#15 A Million Suns by Beth Revis
This review has BIG spoilers for Across the Universe, the first book in the Across the Universe series. There are no major spoilers 
for A Million Suns.
Everything has changed on the generation ship, Godspeed. Eldest has died, leaving Elder to step up prematurely to become leader. One of Elder’s first decisions is to take everyone off of Phydus, a drug that has the power to rob it’s users of much of their free will. But what Elder doesn’t realize is that giving people the power to think for themselves has consequences, and not everybody believes that Elder is qualified to lead. Meanwhile, Amy finds herself following a trail of breadcrumbs left behind by Orion, a trail that leads her to a discovery that will change the lives for everyone on Godspeed.
A Million Suns is the sequel to the young adult science fiction book Across the Universe, a novel which I personally enjoyed despite having a few issues with it. My experience with A Million Suns was very similar. As with Across the Universe, the book's greatest strength can be found in the generation ship setting. The way that the people of Godspeed react to their new found mental and emotional freedom felt incredibly realistic to me. This resulted in a lot of satisfying tension, as things go from bad for worse. Also enjoyable is the book’s twisty-turny plot. Similar to Across the Universe, you will probably see some of the big twists coming, but Revis throws so many at you that one is bound to catch you off guard. She’s also not afraid to venture into some darker territory as well, delivering some heart crushing moments that reminded me greatly of fellow young adult author Patrick Ness, who, interestingly, also wrote about a generation ship.
There were also pieces of the book that didn’t mesh well for me. The plot was interesting, but occasionally ventures too far into the melodramatic for my taste. I ultimately enjoyed the characters of Amy and Elder, but there were many times when they frustrated me with their poor decisions. This is the most obvious with Elder, who doesn’t seem to make many good ones. At the same time, I can’t be too critical of this because I can understand why he made such poor leadership decisions. Most inexperienced teenage boys would not make the best leaders, and Elder is no exception to this. As far as the romance goes, I don’t have strong feelings about it one way or the other.
A Million Suns is a solid follow up to Across the Universe that moves the series forward in satisfying ways. It’s similar enough in tone and direction to the first book that if you enjoyed Across the Universe, you will enjoy A Million Suns. If you did not enjoy it, it’s probably best not to pick up the sequel. I look forward to reading the final installment of the series, which is set to be released in 2013.
Rating: four stars
Length: 386 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
Other books I've read by this author: Across the Universe
Next I will be reviewing Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads
for A Million Suns.
Everything has changed on the generation ship, Godspeed. Eldest has died, leaving Elder to step up prematurely to become leader. One of Elder’s first decisions is to take everyone off of Phydus, a drug that has the power to rob it’s users of much of their free will. But what Elder doesn’t realize is that giving people the power to think for themselves has consequences, and not everybody believes that Elder is qualified to lead. Meanwhile, Amy finds herself following a trail of breadcrumbs left behind by Orion, a trail that leads her to a discovery that will change the lives for everyone on Godspeed.
A Million Suns is the sequel to the young adult science fiction book Across the Universe, a novel which I personally enjoyed despite having a few issues with it. My experience with A Million Suns was very similar. As with Across the Universe, the book's greatest strength can be found in the generation ship setting. The way that the people of Godspeed react to their new found mental and emotional freedom felt incredibly realistic to me. This resulted in a lot of satisfying tension, as things go from bad for worse. Also enjoyable is the book’s twisty-turny plot. Similar to Across the Universe, you will probably see some of the big twists coming, but Revis throws so many at you that one is bound to catch you off guard. She’s also not afraid to venture into some darker territory as well, delivering some heart crushing moments that reminded me greatly of fellow young adult author Patrick Ness, who, interestingly, also wrote about a generation ship.
There were also pieces of the book that didn’t mesh well for me. The plot was interesting, but occasionally ventures too far into the melodramatic for my taste. I ultimately enjoyed the characters of Amy and Elder, but there were many times when they frustrated me with their poor decisions. This is the most obvious with Elder, who doesn’t seem to make many good ones. At the same time, I can’t be too critical of this because I can understand why he made such poor leadership decisions. Most inexperienced teenage boys would not make the best leaders, and Elder is no exception to this. As far as the romance goes, I don’t have strong feelings about it one way or the other.
A Million Suns is a solid follow up to Across the Universe that moves the series forward in satisfying ways. It’s similar enough in tone and direction to the first book that if you enjoyed Across the Universe, you will enjoy A Million Suns. If you did not enjoy it, it’s probably best not to pick up the sequel. I look forward to reading the final installment of the series, which is set to be released in 2013.
Rating: four stars
Length: 386 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
Other books I've read by this author: Across the Universe
Next I will be reviewing Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads