Across the Universe
Publisher: Puffin
Amy gives up life on Earth to follow her scientist parents to a new planet - a planet that will take 300 years to reach.
The family are cryogenically frozen and stored aboard the Godspeed, to be woken when the spaceship lands. However, Amy is wrongly unfrozen 50 years early, forcing her to experience life aboard the ship, where the inhabitants are ruled over by a dictator-like leader, Eldest.
Amy forms a friendship with Eldest's successor, Elder, and together they uncover the web of lies that holds the ship together and all the while an attraction between them is growing.
This novel engagingly fuses elements of sci-fi, thriller and romance, which makes for a gripping and suspense-filled read, although some of the storyline requires readers to suspend their disbelief - would Amy's apparently loving parents really have been prepared to contemplate committing their only daughter to such an uncertain future? However, Amy and Elder's split narrative voices are strong and are sure to find fans amongst teenage girls in particular.
