Secret of the Stars

Breathless Reads Tour Giveaway!!

2012-02-13T23:16:00.000-05:00

If you haven't already be sure to head over to Beth's blog to check out her giveaway in celebration of the Breathless Reads Tour!!! You can win up to 7 books- 3 signed books and their sequels. There may even be some signed posters. Who knows what can happen over the next 16 days that this giveaway runs! Be sure to run right over to Beth's blog to win some cool stuff.

The Breathless Reads Tour has some AMAZING authors in addition to Beth. Here are the dates and the locations:

February 15- Wednesday 7 PM
Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville Illinois

February 16- Thursday 5 PM

Bethesda Library in Bethesda Maryland

February 17- Friday 6 PM
Books of Wonder NYC

February 18- Saturday 4 PM
Towne Book Center in Collegeville, PA

February 19- Sunday 4 PM
Doylestown Bookshop in Doylestown, PA

February 21- Tuesday 7 PM
Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Georgia

February 22- Wednesday 7 PM
Blue Willow Bookstore Houston, Texas

February 23- Thursday 7 PM
Barnes and Noble in Frisco, Texas

February 24- Friday 7 PM
Once Upon a Time Bookstore Los Angeles, CA

A Million Suns Launch Party!!!!

2012-01-10T16:00:00.002-05:00

Today we’re celebrating the launch of Beth Revis’s A MILLION SUNS by participating in the Virtual Party! Each hour of the day, from 9am to 5pm EST, there will be a different feature on a different blog. And each stop, in true party fashion, will have a party favor to give out—in the form of a signed book plus some cool swag—and a party game: a puzzle piece to a truly epic prize for one winner! So read on to find out exclusive information about A MILLION SUNS and enter to win a signed book!

INSPIRATION IS EVERYWHERE

One of the most common things I'm asked is, "where does your inspiration come from?" And the truth of the matter is....

I don't know.

Honest! I have no idea where I'll get an idea. It could be something complex, like a what-if question. It could come from reading a good book...or even a bad one. But it's often a combination of many of these things.

Usually, my big ideas stem from what-if questions that come from a lifetime of curiosity and cramming my head full of good books and good movies. Part of the mystery of my books comes from dozens of Agatha Christie novels. The sci fi setting came from a love of (a) astronomy, and (b) Sailor Moon.

But the little details sometimes have the best stories. For example: Harley. Harley was supposed to be a minor character who was only in one scene that I was writing on that took place in the Hospital. One of my students had painted a koi fish, and so I made the extra character an artist. My student's name is Charly, so I named the character Harley. From that one scene came Harley, Elder's best friend, complete with a backstory, a dead girlfriend, and a tragic twist.

I hold onto interesting things, like water holds onto a sponge. I'm always on the lookout for something that can inspire me. And here's a detail that I perhaps shouldn't be sharing yet...

In 2010, I was on a European field trip, my last official duty as a teacher. And while there, we saw a glass-making demonstration in Venice, Italy. I popped out my camera and filmed it quickly. And here's the secret: there is something in this video that was an important inspiration for SHADES OF EARTH, the last book of the AtU trilogy. I won't say what it is, but there's something in this video that has made it's way to the final book.

Thanks for stopping by today as a part of the Virtual LaunchParty for A MILLION SUNS! To help celebrate, one commenter on this post will receive a signed paperback of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, the first book of the trilogy, along with some custom swag, including a poster, an art print of a koi
fish (made by the student who inspired Beth to write the character Harley), NASA goodies, and
more. This contest is open internationally, and will end in 24 hours.

JUST COMMENT ON THIS POST TO ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN THIS PRIZE!

Make sure you go back to Beth’s website for full details onthe party. Visit every site in the party to gather clues that will enable you to enter for the GRAND PRIZE—a signed paperback of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, a signed hardback of A MILLION SUNS, an exclusive water bottle, a poster, an art
print, and more!

In order to win that grand prize, you need a clue. And the clue for this blog stop is...

2012-01-10T02:42:00.000-05:00

Happy Book Birthday to A Million Suns!! Beth has a day long virtual party planned and it's going to be epic! Here is the list of all the need to know details:

PARTY HOSTS
Every hour, from 8am until 5pm, there will be a new post on a new blog from around the blogosphere. Each post will have special content about the books, and a chance to win a prize! There will be direct links on Tuesday, when the party goes live, but the sites will be:

Hypable
YA Book Central
Mundie Moms
Novel Thoughts
Bookalicious
Page Turners
The Secret of the Stars - that's us!
The League of Extraordinary Writers

Here's what Beth has planned straight from the great woman herself:

PARTY GAMES
Secretly I think the best games are party games. So I'm building a game around the virtual party. I'll announce just what that game is on Tuesday, but let me assure you of two things:

(1) The game will be fun
(2) The game will involve an awesome grand prize

PARTY HANGOUT
But you don't just go to a party to play games and get prizes, right? Heck, half the fun of the party is hanging out with the other people at the party!

So, during the live launch party, from 7-9pm, there will be live updates and tweets on Twitter, so you'll be able to participate in the launch party!

Make sure to follow @AMillionSuns, which will be manned by my husband during the launch party. He's going to transcribe highlights from the live launch party, take Twitter questions for us to answer directly at the event, and host some fun giveaways during the party.

There will also be an official chat room for Twitter. To join, all you have to do is sign into Twitter, then go to the TweetChat room here. You're welcome to check it out now, but it will be manned and live for the official chat from 7-9pm, Eastern Standard Time. I might pop in and out throughout January 10th to say hi to any early or late arrivals to the chat room, so please feel free to hangout at the official virtual hangout :)

Also: you can always just use the official launch hashtag to hangout, too: #amslaunch

PARTY FAVORS
Let's see--party hosts, games, and hangouts. What am I missing? Oh, yeah! Giveaways!

