ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis

Title:   ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis 

Info: YA Science Fiction/Fantasy

Published by:  Razorbill / Penguin

In Stores:  Today  1.11.11

Description:

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents 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 would be thrust into a brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone—one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship—tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn’t do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed’s hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there’s only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Cover: Pretty Cool, it is reversible and on the back has a map/blueprint of Godspeed, the ship. Although (I hate to say this) it looks better on-line than in person. I think because of it being a double cover, it doesn't stay on well at all. Definitely easier to read without the cover. Not that that's a bad thing, I often take the cover off when reading a hardcover ;-)


Review:  
I really enjoyed this book, read through it in about 2 days.  The story/point of view alternates between Elder and Amy.   And, even though at first I was unsure about the way it jumped back and forth,  I ended up really liking that.  The switching of who is telling the story allows the reader to 'see' things from 2 very different points of view.  I was able to feel the emotions of both characters.  And trust me, there's lots of stuff worth feeling here.  I like the chemistry between Elder & Amy from the beginning, through Elder's awkwardness at something so very new to him and Amy's hesitance to accept her fate.

I just found out that this is the first book in a trilogy.  I was pretty satisfied with the ending, but can definitely see that there is much more story to be told and I look forward to seeing how things develop.

New favorite words:  chutz, brilly and frex :-) Absolutely loved the way Revis used those words in the book!! I think I'll start to slip them into my everyday life, as in... Don't be a frexing Chutz, read ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, it's really Brilly!  

Thanks to my super sister, Rebecca (Sometimes NonSense) I read Beth Revis' ACROSS THE UNIVERSE last week, before it officially released. But you can get it today as it hits stores everywhere!!

Winter Fun!

We finally got our first accumulation of snow this week.  It didn't amount to much but the kids were reallly happy to get out and play!  The snow didn't really pack well and the grass was showing through in some spots, but they didn't really mind.

2010 The Year In Pictures

I seriously cannot believe that 2010 is over, done, finished, a thing of the past!  I know it's cliche, but really.. where does the time go??  Here's a look at my '2010' in pictures.  It was a good year, I could have posted a LOT more, but I picked a few of my favs to share ;-)

 

Awesome bookstore in Salem, Mass (March)

 

Easter (April)

 

Pick Up The Phone Tour (April)

 

Blue October / Pick Up The Phone Tour (April)

 

Philadelphia Creamery (May)

 

Ice Cream for Dinner - Philly (May)

 

Mom's Birthday (July)

 

First Day of School (August/Sept)

 

Jess / Alex's Lemonade Stand (October)

 

CRESCENDO Acknowledgments!  Eeeeeeek! (October)

 

Met/Interviewed Lauren Oliver (November)

 

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hollows Pt 1 (November)

 

LOL The Forbidden Journey at the HP Park (November)



Brunch with Santa (December)

Met Drew Doyon, Hush Hush Cover Model! and his Mom!! (December)




Christmas Morning, 4:45 AM - it's all done! (December)

 Here's to a happy & healthy new year!  2011 is going to kick ass!

TWLOHA Day

I readily admit that I am the world's most pathetic excuse for a blogger.  Ok now that that's out of the way...

I want to speak to you about something I am quite passionate about! Today has been branded as To Write Love on Her Arms Day.   To Write Love on Her Arms is a nonprofit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

So write the word LOVE on your arm, to support those fighting against depression. Show it off, tell others that you are supporting TWLOHA Day, helping to stop depression, and making 'love' the movement.
 

Showing the LOVE on TWLOHA Day



There's a lot of information available about TWLOHA here on their site.  They are also on Facebook, twitter, MySpace, YouTube and just about anywhere else you'd want to find them :-)  

Here's a little snippet from their site...  

We’ve learned that two out of three people who struggle with depression never seek help, and that untreated depression is the leading cause of suicide. In America alone, it’s estimated that 19 million people live with depression, and suicide is the third-leading cause of death among those 18-24 years old.


The good news is that depression is very treatable, that a very real hope exists in the face of these issues. We’ve met people who are getting the help they need, sitting across from a counselor for the first time, stepping into treatment, or reaching out to a suicide hotline in a desperate moment.

Take a minute today to read about TWLOHA because every life matters and everyone deserves to know they are LOVED!!!

Pick Up The Phone Tour in Philadelphia, April 2010

This is GREAT!!!

