"Shades of Earth" Across the Universe Book 3 Review

Date Published: January 15, 2013

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Number of Pages: 369

Publisher: Razorbill

Caution: This review contains spoilers! If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, read no further.

First Thoughts:

This book just blew me away; I honestly didn’t know what I was going to get myself into when I started this book. But boy did this book surprise me, there were new things appearing all the time throughout the book and the action was almost non-stop! Loved the creativity and realism to the new world, it was definitely creative and fun to read about. There’s so much positive about this book, it was hard to put down, I wanted to keep exploring right alongside the characters and the ending?! Loved it.

Plot:

There was definitely a lot going on in this book, you’re introduced to this new earth and the creatures and plants that inhabit it. There’s always something happening, this isn’t one of those books where you can sit back and lazily read. No you need to be up there in the action, shouting the next moves in this life sized game. I really enjoyed the fast paced and exploring the new world. There was always something new to explore and there were so many mysteries and back doors in this book that it kept the read fun and entertaining. This book really wasn’t predictable, you seriously knew what was happening the moment it was happening; epic. The actual world had a lot to offer to the reader and the similarities and differences to earth was creative and fun to watch unfold. There weren’t that many sub-plots in this book, it was mainly focused on the main conflict and discovering the solution to it. So overall I did enjoy the plot to the story, definitely original and creative.

Romance:

The romance was about the same in this book than in the previous two. There was a little extra conflict thrown into this area of the book but not enough to annoy or distract you from the main conflict. I thought the author did a great job concluding all the relationships that had been building up; they all got to their bitter or happy end. So overall this aspect was about the same as in the previous two books and I found it quite enjoyable.

Characters:

Loved the characters just as much in this book than in the previous two books. I loved seeing Elder’s serious but at times neutral expressions and comparing them to Amy’s comical and at times serious expressions. I loved seeing the two of them interact both with the new set of characters and the old characters. I also don’t think the author included any extra or useless characters, they each had their own role to play. And I thought the author did a great job on creating several interesting personalities and seeing how they clashed with some of the other characters personalities. So overall I enjoyed the characters in this book and loved how the author incorporated each individual into the story.

Transformation of the Character:

Amy’s transformation was finally completed by the end of this book. You were able to see her change from the very first book all the way to the end of this one. I really enjoyed the surprises that came along with the transformation and thought the author was thoughtful and creative with the way she got Amy to transform. It’s all about the situations and conflicts that determines the characters transformation. So overall this was a good aspect to the book.

Description:

The description is definitely my favorite part of this book. To build a new world one must describe in a way that the reader can picture it because if they can’t, what’s the point of the new world if you can’t show it off! And Beth definitely over-succeeded in this area. She described so much of the new world that I had no problems picturing each and every scene. I loved the way she described the little details, like the atmosphere, how it was always hot and sticky and describing the way the breeze hit the characters bodies and the wonder of the rainstorm….the nature scenes in this book were just gorgeous, I wanted to be in this world if only to discover the beauty of it. And the way she described the new characters and situations was just right for this world. So overall I really thought the author excelled in this sense of the book and loved the amount of attention she put to details.

Style:

This was written in two POV’s and in first person. I think this allowed the author to get a better view of the story and to see this new world in two different views….makes it less tainted or biased that way. As for the author’s writing, I loved it, she has a way of describing the littlest of details and making them worthwhile. So overall this was also a good aspect to the book.

Quote of the book:

““Earth is sending aid. We only have to survive a few more days, a week, max.”

I snort. “Oh? Well, they killed off a third of us in one morning. A week shouldn’t be too hard.””

Goodreads Summary:

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh--to build a home--on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience.

But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight.

Amy and Elder must race to discover who--or what--else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed--friends, family, life on Earth--will have been for nothing.

Last Thoughts:

I would recommend this to “Across the Universe” fans and to any sci-fi lover. This is definitely a creative and wonderful series. I’m sad to have to leave it behind now but I did think the author concluded this series in the most perfect way and she leaves us the readers a few things to ponder in the process. So I look forward to reading any future books by this author; she rocks!