At every single blog from the party hosts up above, you're going to have a chance to win a prize--it'll be a random drawing, and open internationally. Each stop will have a party favor to give to one commenter, and that party favor includes signed books, AtU swag, and stuff from...NASA! (heckyeah! NASA! Special thanks to Ex Libris Kate for donating the NASA goodies!)

Head on over to Beth's blog to join the party!!!

Midwinter's Eve Hop

2011-12-21T00:00:00.002-05:00

Paperback

Hardcover

Happy Holidays everyone!! No matter what or how you celebrate or even if you don't celebrate at all, we have an awesome holiday time giveaway for you all. In the spirit of giving to others, our giveaway is INTERNATIONAL, as long as the Book Depository ships to you. The winner of the giveaway will have the choice between a paperback of Across the Universe, a hardcover of Across the Universe OR a preorder of A Million Suns which is set to release on January 10, 2012! All you have to do is fill in the Rafflecopter below. It's pretty cake but there are extra entries available for those into that sort of thing. The winner must be over 13 years of age and must respond within 48 hours of notification of their win to claim their prize. This giveaway will run until midnight on December 27 EST. I will announce the winner and email them on the 28th. Please feel free to use the linky below to hop on down the list of other blogs with holiday giveaways. PLEASE NOTE THAT IF THE RAFFLECOPTER LOOKS WRONG, JUST CLICK THE TITLE OF THIS POST AND IT SHOULD FIX ITSELF. THANKS!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Hop!

2011-12-13T00:00:00.007-05:00

Paperback

Hardcover

Happy Holidays everyone!! No matter what or how you celebrate or even if you don't celebrate at all, we have an awesome holiday time giveaway for you all. In the spirit of giving to others, our giveaway is INTERNATIONAL, as long as the Book Depository ships to you. The winner of the giveaway will have the choice between a paperback of Across the Universe, a hardcover of Across the Universe OR a preorder of A Million Suns which is set to release on January 10, 2012! All you have to do is fill in the Rafflecopter below. It's pretty cake but there are extra entries available for those into that sort of thing. The winner must be over 13 years of age and must respond within 48 hours of notification of their win to claim their prize. This giveaway will run until midnight on Christmas Eve EST. I will announce the winner and email them on the 27th to give everyone time to enjoy the holiday. Please feel free to use the linky below to hop on down the list of other blogs with holiday giveaways. PLEASE NOTE THAT IF THE RAFFLECOPTER LOOKS WRONG, JUST CLICK THE TITLE OF THIS POST AND IT SHOULD FIX ITSELF. THANKS!!!

Pre-Order

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop!

2011-12-02T00:00:00.002-05:00

Hello and welcome to my stop on the Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop! I'm really excited to be able to offer you a really cool prize made by a super talented friend of mine! So, what can you win? The winner of my giveaway will win a custom made Across the Universe themed book thong from my friend Tammy's Inspired By Books Etsy Shop!! . You can click the image below to learn more and to look at some of her work. I'm really excited about this because Tammy makes great stuff that LASTS. Her work is sturdy and well made.

What is a book thong for those of you who may not know? It's a bookmark made of string or ribbon with charms or beads on the ends to give it enought weight to keep it in the book and to make the book look pretty. Check it out.

Isn't the book thong that Tammy from Inspired by Books made AWESOME!? You have a multi-tone purple cord with the purple crystals and a sun to represent A Million Suns and a star to represent the secret of the stars. This item is NOT found in her Etsy shop and it is a one of a kind piece created for this giveaway. Remember that this giveaway is open to ALL, yes- it's international. We've kept entry as simple as possible to thank you all for stopping by!

To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below (email me if you have Raflecopter troubles, my email is in the top right corner). It is that easy! The winner will be announced on December 7th. This giveaway is international. The winner must be over 13.

Vote for Across the Universe in the Best of 2011 Poll on Goodreads!

2011-11-21T12:09:00.000-05:00

If you are on Goodreads, you can vote for your favorite books of 2011! Across the Universe has made it to the third round of voting now in the category of "Best Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction." Please make sure that you vote! You can access the voting page by going to your Goodreads home page and scrolling about half way down. The box to click will be on the right hand side about halfway down. It'll be right above your challenge box if you are doing the 2011 reading challenge or below your profile box. Thanks so much for your support of Across the Universe!

Nominate Amy from Across the Universe in the YA Sisterhood Herione Tournament

2011-11-20T13:19:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you all have seen the YA Sisterhood blog by now. A few months back they ran a tournament of best book boys- from which Elder was suspiciously absent. HOWEVER, they are now taking nominations for theirr heroine tournament and Amy is on the list. They will only take the top girls with the most nominations into the tourney so if we want Amy to have a chance, we all need to vote for her. Let's see if we can get Amy into the tournament to show our love and appreciation for Beth and the ATU series! You can click the image below to go to the site and vote. Each person can nominate up to 10 heroines. Here at SOTS, we support books and characters who (like Velma from Scooby Doo) don't get enough play or props. So vote for Amy and Aura from Shade, any girls who deserve some love! Nominations will remain open until 12:01 AM CST on Thursday November 24.

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop- Trick or Treat for A Million Suns!

2011-10-24T00:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to our stop on the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop! We have some great treats for your pillowcase, plastic pumpkin bucket or whatever you take Trick or Treating with you! One lucky winner with a US or Canada address will win some of Beth Revis' favorite treats as well as an ARC of A Million Suns with a SIGNED bookplate in it!! How exciting is that?! It's our LAST ARC, even. Happy Halloween! How do you enter to win? Just fill out the Rafflecopter below. It's that easy. You need to have a US/CAN address and be over 13 years old to win. The winner will be chosen on November 1 and will be notified by email, the winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize before a replacement winner is chosen.

NOTE: For some reason, the Rafflecopter shows up WRONG when you come to the site but RIGHT when you click the title of the post and scroll down. SO if the Rafflecopter says OVER on it: click the Title of this post and then scroll down. It should be right. Sorry for the inconvenience, I understand LOTS of people have been having Rafflecopter issues over the last few days. Thanks for your understanding!!!

Here is the Goodreads blurb on the 2012 sequel to Across the Universe:

Godspeed was fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos.
It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies.

But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

In book two of the Across the Universe trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis mesmerizes us again with a brilliantly crafted mystery filled with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.

BIG NEWS from Penguin and Beth Revis about A Million Suns!!!

2011-10-11T22:38:00.003-04:00

That's right! Run, don't walk over to Beth's blog and read all about the news from Penguin about A Million Suns!! Beth also has a new giveaway up that you'll want to win!

Let the Countdown Begin!!!

2011-10-10T03:40:00.000-04:00

Three months from today, on January 10, we will all have A Million Suns. That's right, we are down to the last three months. We're excited for everyone to be able to read this book and love it as much as we did! In hour of the impending release, we're going to be doing some fun teasers and events. For Halloween, we have a treat bag for all of the trick or treaters with an ARC of A Million Suns with a signed bookplate and some of Beth Revis' favorite holiday treats. YUM! We are also hoping to put together a HUGE and AMAZING prize pack for the release so stay tuned on that one! We hope you'll join us for our countdown! To get this three month long party started right, we're going to give you one line from AMS. Enjoy!

"It couldn't have been an accident."

Announcing the Winners of the A Million Suns Mystery Prizes from Beth Revis

2011-09-13T23:15:00.000-04:00

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

Here are our winners who have each won a mystery gift from Beth Revis. Well, the gift is not so mysterious if you followed along with the YA Scavenger Hunt that Beth participated in this summer. I don't want to ruin the surprise (if anyone still hasn't figured out what the gift is) but I will say that it is a charm (like for a bracelet) that has something to do with A Million Suns. Yeah. Moving On!

The five winners are (in no particular order):

Beth Reader

Stacey from Page Turners Blog

Avery from Avery's Book Nook

Misty

Michele from Insane About Books and Page Turners Blog

Congrats to you all! Your contact info was sent to Beth and she will be getting in touch with you! Hope you enjoy your gift and that you note the symbolism when you read A Million Suns!

I'm working to compile all the photos from the contest to get them posted here so you'll be able to see the visual entries here soon. Also, we really encourage you to get out there and not only spread the word about Across the Universe and A Million Suns but to pre-order A Million Suns from your favorite local bookstore or online retailer. Ordering ahead will help you get your book on or near release day and Beth totally appreciates it. If you don't want to pre-order, try to buy your copy within the first two weeks after release as this time period is crucial for publishers and authors!

Mindy and I are working on some exciting ideas to get everyone geared up for the release of A Million Suns in January. We want to start the festivities by Halloween at the latest and continue up to release day. If you have something you'd like to see please let us know- our email is SOTSblog AT gmail.com.

Happy Birthday to Mindy!

2011-09-04T00:00:00.001-04:00

That's right, everyone! It is Mindy's Birthday today!! Feel free to wish her a happy birthday!

Back to the Books Giveaway Hop!

2011-09-01T00:00:00.016-04:00

Welcome! Secret of the Stars is an Across the Universe Fansite. As part of the Back to the Books Giveaway Hop we're giving away a pre-order of Across the Universe in paperback. This Giveaway is International as long as you live in a country that The Book Depository ships to. Winner must be over 13 and live somewhere where The Book Depository ships to. The cover for the paperback is different from the hardcover. Here is the Goodreads blurb for those who haven't read it yet!

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

If you still haven't read Across the Universe there is still time to read it before A Million Suns comes out in January! Happy New School Year Everyone and remember, Amy's favorite subject was history. Enter to win on the Rafflecopter below and then hop along. Thanks for hopping by.

Beth Revis to Join 2011 Smart Chicks Kick it Tour!!!

2011-08-18T00:00:00.001-04:00

That's right! Beth will be participating in the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour stops in Oregon and Vancouver. The first stop will be on September 29th, 2011 at 6PM at Powell's Cedar Hills Crossing in Portland. She'll be joining authors Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Claudia Gray, Sara Zarr, Beth Revis, and Ally Condie.

The second stop will be on October 1st, 2011 2 PM @ Burnaby Chapters, Vancouver, BC, Canada and will feature Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Sara Zarr, Beth Revis, and Margaret Stohl.

All of these ladies are AMAZING! I wish I could fly cross country for this. Really. So, make plans to be there and check out the other tour stop for chances to see lots of great authors!

Read Along Questions YOU submitted for Beth & a Winner!

2011-08-16T23:57:00.000-04:00

Here you go! You asked and Beth answered! Remember that if the question is spoilery- you aren't going to get much of an answer.

1. What inspired you to write Across the Universe?

It was based on the twist at the end. I had the idea for the big twist first, and then built everything else--the setting, the characters, the story--around that. As for where the twist came from, I think it started with a lot of great books I read, particularly Megan Whalen Turner's THE THIEF and Agatha Christie's MOUSETRAP.

2. You created an amazing world on the Godspeed, what initiated this world and why?

My main focus with Godspeed was making this feel trapped. I really wanted to have a constant sense of entrapment--and I focused on using every sense to show that. So not only does Amy see the steel walls, she tastes the recycled air, she hears the odd noises of the genetically altered animals, she feels the rivets in the walls, etc.

3. Have you considered a spin off series aka when the ship reaches its destination?

4. Your favorite part you enjoyed most whilst writing the book?

Actually--and this is a bit of a spoiler for anyone who's not read the book--but my favorite scene to write was Harley's death and Elder's confession. They were highly emotional scenes, and I really felt connected to those characters in those specific moments. I actually cried when I killed Harley--it was a total surprise for me. I'd not intended for him to die!

5. What inspires you to come up with your book ideas?

I don't think I could quit coming up with ideas if I tried--that's the easy part! I just love telling stories and keep asking "what if" to everything. I have way more ideas than time to write the books!

