Revis, B. (2011). Across the universe. New York, NY: Razorbill. ISBN: 978-1-59514-397-6. 398 pp.
A new planet similar to Earth in that it can support human life is found, and a teenage girl, Amy, is cryogenically frozen for a voyage to the new planet. Amy’s parents are essential for creating a new human civilization on Centauri-Earth and are frozen along with her to awaken at the end of the voyage, 300 years later. However, Amy is awakened earlier than all the other people frozen on the spaceship Godspeed. It seems as if someone has tried to murder her and is attempting to murder other frozen people. Her only hope for survival comes from the help of Elder, a teenage boy in training to be the next leader of the strange human civilization occupying Godspeed.
Critical Analysis
Readers must imagine a future where space travel for extended periods of time is possible, and the human body can be frozen to be awakened later, fully preserved. There is also the hope of finding a planet like Earth in that it can sustain human life. This is not too far a stretch from where we stand today, which enables the story to focus on the human civilization that is lead by Eldest. This colony of humans has been living on the spaceship Godspeed for hundreds of years. Godspeed is a spaceship so huge that it is possible to grow food and keep animals as well as people. This is a civilization that operates under one leader and has all its needs met, but at the cost of freedom and emotion. There are no differences, everyone looks the same and is in agreement with Eldest. However, they are unaware of what they are missing.
The story is told from two points of view: Elder, who is next in line of leading the ship, and Amy, one of the cryogenically frozen passengers. Revis uses the two different perspectives to slowly reveal just how far from normal the passengers have surpassed the present day human culture. This alone is intriguing. The mysteries of who is killing the frozen humans, awaiting a landing on Centauri-Earth, and who can be trusted make this dystopian novel extremely dramatic and exciting. The only weakness is that it is so hard to believe that anyone in Amy’s situation could cope with being thrust into an environment so strange. It is amazing she is able to stay sane. However, Amy’s survival and ability to adjust shows how strong a female character can be in a genre where leading females are few and far between. The novel also provides a chilling warning. It warns us that although our differences and individual thought cause us to fight amongst ourselves, life is meaningless if it is taken away. Our differences are a part of being human. Without them, we are like cattle.
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