Issue 10 - Unreal!

Across The Universe

Intro by Kerry
Chatted by Michelle, Kerry and Jill

A few months ago, Razor Bill publishing teased readers by releasing a single chapter of Across the Universe. In thirteen short pages, author Beth Revis had me intrigued, wanting to hug Amy’s Dad for giving her a choice, aching for Amy who had to make that tough choice, and shivering along with them as they were frozen in glass coffins. I literally had to tell myself to breath. So, yeah, I was hooked. And you can bet I was at my local bookstore the day this book came out.

Amy and her parents agreed to spend 300 years frozen—together. Whizzing through space—together. So they could wake up on a new planet and help that planet thrive—together. But Amy is forced awake—alone. Years before the ship will land. Trapped inside a mechanical, unemotional, dictorial world that is the spaceship Godspeed, she must use her knowledge from Sol-Earth to convince her new friend Elder that life on board isn’t “right.”

This book is part sci-fi, part dystopian, part murder mystery, and part love story, all wrapped up in one of the most amazing book jackets I’ve ever seen.

(WARNING: It was impossible to do this chat without a whole bunch of spoilers. We inked out what we could. Other parts were impossible to black out because it we would have had to mark up entire lines or we would have had to literally not talk about the end which, come on, was not an option.)

kerry: i think we're gonna have a really hard time chatting this book without spoilers
Jill: lol, yeah.
michelle: it'll be tough...maybe impossible
kerry: let's start with chapter 1. did you both read the teaser the pub house sent a few months ago?
Jill: no! I didn't
michelle: i did and it totally hooked me!!!!
kerry: I. Was. Hooked!
michelle: right!
kerry: couldn't wait for it to come out...seemed so diff from other books
Jill: i was hooked by the first page, what an AWESOME place to start the book
Jill: and the drawings inside the cover. Seriously. i kept going back to them all throughout the book
michelle: would you guys have been frozen? or stayed behind?
Jill: FROZEN!
kerry: seriously, i've thought so much about it. i'm torn
kerry: lame answer, i know.
Jill: no way. it would suck to be left behind
Jill: i like the idea of being a part of something bigger than just this earth, this lifetime, you know?
michelle: i think as a teen, I would have been frozen....but today...I'd probably stay behind
kerry: but there was no guarantee they'd make it at all so i’m not sure i’d have given up my life at the time
kerry: can you tell I'm not a gambler? lol
Jill: well, that depends. Depends on what my life was like. What, exactly, it is/was I'd leave behind
michelle: i wouldn't have wanted to be without my parents. At All.
Jill: adult me says, "no, I needed my parents." But teen me says, "uh-uh. I didn't need them."
michelle: jill....that's so funny and TRUE
kerry: yeah
michelle: not saying i want to be without my parents now. lol. but just that i have my own life
kerry: if you think about Amy’s only reason for agreeing to go...well, it makes the ending such a heartbreaker!
Jill: see, that's the part that made me go hmm....leaving behind the friends and boyfriend to JUST xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Not sure that would have sealed the deal for me
Jill: kerry, yes, her making the decision she does at the end was shocking
michelle: so...did you want her to wake her parents?
kerry: YES!!!!!!
Jill: i wanted her to wake them, too
michelle: me too!
Jill: It made me sick for them, that she didn't. that they'll wake up and realize everything that happened
kerry: I was hoping they’d wake someone…maybe one of the frozens could have solved the engine problem
michelle: yes, kerry
michelle: it was overwhelming to think that NO ONE could understand where Amy had come from...
Jill: yes
kerry: right, M. and to see how much of Sol-Earth's history had been manipulated...crazy!
Jill: i'm very hopeful about this book. hopeful that it all works out in the end
kerry: hopeful???? is there a sequel?
michelle: i wondered if there would be a sequel too
Jill: You know what I was thinking when I read this?
michelle: what?
Jill: well, there are a lot of dystopia books out there right now, right?
kerry: for sure