6. What is the most important advice you can give an asiping writer?

My number one piece of advice is this: when given the choice between writing and experiencing something new, go for the new experience. You can't write without life experience. There will always be more time to sit down and write (if that's what you truly want to do, you will MAKE time), but you can't forego life experiences. (I also have more advice here: http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-best-advice-for-teen-writers.html)

7. Ok. This is going to be a terribly silly question. Why did they have to be naked to be frozen? See, I said it was silly. But I just have to ask. Couldn't they have worn a simple frock instead of being so exposed? Sure, they're frozen but can't they maintain some dignity?

It's not a silly question at all!

Whether or not to have the people be naked at freezing was a serious question I asked myself while writing. In an early draft, they weren't naked--they wore something similar to the gowns you were in a hospital. But actually, wearing clothing can cause some complications in the freezing process (things like the cloth sticking to the skin). But also, on a writing stylistic level, it was a matter of taking away all their humanity. The cryo area is coldly scientific, and literally all that makes the people warm and alive is taken from them.

8. Will there be other people who will unfrozen after Amy?

9. How have your parents' careers in science influenced this book?

My parents were both very scientific people--my father is in forestry and agriculture, and my mother is in environmental science--and I was...not. I was much more into the arts and literature. For AtU, I think this shows up on some level in the mere fact that I wrote a science fiction novel--I don't think I would have had the background or the courage to write sci fi without my parent's influence. As for how my parents and my dynamic influence the actual characters--that is something that you will find out more in the sequels. (Good question, btw!)

10. What made you decide to include information on Eldest's warped version of world history and one of its most controversial leaders, Adolf Hitler?

I actually made a conscious effort to include several different references to history--not just Hitler, but also the Armenian genocide, Kim Jong-Ill, Ghengis Khan, Stalin, etc. I tried to include a wide variety of historical references to that many different readers would be aware of the extent of Eldest's manipulation on history--although most people only notice the Hitler reference, not the others. But I've had very nice letters from people who thanked me for including some of the lesser known references, too.

Another reason for including these historical references was a bit of my own political agenda--I wanted people to be as aware of the Armenian genocide, for example, as of the Holocaust. There is a lot of history that gets glossed over and forgotten; I hoped that by bringing up a very well known leader (Hitler) I could draw some attention to the lesser known atrocities by association.

11. Have Amy's parents and their occupations been based on your own parents?

A bit! In particular, my mother is fascinated with environmental sciences, and Amy's mother copies that--although she's a bit more of an expert.

Thanks everyone for entering with your questions. Question number 9 was chosen the winner by Beth and I'll be emailing the winner shortly!

SOTS supports underdog book boys!

2011-08-10T18:31:00.004-04:00

Happy Wednesday everyone!!! I JUST (about 10 minutes ago) got the box of A Million Suns ARC's from Penguin and Beth Revis!! They could not have come on a better day! Today is the final voting in The YA Sisterhood Crush Tournament. For some unknown reason, Elder did not get enough love to make it into the tourney. So, we're throwing our support behind our favorite guy in the tourney. He's gone from last place to the final round..... ZACHARY MOORE from the brilliant Jeri Smith-Ready's Shade series!!!

How are we supporting Zach? We're reaching out to all of you who might want what we just got. An A Million Suns by Beth Revis ARC. How do you win? Just leave a comment on this post with proof of your Team Kilt Affiliation ( leave a link to a tweet or blog post or facebook post that encouarages others to vote Team Kilt) and you email address or twitter name, so we can contact you if you win. Tomorrow morning, say 11 AM, we'll randomly select a winner and contact them for mailing info. Sound good? And YES we know this is a Beth Revis/AtU fansite BUT we feel the need to show our support for someone, who knows maybe we can get one of our characters into the next tourney! (And we're just so excited about the ARC's! LOL) ONE COMMENT/ENTRY PER PERSON PLEASE!!! ]

GIVEAWAY ENDED!!!!!!!!

Summer Blog Hop WINNER!

2011-08-08T00:17:00.000-04:00

And the WINNER is NIKITA!!! I am emailing her right now and she has 48 hours to claim her prize!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!

2011-08-03T13:29:00.000-04:00

MEGAN

Everyone wish our very own MEGAN a very Happy Birthday today!

Love you book twin!!

Summer Giveaway Hop!

2011-08-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello and Welcome to Secret of the Stars: An Across the Universe Fansite! We're participating in the Summer Giveaway Hop from August 1st at 12:01 AM through the 7th at midnight EST! We're giving away one signed swag pack with a signed bookplate from Beth Revis. You can see the swag pictured below. Our giveaway is INTERNATIONAL and open to anyone over 13 years of age. All you need to do is fill out the form below to be entered! So easy! Please check out our other giveaway going on now as well! Happy Hopping!

This Giveaway has ENDED!!!

A Million Suns Mystery Prizes!!!

2011-08-01T00:00:00.011-04:00

Today we have something SUPER exciting going on! The beautiful, amazing, genius Beth Revis has decided to allow us to give away the 5 mystery prizes that go along with her big A Million Suns ARC giveaway! *fangirl squeeing* We don't even know what the mystery things are. Well, we know what they are but not what they are if you get our drift? The mystery items each have something to do with A Million Suns and Beth has specially chosen them. You can check out Beth's site for the Scavenger Hunt that will help you figure out what they are but it sounds like you'll only have 24 hours to figure it out! So, how can you enter to win one? Well, we here at SOTS LOVE to see people spreading the Beth Revis love. Here are the ways you can earn entries:

Preorder (Amazon) (Book Depository) A Million Suns and copy & paste your confirmation number onto the form +5
Spread the word about the Across the Universe Trilogy by doing something fun, taking a picture of it and linking the photo on the form For example, you could use window paint and paint Across the Universe by Beth Reth on your car windows. Just do something cool and let us know about it. +10
Add A Million Suns to your Goodreads or Library Thing To Read List and link your to read list on our form. +1
Take a picture of your copy of Across the Universe out in the Wild and link it on the form. Like at the park, in a restaurant, on a bus bench. +5
Donate a copy of Across the Universe to your local library, school or youth program. (take a copy of the receipt or a picture of yourself donating it and link it on the form). +5
Check out the RAK program on Book Soulmates and find someone who is looking for a copy of AtU and send it to them. (just tell us who you sent to on the form) +5
Follow us on GFC, NB or Email +1 each
Put our button on your blog and place the link on the form +2
Tweet the giveaway and link it on the form (up to once a day) +2 each
Follow Megan and Mindy on Twitter +1 each
It's Megan's birthday on the 3rd. Leave a birthday greeting and a book recommendation in the post comments! +2

Now for THE RULES:

You must be over 13 to enter.

