I will spare you a lengthy summary, because I'm sure that most of you have already heard of this book and pretty much know what it's about. Here's a little bit, in case you've been stuck on a spaceship for the past three months:
This book opens with a teen girl, Amy, standing in line for a cryogenic freezing. If all goes well, she won't wake up for three hundred years. 300. Years.
The one hundred people who have agreed to be frozen are meant to be settlers of a new planet. The spaceship Godspeed will take them to this planet, but it'll take a long, long time to get there. And once they land, there's no telling what they'll find.
Apparently, being frozen is not like being dead. (Not that I know what that's like...just guessin'.) It's more like a combination of being asleep with lots of dreams and thoughts and like being awake in bed with lots of energy, but not being able to open your eyes. But, when Amy does open her eyes, she realizes that the Godspeed has not landed and her parents are still frozen. Even worse, the person who "thawed" her might have been trying to kill her.
And that's where I'll stop my summary. There is so much more that I could go into, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you can find more info elsewhere if you're dying for a more complete summary. Plus, I kinda want to gush about how much I loved this book.
I've been looking forward to reading this book for a long, long time. I love the cover(s) (reversible) and the descriptions of the plot. I actually waited to read this book because I did not want to be disappointed with it. I wanted to temper my anticipation with some reviews by fellow bloggers. But, as the hype grew and grew, I had to give in and read it. And I'm completely ecstatic with the way that they book turned out.
For me, this book is taking the place of The Hunger Games series in the "next great dystopian series" category. I have long held up the characters and world of The Hunger Games as the best ever, but this new series has come out of the gate strong and is nosing up on that series. I am not a fair weather fan of Suzanne Collins's genius, but I do have to move on at some point and stop hoping for a fourth book. Now, I have another great series to get all fangirl-y about. And it feels good.
I loved the world of this book, the characters, the layers of the ship and the implications of the ideas that are presented in this book for the world that we currently live in. I love dystopias for this very reason; they make me think. I am sure that I will be thinking about our society and difference and change and leadership and power and all of it for some time to come.
**Read and reviewed as part of Presenting Lenore's Dystopian February Celebration**