Jill: well, it's interesting that most of them have these crazy/scary elements in them, like government control and lack of choices and stuff like that, you know what I mean?
kerry: yeah
michelle: yep...i think that's the genre in general ---but i do wonder why they’re so popular now?
Jill: I know. It kind of scared me, Michelle. It made me think, is this where the future is going?
michelle: i think it's the future to avoid!!!!
kerry: I'm curious about Jill's comment about being hopeful that it works out in the end bc in the ending I read, it didn't
Jill: really Kerry?
kerry: I had very little hope for her in the end
Jill: oh, wow.
michelle: i had hope for her
kerry: that's a sucky life to have to live for all eternity. for me, fake grass, cows, a sun...not hopeful at all. i'd feel trapped
kerry: and knowing i'd die like that...blech
Jill: but they had each other, and it seemed to be enough. I felt Amy made her peace with it
kerry: i think she kinda gave up. she accepted it all. but, why not keep trying to fix it? the chances of any of them EVER making it to the new planet were dim. so why not wake her parents?
michelle: I agree -- they had each other. plus she changed what she said about the stars
Jill: yes. "maybe the secret of the stars as nothing to do with being alone..."
michelle: exactly!!!
kerry: what do you think she meant?
michelle: i think initially she felt that the distance between the stars...made things cold and alone
michelle: but that with elder by her side...maybe there was still beauty
Jill: that, like, it's about togetherness. there isn't just one star, there are multiple stars. Harley didn't go out alone, but to be with Kayleigh. that if she has Elder, she'll have togetherness, too
Jill: that kind of thing. that's what it meant to me
michelle: Harley!!!!!
michelle: my favorite character!!!!
Jill: ME TOO! I would have chosen him over Elder. LOL!
kerry: for sure, but I guess the ending bothers me bc Elder kept the cords to the pump in his pocket. he said he didn't think he'd be able to rule without the phydus. he's lying to her. it made me feel even worse for her situation
Jill: i didn't see it that way. i think he was going to tell her
michelle: right kerry....that's why i think there might be a sequel....that and the parents thing.
kerry: yes, on harley. I've been casting his movie role in my head
Jill: Who would play him, Kerry?
Jill: and please, don't say Bieber.
kerry: a longer haired version of Julian from One Tree Hill. artsy. a deep thinker. hot. ROFL about Bieber
Jill: hahahahahahah! I know. Let's not cast him AT ALL for this movie. Lol.
michelle: beiber fever!
michelle: lol...i can't see him travelling across the universe
Jill: ha ha! No. He's all about Sol-Earth
michelle: definitely
kerry: did you guys have a clue who the murderer was?
Jill: Yes. I knew right away. I knew he was the xxxxxxxxx, too.
kerry: i got the person right, but the motive waaaaaaay wrong
michelle: i didn't see that coming....at all
Jill: I'm SO SMART! ;0
Jill: because why, other than that reason, would he do all that shadow lurking?
michelle: nope…wasn’t expecting THAT.
Jill: But he got the idea from xxxxxxx, remember?
Jill: that part I didn't see coming.
kerry: I thought he knew the truth about Sol-earth and wanted xxxxx to discover it. Like a warning to get his head of his butt and see what was really going on. I thought he did it to preserve the ship for good reasons but truly he was as evil as xxxxxx
Jill: yeah, Kerry. he was crazy
michelle: i thought he was trying to get rid of xxxxx, so that the ship could return to a "good"/better place. i thought xxxxx was the murderer
Jill: which made we wonder if Elder was going to go nuts, too, since they all share the same DNA
michelle: right....another reason for a sequel...but i hope the author doesn't make elder bad down the road. i hate to think that all we are is dna
Jill: I know. But that's what you get for mussing around with the stuff!
michelle: oh...i don't think that we should muss with dna...just that we are more than the sum of our parts...if that makes sense?
Jill: totally.
kerry: i do hope beth writes a sequel. there's so much more to do with all of this
Jill: i don't. I like leaving it up to my own imagination