Entries close on August 31st at Midnight EST.

All pictures you send/link to will remain your personal property but we do ask that we be able to show them off on the site.

Please fill out the form for each thing you do and you can fill it out more than once. Say you added AMS to Goodreads and commented with a birthday note today and then preordered your AMS next week and then did something else the next day, you could fill it out 3 times each time with different things that you did. Please do not fill out the form multiple times with the same information.

Please include all necessary links on the form.

Feel free to do as many or as few things as you want. Each gains you the number of entries allotted on the list.

Please DO NOT put entry links in the comments! You can post the photos to the Facebook page then link them on the form if it is easier!

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at sotsblog@gmail.com.

Day 14: AtU Read Along Wrap Up!

2011-07-31T00:00:00.009-04:00

Well, it is finally coming to an end. We're sad to see the AtU Read Along ending but tomorrow starts the wait for A Million Suns which is due out on January 10th of 2012. It's like 5 months away! BUT we have tons of events and such coming in those five months while we prepare for the release of A Million Suns. Promise!

Now for our wrap up. We'll start with Mindy's wrap up sentiments:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis gave us the experience of a life time. To think that someday our Earth may require this same type of evacuation of great minds and leaders to a new Earth beyond the planets and stars. It has been an ongoing story for many, many years. Beth Revis actually brings this story to life. She has given us Godspeed, the ship to take the generations through the stars to find the new Earth. She has given us the technology to preserve the body and mind’s of those needed to help make sure that the new Earth thrives. Given the nature of the ship and knowing now how the ship has functioned for hundreds of years, makes you wonder who is actually right and wrong here. How will Elder step up to the Eldest position. Will Amy influence his leadership skills and responsibility? Will the residents of Godspeed accept the “real world” aboard a ship that may never land? I have a funny feeling that we are going to get the answers we seek in the next book in the Across the Universe series “A Million Suns”. Thank you for joining our read along. We have had a great time. Discussing a book a few chapters at a time is a lot of fun for me. I get to “see” things from other minds besides my own. Thank you all so much and see you in the read along for “A Million Suns” (but STAY TUNED here for for all things Across the Universe!!

Megan's Turn:

Thanks so much for coming along for the ride with us! I super appreciate it! I love Across the Universe. It was one of those books that keep you up all night because you just HAVE to know what happens. I loved meeting Elder and Amy for the first time. Elder is just so cute and sweet. I love to read his chapters. He falls for Amy because she is different and he embraces different. He thinks he knows so much when in reality, he can be pretty childlike sometimes. He begins to fall in love with Amy but has been raised to not believe in love so he tries to put his feelings into a frameworks that he understands. His mind sometimes strays into the gutter (but not nearly as much as most teenage boys' minds would). I'm totally in love with him. Amy is great because she's one of those YA heroines who doesn't whine the entire book and I dig that. Amy's a strong woman who makes the best of her situation when she finds that she can't change it. (After she whines a bit.) I also adore Harley. Harley is so ... sweet and genuine. I love that Harley likes Amy even though she's different. He trusts people (even when he shouldn't) and he loves Kayleigh even after she has been gone for a while. Harley goes all in with everything he does. Everyone should have a friend as true as Harley. The thing I love about dystopians... well, there are lots of things. I love that you get to look at a situation outside of current political structures and see it for what it is. The world in a dystopian is not like ours so you can't use the standards of our world to judge the dystopian world. I think it makes seeing right and wrong much easier, personally. You aren't concerned with left or right, conservative or liberal just right or wrong. And in a perfect world, that's how it should be. I also like that love seems to always find a way in the dystopian worlds. Trella and Riley in the Insiders. Peeta and Katniss in the Hunger Games. Cassia and Ky in Matched. Lena and Alex in Delirium. You'd think that in these unsettled worlds, love would be pushed aside to deal with the bigger issues but love always seems to find a way. I'm a hopeless romantic so I eat that up. Overall, I am thankful for the copy of Across the Universe that I was given and for Beth who created this world and this boy that I just love. Thanks again for joining us!

Please give us your overall impressions of Across The Universe and what parts you loved or hated. And fill out the form below if you have questions for Beth. We'll be letting her pick and choose what to answer. She'll also be choosing the best question to win a signed swag pack including a signed bookplate for your copy of AtU! Enter as many questions as you like before August 7th!

Day 13: AtU Read Along Ch. 75-81

2011-07-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Here we are. The LAST set of chapters. Elder is about to reveal his secret to Amy. What is it and will it cause her to hate him forever? Let's find out!

Ch. 75- Amy wraps her arms around Elder. Elder is now the Eldest. He worries about how he can lead the ship now that they have removed the Phydus from the equation. He makes an all call and explains the truth of the situation to the people. Doc begs for the wires to fix the pump but Amy gives them to Elder and tells Doc to focus of the genetic mapping of families not on the drug. Amy and Elder discuss the truth and decide how to tell everyone. Amy and Elder work in the recorder hall to correct the Earth information kept there. Amy writes to her parents.

Do you think Amy and Elder are doing the right thing?

Would you have done things differently?

Ch. 76- Elder ponders right and wrong. He tells us what really happened to Amy. He knows that the truth could keep her from ever caring for him, from wanting to be with him.

