A Million Suns (Across the Universe #2)by Beth Revis
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Emotion courses through my veins, choking me. I feel so insignificant, a tiny speck surrounded by a million stars.
A million suns.
-Elder
Okay, so, first thing first-I adore Elder. There. I SAID it. I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but for some reason his frexing ass has become my favorite thing about these books.
More on him later, now that that’s out of the way…These books are extremely well written, they are not easy to put down, and they have a lot of underhanded mayhem that doesn’t steal the show, but adds a nice creepy undertone to the stories. I feel we get to focus on the connection between Elder and Amy and, most importantly, how much Amy is starting to realize she has a growing attraction to Elder. And that perhaps even though choices are limited on the ship…maybe he’s always been the
only
choice for her.
But I’m just looking at Elder, and he’s just looking at me, and everything else disappears.
My hands are shaking. My legs are too-in fact, I’m shaking all over. I want to rush to him, but I can’t. Instead, he’s the one who makes a move. He barrels through the mangled doorway (although he’s limping; why is he limping?) and wraps his arms around me. I collapse into him, but he supports me, lending me his strength when I don’t seem to have any more of my own.
This review won’t be very long for several reasons: 1) It’s a series. I have a hard time reviewing the same trilogy or series back to back and they generally start to sound alike, so I won’t drag the review out unnecessarily. 2) I feel that saying too much about any one situation is spoilery and even talking about the characters can lead to more astute guesses that you as readers most likely wouldn’t have come to on your own had it not been for my review. And 3) I just don’t like spoiling prior books even though it’s kind of a given when you read a book 2 review. So, I will just talk about Elder and Amy and let the review flow as it will.
A beastly roar rises up in me, and I force myself to swallow it down. What happened? I can’t control myself around her, that’s what happened. I want her so much that it overrides everything else, every other thought in my head, every instinct, every restraint. My want is consuming-and I’m afraid it won’t just consume me, but her too.
-Elder
Once again, Elder and Amy find themselves on a search for more answers. Someone is at it again, continuing what was happening in the first novel-but much more maliciously and with a far crueler intention this time. But, even more than that, Amy is different from everyone else and that makes her a target-the people on the ship don’t just treat her like the freak, they treat her as if they want her eliminated. Permanently. So every time she leaves her room without Elder, she’s taking a chance that might be her last.
“I want you to know something,” I whisper in his ear softly. “I want you to know that I know where I can find a gun. If you don’t know what that is, look it up in the Recorder Hall. My father taught me how to hold a gun steady, how to breathe out as I squeeze the trigger, how to group my shots in a target so that even if the first bullet doesn’t stop you, the next will. When I was fourteen, my father took me hunting with him, in Colorado, and I killed an elk. He did this so that I would know what it is to take a life, so that I would not hesitate to do it when I needed to. I am telling you this, now, so that you know I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
Elder has come into his new role as (view spoiler) but not everyone is happy. Actually, 90% of the ship isn’t happy. Riots ensue, rebellions rise, and even though he is only trying to do good, it all comes off bad-it’s like every day in life, as I’ve come to learn even in the last couple months-it’s all in the eyes of the beholder. If someone wants to make problems, they will make problems. If someone sees one thing that they think is wrong, they will squeal-it only takes one sliver of doubt in one person. All they have to do is light the match and it will spread like wildfire.
“…And listen.” I falter, and my voice drops. “I also know you’re not telling me something. And it’s fine-keep your secrets. But whatever it is that you’re not telling me scares you, and I’m not going to let you be scared and alone. So you’re sticking with me, and I’m sticking with you.”
-Elder
I felt for both Amy and Elder in this one. More Elder than Amy, though. He just is in a very tough position-and even with his problem, he has to watch out for Amy the entire time and make sure she doesn’t get attacked. It takes away from his duties and makes him look weak-but in all reality, even though he knows it’s not right, he doesn’t want to be anywhere else but in her arms.
Elder raises an eyebrow, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. “Come on, just ride with me.”
We’d done it once before, of course. But that was when I was half-drugged with Phydus, and before…before I’d started thinking about how life stuck on a ship wouldn’t be so bad if Elder walked around pantsless more.
…
That’s me, frozen in ice. So still. I look dead. Horror curls my lip. That’s my flesh, my body. Naked. That’s Elder, looking at my naked body.
“Elder!” I screech, and smack him upside his head.
“I didn’t know you then!” he says.
“I didn’t know you were such a creeper!” I shout back.
“I’m sorry!” Elder ducks away from me. ♥ that. LOL
I think that maybe all the space terms are the only thing I have a hard time grasping onto. I love these stories and I can’t seem to put them down. But, aside from the beautiful, vivid imagery painted before my eyes (believe me, there was LOADS of it) when speaking of the galaxy and the stars or even when Amy and Elder picture one another, I had trouble visualizing the hatch doors and the different areas of the ship-I draw a lot and always have, so I’ve always liked to think of myself as creative and innovative. But when it comes to visualizing the space imagery, I fall flat. I guess I’m not as creative as I once thought I was.
I nod, folding the floppy and slipping it into my pocket. “There is definitely something sketch about this,” I say as soon as the last words fade to black.
“Sketch?”
“You know, weird.”
A wry grin slides across Elder’s face. “Every time I think I know you, you say something so…strange.”
“Ha!” I punch him on the arm. “I thought we’ve been over this before: you’re the one who speaks sketch.”
Hmmm…that was longer than I thought it would be. I think I made my point spoiler-free, though-I love this series and I can’t wait to see the conclusion, and I’m super happy Amy is finally opening up to Elder…for the most part. I want nothing but happiness for these two characters at the end of it all, but, hey! There’s been tons of action and malice and death, don’t worry, but maybe we could amp it up even more in the next book?? Maybe an extra dollop of peril on the side-just for good measure? I think I’d die happily. Just sayin’.
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