kerry: if it's a stand-alone book, i wish she would have let Amy wake her parents
michelle: kerry....so funny, but i agree
Jill: i do see why you wish that, Kerry. even in a epilogue or something
Jill: Just a glimpse of it
michelle: so she wouldn't be so alone
Jill: but she has Elder...
michelle: it's true....but he can still never fully GET Sol - Earth.
kerry: elder who's hiding the cords to the phydus...no thx
Jill: ha ha!
kerry: like i said before, if there was true hope that they'd eventually arrive at the planet, i'd say keep em frozen. but that wasn't the case.
Jill: i think...I think that's how it is, the transition from teen to adulthood. when you're young you NEED your parents. but when you get older, you NEED your mate, more.
Jill: JMO.
michelle: for me it's not even about waking her parents -- tho i think they would want to be woken -- it's about having one other person from Sol - Earth
Jill: yes, to bear witness to your life, and vice versa. To know not just where you're going, but where you've been, as well
kerry: for me, it's about maybe one of the frozens can actually fix the engine and get where they're supposed to go
michelle: i'm all for fixing the engine!
michelle: ok ...so phydus...what did you guys think of The Season? lol.
Jill: The Season? Um, yuck.
kerry: what can you really say about the season? lol
kerry: beth's imagery is great bc I TOTALLY pictured the season in my head. EWWW
michelle: i loved that she included the The Season.
Jill: yeah, but I ALMOST wanted to skip some of those pages, but then it was so well written, I couldn't tear my eyes away...like an accident that you just HAVE TO WATCH, or whatever.
michelle: right...but it makes me think of certain things in our culture. like we're NOT there, but headed in that direction sometimes.
kerry: right
Jill: but ew, nonetheless.
kerry: it bothered me how heartless Doc and Eldest seemed, but I could see their point at the same time. what's life without hope?
Jill: i think Doc softened for me. Eldest was just a tool
kerry: what was Eldest a tool for?
michelle: Eldest was a tool for sure! I didn't dislike Elder the same way that you did.
kerry: don't get me wrong. I didn't dislike Elder at all. i just hope he doesn’t use the cords.
Jill: Um, Eldest. And maybe Elder, too. Not my type, I guess. The phydus-cord hiding type doesn't do it for me, I guess.
kerry: I saw eldest as the master not the tool. everyone/thing else were tools
Jill: good point, kerry
michelle: the phydus is a security blanket for Eldest and Elder. They both fear total chaos
Jill: yes
michelle: i. did. not. like. eldest.
michelle: Doc was just weak
Jill: yeah, Michelle. Weakened, perhaps
michelle: my thought on the cord....at least elder is going to try to lead instead of control
Jill: let's hope so...
kerry: unless he plugs the pump back in, lol
Jill: but I think having Amy will help him lead...
kerry: def
Jill: I really was just team Harley. My heart broke when...
michelle: and i wish harley was still there with them
Jill: me too. That seriously was the hardest thing for me
Jill: but I'm glad he is with his love(s)…stars-and-Kayleigh
michelle: he was the sanest person on the ship....
Jill: yes!
kerry: The harley thing was hard but not the hardest for me. the hardest was when Amy saw her dad in the cryo chamber
michelle: i loved the sanity/insanity issue!
kerry: and the meds for both. great aspect of the book! Brilliant
Jill: the sanity issue made me think, too. Who are we to say who is sane, and who isn't?
michelle: right jill
Jill: but we do. we say who is, and who isn't, every day
michelle: harley had a soul, maybe even more than amy
Jill: yes, Michelle
kerry: would you have done what he did then?
michelle: no
michelle: never
kerry: for me it goes back to hope. what do you have when all hope is gone? Harley lost hope
michelle: but i would have thought about it
Jill: I don't think Harley did it only because he lost hope. He was very brave. He was smiling when he left.
kerry: loss of hope on the ship...for him
Jill: He chose to choose, instead of someone choosing for him.
kerry: i don't think he was brave
Jill: really? Wow.
michelle: i agree with kerry...not brave
michelle: more like giving up
Jill: WOW! am I crazy now?
Jill: no! He chose freedom! He CHOSE it!
Jill: very brave to me