Ch. 77- Amy is down at the hatch, looking at the stars. She thinks that the secret of the stars is that in the end we are all alone. Elder comes to tell her something. Amy is nervous and worried.

Ch. 78- Elder admits to unplugging her.

Ch. 79- Amy reels with this information. She is angry and scared and sad but then she begins thinking. He says he had to tell her. To be honest. No one else in Amy's life has been so truthful with her. Not even her beloved father.

Ch. 80- Elder watches Amy process the information and feels the weight of the pump wires in his pocket. He explains why he did it. That he never meant to harm her.

Ch. 81- Amy tells Elder that she doesn't want to be alone. He reaches for her and she pulls away. She realizes that he is right there for her as he always has been. He reaches for her again and she shakes free of him. She realizes that the secret of the stars has nothing to do with being alone. She wraps her pinkie around Elder's as a promise of hope for the future.

Wow. What a ride these last chapters have been! What are your overall thoughts on these chapters and the end of this book?

On Sunday, we'll discuss the book overall and what we all think may happen in A Million Suns! Hope to see you then!

Day 12: AtU Read Along Ch. 67-74

2011-07-27T00:00:00.032-04:00

Welcome back we're almost to the end! Things are coming to a head in the story and we're about to see Amy and Elder find out who killed/thawed the frozens.

Ch. 67- Amy's hands are stained black with paint from working on her wall chart, trying to figure out how the frozens attacked are connected. She falls asleep with the paintbrush in her hand.

When you look at Amy's chart and remove Amy from it, do you see anything that connects them?

Ch. 68- Elder goes to the cryo level and finds Harley looking out the hatch. They argue before Elder falls asleep. Elder wakes to the smell of paint. He goes looking for Harley and finds red X's painted on some of the cryo chambers. Then he finds Harley in the hatch that opens into space. As Elder watches, Harley is sucked into space.

What do you think the X's stand for and who do you think painted them?

Do you think that Harley meant to kill himself?

Ch. 69- Amy wakes and takes her inhibitor pill. When she looks back to the chart she can see what binds the victims together. They are all military. Amy turns to rush to the cryo level because her dad is military too. He could be next. Instead she runs right into Orion who has brought her a painting from Harley. The painting of Harley and the koi fish in the stars is his goodbye to her. She's not shocked when Elder rushes in a moment later to tell her that Harley has committed suicide.

How do you think Orion ended up with the painting? When would Harley have given it to him?

Ch. 70- Elder sees the painting and the symbolism in it. Amy tells him the connection between the victims and he tells her of finding the markings on the cryo doors. Elder and Amy go to the cryo floor and check over the Wi-Com locator map on a floppy while they ride the elevator. They can not figure out who painted the X's. Then Amy realizes that Orion doesn't have a Wi-Com and that not having one would make him invisible to the locator map.

Who do you think attacked the frozens and why?

Ch. 71- Amy and Elder try to figure out how Orion has fooled that biometric scanners that control access to the frozens. When they reach the cryo level, they find dozens and dozens of cryo chambers open all over the room. Amy rushes to her father and returns him to his chamber. Amy and Elder race around the room closing cryo chamber doors. They think that the frozens were left open as a test. A test for Elder.

Do you think Elder is right?

Was it a test to see if he'd let them thaw or put them back?

Who is testing him and why?

Ch. 72- They hear a noise coming from the laboratory on the cryo level and go to investigate. They find Eldest and Doc in the lab discussing Amy. Eldest wants to take her to the fourth floor that night and have Doc put her down. He is angry that Doc showed her what could happen to her and that he gave her the inhibitor pills. Then Doc and Eldest begin arguing about Doc not listening and letting the "other Elder" live. Elder stands up to Eldest. He and Amy break the pump that puts the Phydus into the water.

Do you think Elder can rule without Phydus?

Why do you think it is so hard for him to be sure that he could?

Ch. 73- Amy tells Elder that he can rule without drugging everyone into submission. Elder tells Eldest that he will be a better leader because he's not like Eldest. Eldest tells Doc to make a new Elder. Elder realizes then that he and Eldest have the same biometric scans because they are genetically the same. Any Elder or Eldest would have the same access. Orion steps into the room and pours Phydus over Eldest and Eldest is calmed to death.

Why do you think Orion opposed Eldest?

Ch. 74- Orion explains how he made himself invisible to Doc and Eldest. He explains why he has twice tried to kill the frozens. He believes that the people of the ship are merely the slaves conveying the frozens to the new planet and that they will not be colonists but the laborers and soldiers who will be used by the frozens once they get to the new planet. Orion threatens to tell Amy something and Elder pushes him into a cryo chamber and freezes him.

Do you think Orion is right? What role do you think the ship dwellers are intended to have once they arrive on Centauri Earth?

What do you think Elder is hiding from Amy?

Oh boy! Elder has to tell Amy something very important in the next chapters!! Make sure to come back Friday to discuss the big secret that he's kept from her.

Day 11: AtU Read Along Ch. 61-66

2011-07-25T00:00:00.042-04:00

So, the lies are starting to come undone and Eldest is clearly losing it. Let's take a look at chapters 61-66 and see what else we'll find on the ship of lies.

Ch. 61- Orion finds Amy in the Recorder Hall and confides that he was hiding from Eldest because his very existence is offensive to Eldest. As Amy makes her way back to the hospital, she runs into Steela being brought to the hospital by her daughter. Steela thinks that she remembers seeing the stars and hearing the same speech from Eldest when she was pregnant with her daughter. The nurse declares this to be delusions brought on by old age. Amy offers to take Steela to the fourth floor. She stays with Steela when Steela asks her to.

Steela says that she was put on the pills when she was twelve and raised up in the hospital to be an agriculturalist and that it's a shame to see her daughter turn into "one of them". What do you think this means?

Ch. 62- Elder learns that there never was a plague. Eldest also shows Elder the engine room for the first time and tells him that they are not 25 years behind schedule but 250. The engine is not running the way it was supposed to.

What do you think caused the deaths if there was no plague?

