out what has gone wrong with the ship's engines. Also, food supplies are running low and the ship is beginning to break down. Meanwhile, Amy has found clues left for her by the murderous Orion that will lead her to a truth kept secret for many years. The first half of A Million Suns drags: the mystery that Amy is trying to solve isn't initially terribly compelling, and her relationship with Elder doesn't develop much more than in the previous book. However, his character begins to be fleshed out a bit more as he wrestles with what it means to be a leader, though this sequel isn't as strong as the first book, readers who stick with it will find themselves engrossed by the second half, and, thanks to the cliff-hanger ending, will be anxious to follow up with the third installment.-Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2011
Grades 9-12 Revis improves upon Across the Universe (2011) with this claustrophobic sequel. The 2,763 people aboard the spaceship Godspeed are finally off their mandatory meds, but instead of a burst of cooperative free will, 16-year-old leader Elder finds himself with a mutiny on his hands. Meanwhile, he and the prematurely unfrozen Amy deal with two puzzles: who is killing members of the ship, and where are the hidden clues left behind by the murderer Orion leading? Revis' interweaving of science fiction, romance, and action is deftan especially impressive feat given the condensed time line under which this story operates. Meanwhile, the bigger mysteries of the journey (why are there so many frozen military personnel on board?) are ratcheted up all the way until the effective cliffhanger ending. Implausible at times, this is nevertheless a crackerjack read, with two game-changing surprises that will effectively drop jaws. If she can deliver a winning conclusion, Revis just might make straight-up sci-fi cool again. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Across the Universe was a splashy best-selling debut, and with enhanced online content and promotion including two Comic Cons, this should deliver similarly.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)