kerry: remember, he didn't see the end, that XXXXXEE would take over. but what if he did. would there have been hope? would he have found someone else to love? would have moved out of the ward knowing he was really "normal” all this time?
kerry: he chose to run
michelle: but he could have stayed to fight for freedom for others
michelle: once you know...you are free, regardless of your surroundings
Jill: not everyone can fight. Some don't want to, and he didn't want to fight. He just wanted to live, like really live. In any capacity that he felt free.
kerry: he didn't live. he died
kerry: he didn't choose freedom. he chose death
michelle: i agree with kerry
michelle: the freedom came when he could choose....not with the actual decision he made
kerry: it doesn't make me like him less at all. i loved his character and what he was about
Jill: but he died on his own terms, in his own way. instead of been taken to the fourth floor
kerry: I don’t think Harley would have ever gone to the fourth floor. only the people who had the phydus went there
Jill: Yeah, but when they felt it was time to get rid of someone, they did it whether the people were ready or not. That made me sick. Sicker than anything else, actually.
kerry: i soooo totally agree with you on that!
michelle: yeah jill....that reminded me of The Giver.
Jill: me too...and Matched....
kerry: and I see your connection here with the two, he didn't want Doc to say it was his time. he wanted to do that alone. but he gave up...too soon
michelle: sounds compassionate...end their suffering, but it's not compassionate...it's just deadly
Jill: yes. It's murder. And I would rather a beautiful soul like Harley kill himself, so they don't do it first
michelle: i'd rather harley just stuck it out!
michelle: it's not over till the fat lady sings and all that
Jill: but he went to be with his love....ah....
Jill: ha ha, Michelle!
kerry: to me, that’s the problem.  harley didn't feel it would ever get better. never thought there'd be a chance he'd one day be able to make that choice himself. he lost hope so he choose death
Jill: hmm...I still don't see it that way
kerry: i hope there's a whole other book before the fat lady sings
Jill: ha ha Kerry!
michelle: well...no one on the ship believed in an afterlife
Jill: maybe Harley did. We don't know.
kerry: i think it's super-cool that our opinion/interpretations are so different on this. what a great book
michelle: yeah...a great one for discussion
kerry: so many ethical issues
Jill: yes, awesome book. I loved hearing all your thoughts on it
michelle: but i still wanted you gals to talk more about The Season....are you afraid of the s-e-x- word?
kerry: hahahaha, what do you want to discuss?
Jill: sorry Michelle
michelle: i think she (the author) was trying to make a point about how teens view sex.
michelle: friends with benefits and all that
Jill: hmm...thats so interesting. I never thought of that
kerry: really? you think?
michelle: action without emotion
kerry: but truly, if they could only have sex for two days, or whatever it was, once in their lifetime, well, i don't doubt they'd be doing it in the streets/fields/fountains/hallways for every second of The Season
michelle: lol!
Jill: Okay, I love sexy scenes. But I hated these ones. And so I asked myself WHY? And I realized, it's because I don't like the idea of sex becoming like that. Robotical. Unfeeling. Like mannequins with voices, or something. And then I realized, too, just what is sex without love? And for me, it's nothing. So that's my feeling on that!
michelle: it was scary...exactly, jill....no love
Jill: yeah, and no emotion, like you said
kerry: no emotion because they were drugged
michelle: but part of that was cultural too....like if the government had said for the Season...do it inside...they would have followed...but the love had been taken away
kerry: there was no love anywhere in that society. look at how easily the older gen could turn in their parents, the gray gen, to the dreaded fourth floor without any remorse...no feeling of loss, or sadness, or longing
Jill: okay ladies, I think this is one of these books that we could talk about FOREVER, and maybe we will. Maybe it's one we'll be talking about for a long, long time....
kerry: and any book that can do that, is a great one!
michelle: yep :)