How would you deal with the engine problem?

Ch. 63- Amy goes with Steela up to the locked fourth floor. She forces Doc to turn away when her asks Steela to change into the provided hospital gown. Doc puts in IVs without examining her and Amy knows something is wrong. All of the people in the beds are staring blankly ahead as Steela does after her IV is inserted. Amy attacks Doc as she realizes what is happening.

Amy says that Doc doesn't see the patients as people because he has been in doctor mode for too long. Do you agree with her or do you think there is another reason that he doesn't see the people as people with feelings and rights?

Ch. 64- Elder and Eldest return to the learning center. Eldest tells Elder about how the current system life on the ship came to be. Eldest also admits to putting things other than vitamins and hormones in the water. Phydus is a drug that the Eldests have used for years to keep control on the ship. Elder is angry as he begins to piece the rest of the truths that have been kept from him. Eldest tries to convince Elder that he is right and that this is the only way that the ship can exist peacefully.

Why do you think Eldest feels that he has to share the truth with Elder now?

Ch.65- Doc tells Amy that he wants her to see what happens to the grays. He tells her that he agrees with Eldest that Phydus allows the ship to exist in peace. Doc also tells her that Eldest is very dangerous and that if he finds her a nuisance, he'll have Doc put her to sleep.

Amy wonders if Doc cares at all for his patients. What do you think?

There is no doctor in training in Harley's Gen. Why do you think Doc has not "made" a replacement for himself?

Ch. 66- Elder goes to see Amy and finds her sobbing on her bed. He breaks the understood rule against entering someone's private space without permission because he's so worried about Amy. When she sees him, Amy launches herself at him for comfort. Holding Amy causes Elder to realize that he doesn't really agree with Eldest. He also looks down at Amy all red eyed and runny nosed and finds her to be beautiful. Elder tells Amy about what he has learned from Eldest and Amy tells him about her trip to the fourth floor. Amy breaks and Elder gives her the strength to keep searching for the solution to the mystery with the frozens. Elder leaves her to rest while he goes to watch over her parents.

Who do you think has the better grasp on what it means to be a leader- Elder or Eldest?

What do you think of Amy and Elder's relationship in this chapter?

Well, we're nearing the end everyone! I'll see you back here on Wednesday to cover chapters 67-74. Things are reaching a breaking point on the Godspeed!

Day 10: AtU Read Along Ch. 55-60

2011-07-23T00:00:00.019-04:00

Hey all and welcome back! I'm back again to finish out the Read Along with you all! We're looking at chapters 55-60 today and I'm pretty excited for these chapters. We'll learn the secret of the locked fourth floor of the hospital and we'll figure out why drinking water is "an old Feeder wives' remedy."

Ch. 55- Amy is not right. She is feeling slow and fuzzy. She can tell that Elder is agitated but has no idea why. Elder drags Amy out of her room and takes her to Doc. As Elder demands to know what has happened to Amy, she begins to fade out of consciousness. Amy is force fed the inhibitor pill and Elder worries that she may never come back to herself.

Why do you think Amy feels off and what do you think the inhibitor pills that the "mental" patients take really do?

Ch. 56- Elder is still super worried about Amy and he hates that he has to leave her with Doc overnight. But Elder has to see Eldest about how Amy ended up in the condition that she is in. Elder tries to speak to Eldest but the old man is drunk. Elder returns to Amy's room and waits for her to return to herself. He adds some details to her wall chart about the frozens. When she wakes, she's angry about being stuck on the ship for the rest of her life and she begins to freak out.

Do you see any link between the frozens who have been targeted?

Ch. 57- Elder takes Amy to the Recorder Hall where he shows her all the information that has been added while she slept. The he begins to pull up the Sol-Earth information that the Feeders are not allowed to view. Amy notices that some of the information has been changed. Changed to help lead Elder down the thinking path that Eldest wants him on.

What do you think Eldest is trying to teach Elder with his corrupted history?

Ch. 58- Amy and Elder see that Ed- the cryo worker- took a place on the Godspeed after the freezing people job ended. Amy searches through the family trees until Ed's ends at the plague. They realize that the math doesn't add up. The plague is just another of the Godspeed's secrets.

What do you think the secret of the plague is?

Ch. 59- Eldest finds Amy and Elder in the Recorder Hall. He accuses Amy of being a disturbance. Eldest and Amy argue and Eldest says that the ship runs on lies.

Do you agree with Amy's decision to expose the truth about Eldest and his lies?

Ch. 60- Eldest drags Elder to the Learning Center. Elder decides to play dumb for Eldest until he can become leader himself, even if it makes Amy think less of him for now. Elder uses Eldest's anger to get him to talk about things that he never has with him before. Eldest tells him that there never was a plague.

What do you think the Eldests use the plague to cover up?

So, Elder and Amy are begininng to strip away the lies that seem to coat the Godspeed. What else do you think we'll find out? Hope to see you back on the 25th when we look at chapters 61-66!

Day 9: AtU Read Along Ch. 49-54

2011-07-21T00:00:00.007-04:00

CH 49: Amy

Amy is questioning why the crazy people are normal and the normal people are crazy. Harley admits to Amy that he was in love once. Amy can feel his pain. Amy’s room used to be Kayleigh’s room. Amy asked what happened and Harley said “she died”. She pictures Kayleigh and what she was like in the room. Harley said that Kayleigh was not meant for this ship. She was meant for a real world. Kayleigh could not wait that long. Harley knows that she killed herself but they did not tell him that.