This sort of made my day today!!!!  How freaking great is it?? Enjoy a  "Spontaneous" performance in the Houghton College dining hall to Blue October's song "Jump Rope"

Katniss Everdeen, Girl on Fire

So today (well I guess technically yesterday, since it's 2:30 am lol) was the day. MOCKINGJAY, the 3rd and final book in the Hunger Games Trilogy came out.

We had a few failed attempts at trying to pick it up early. But, Becky was a superstar toting her son and my two kids to Barnes and Noble this morning to pick up our copies!  She kindly dropped mine off at my office for me where it sat and stared me down :-)

I had already read the first 2 chapters (during the failed attempts) and made quick time through Chapter 3 while eating my lunch.  So, as soon as I got home, I dove in, only resurfacing to make dinner, get a drink, kiss my kids goodnight... you know, the important things.  

I finished the book about half an hour ago.  There's not much I can/will say because I do not think a review should give away anything from the book and I don't think I'd be capable of sticking to that.  And also quite frankly, I am having trouble forming reasonable thoughts. 

I loved it!  That much I can say.  If I gave book ratings - this would definitely get 5 of 5 stars!

MOCKINGJAY does not disappoint. 

 If you haven't read the first 2 books in the serious (THE HUNGER GAMES and CATCHING FIRE) then get going! What are you waiting for??  :-)

 
Note:  In case you are interested....You can buy them all separately or together for great prices at Book Depository (they shop free to most places) or Amazon.  

What the Heck?

Ok so I am pathetic, yes it has been a really long time since I posted anything much here.  I said in my last post I was taking a blog break, which is itself sort of pathetic. I admit it.  And I've got no really good excuse.  What the heck is my problem??  I guess, sometimes real life gets in the way of things :-) 

I dreamt of a Summer Vacation from work and housework; I'd read, play on the Internet, Blog, Tweet, lounge by the pool, hang with the kids.  But here it is nearly the end of Summer and I have a messy house, laundry baskets of clean laundry which should be put neatly away, tons of issues with work, haven't read much at all and have two kids who are sick of coming to work with me and running around all the time. LOL, the American Dream :-)     HOWEVER, my glass is half full!    Let's focus on the positive....

Daughter hosted an Alex's Lemonade Stand this past weekend. I am so very proud of her.  Her BFF helped out as well.  The girls have raised about $300 so far! 

Jess met and exceeded all of her reading goals for the Summer. (i'm totally jealous)  I can hardly believe she's in 5th grade this year.  Man, I am getting old.

Son has had a big Summer.  After realizing he could do it all along, he learned to swim on his own.  He even 'helps' his cousin from time to time. (Nathan really doesn't need help, he loves to swim ;-)

BUT the biggest thing for Andrew this Summer??  He finally found a book series that he enjoys enough to SIT AND READ!  This, my friends, is huge!  He does not love to read (unlike Jess who never leaves the house without a book and would spend most of her waking hours reading if she could).  He normally fights our required 15 minutes of reading.  BUT he sat the other day for a good 45 minutes and read a book or two from start to finish!  The name of the books that have captured my 8 year old son... CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS lol.  Eh, as long as he is reading, I am happy!

I am so excited for the release of MOCKINGJAY next week! Sadly here in our little corner of the world there will be no midnignt release. Becky and I will instead drag our kids to B&N first thing Tuesday morning to pick up our copies. Even more sad is that it will sit on my desk and stare at me while I work on Tuesday - how will I ever concentrate? In preparation for the big release, Husband is reading the HUNGER GAMES! This makes me happy! Well. it's more like I am forcing husband to read HUNGER GAMES, but it still makes me happy.  He is the exact opposite of me and could drag a book he likes out over months (UGH!) instead of days or hours. I am going to push him into read this faster! It'd be like slow torture to drag these books out :-)    

Rebecca and I have spent lots of time on FallenArchangel stuff this Summer.  We are so ridiculously excited about CRESCENDO!  Seriously.  It is sooooo good!  And we'll be launching a new website soon (possibly within a week!) which is a lot of work, but hopefully will be well worth it.

So, there's my Summer in a nutshell.  In less than 2 weeks my kids will be back in school, I will be back to my regular work/office hours and life will return to the routine we all love to hate. 

I really do want to be better about blogging so if anyone has any suggested blog topics for me, please leave 'em and maybe I'll be inspired! OR maybe I'll try out FormSpring, we're having some fun with that on FallenArchangel ;-)