1. How do you think kayleigh killed herself?

CH 50: Elder

Elder goes to Amy’s room. He is feeling jealous of Harley being in her room. Amy is freaking out because she feels that they should all be down in the Cryo level protecting them. Elder states that there is a killer. He gives her a floppy to track who is where in the ship. Harley keeps giving Amy water and when Elder notices, he tells her to take it easy on the water. Elder battles in his mind if Harley could be responsible for the murders. He does not want to suspect him. He wonders if Harley has missed a week of his exra meds. The Wi coms both beep at the same time. In Harley and Elder’s ears, they hear “ATTN ALL RESIDENTS OF GODSPEED”…

1. What do you think the announcement will be about?

CH 51: Amy

Amy wants to know what Harley and Edler are hearing in their Wi coms. Amy remembers the last all call caused everyone in the colony to turn on her. Amy watches Harley & Elder. From the looks on their faces, Amy freaks out. She gulps two glasses of water very quickly. She thinks that there is some sense in Harley’s remedy to drinking the water as it does seem to calm her. Once the call is over, Elder explains to Amy that everyone is being called to the Feeder level. Harley is excited as he has never been there and Elder is worried and say that this can’t be good. Elder carries Amy up the grav tube. Elder is so shy to hold her. Harley helps them get positioned to go up the grav tube. Amy is frightened by the grav tube. She describes the sensations of the grav tube in great detail. Finally they reach the Feeder level. Edler states to Amy “this is where I live”.

1. What would be your biggest fear of being in the grav tube? Mine would be running into someone else (I am very claustrophobic so this could be only a minor issue compared to even getting me in there at all).

CH 52: Elder

Elders fingers are numb from Amy holding onto them so hard. Amy is smiling and breathing hard. Elder wishes he could kiss her but he hears voices already arriving. Amy has a glazed look over her face. She smiles at Elder. They are still holding hands and this surprises him. Elder finds Harley and winks at Elder seeing that they are still holding hands. Elder observes several woman holding their bellies as he looks around. He observes a couple admiring the “stars” and many other’s then notice them. Elder knows that Harley is not fooled by the fake stars as once you have seen the real stars, how could the fake ones even compare?

Eldest comes out and welcome all the feeders to the level. He announces that everyone should look at the stars and see the trails they leave showing how fast the ship is going. Eldest then announces that they will not be the generation to land on the new Earth. The engines are not keeping up well enough. Eldest announces that it will be 75 years before they land on Century Earth, 25 years more than excpected. Everyone is upset as they realize they will not be alive when the ship lands. Harley is very verbally upset. He says that it will be too late for them to see land but their children will see land. All the feeder woman are then whispering to their unborn children about landing on the new earth. Eldest whispers something to Harley and he runs from the room. Elder is waiting to see the reaction from Amy once she realizes that by the time her parents are unfrozen, she will most likely be dead.

Elder asks Amy how she feels about all this. She replies that she is sad but there is nothing they can do. Then she speaks of how pretty the stars are. Elder realizes that something is seriously wrong with Amy as she is emotionless.

1. What do you think the reason is for the fake stars to even be there? Why mislead everyone that way?

CH 53: Amy

Amy feels really weird. Her brain is saying RUN but why? The cheers of crowd washes over her and she joins in. Elder gives her a strange look. She asks Elder why he does not cheer. Elder states he has nothing to cheer about. Amy feels everyone leaving. For just a moment, she remembers real Earth. Elder takes Amy towards Eldest. Amy is really confused and feels her body trying to rebel going towards Eldest. She does not understand why she is upset with her Eldest. Elder starts yelling at Eldest. Amy is so confused as she remembers her Earth and then realizes that the stars above are very pretty. She keeps losing their conversation. Eldest tells Elder that if you give people what they want, they do what he wants.

1. What do you think has happened to Amy? What is Eldest up to?

CH 54: Elder

Elder wants to get Amy to Doc. He does not trust Eldest at all. Elder sees a man speaking to a nurse of the older woman. He states that the woman is confused. The older lady is upset and states she is not confused. She remembers the stars. The nurse says that it is not his fault, and they have room on the 4^th level for her. The fourth floor is for all the elderly that can no longer care for themselves. Elder wonders why the doors to the 4^th floor are locked if they are only old people resting.

Elder notices the bruises on Amy’s wrist. He asks her about it. She states that a man pinned her down but it was ok. She is still bored sounding and no emotion. Elder gets upset and starts shaking Amy. He is so upset that she is showing no emotion at all. Elder takes Amy back to her room and tells her to stay there. He goes to find Harley.

He asks Harley what Eldest said to her. Harley would not answer. Elder says that something is wrong with Amy. Harley gets upset. Elder states Amy is acting like the feeders. Harley thinks maybe this is best for her. Elder then thinks of the “crazies” being the only ones that are affected by the news. Elder is upset that Amy was like them before and now she is like a feeder. Elder then starts to wonder if it would be better to be oblivious to everything. Elder wonders if he would be better. Then he knows that Amy would never choose to live this way. He has to find a way to get her back.

1. How would you feel if you were Elder? Would you rather be like the “crazies” or would you rather be a feeder and totally oblivious to everything going on around you?

Day 8: AtU Read Along Ch. 43-48

2011-07-19T00:00:00.012-04:00

July 19 Day Eight: Chapters 43-48

CH 43: Amy

Amy is curled up on her bed with her teddy bear, Amber. Harley gives her a glass of water. Harley feels so guilty for leaving her. Harley says “Isn’t Sol Earth like that. We are all animals”. Amy states “not you, not elder, not me”… Amy states that the “crazy” people seem to be a little less crazy although they are taking advantage of The Season and acting out a little more. She is so confused by why some are so taken by The Season and some are merely acting out. Amy is very traumatized by what happened to her and what could have happened. Harley tries to comfort Amy but she wants to be left alone.

Amy wants her daddy to hug her and protect her. She wants to feel her mom comfort her. She tries to lay down but can’t as he is reminded of what happened. She tries to walk out the door and can’t do it as she is scared. Amy finally gets the courage to leave her room and sprints to the elevator. She goes down to the Cryo level. Amy runs to her parents. She drops to her knees and just sits there. She is so conflicted. She opens up her mom and dad’s doors. She sees their glass coffins. She whispers to them “I need you”. Amy continues to stare and speak to her parents. She starts to cry and yells at them that she needs them. She tells them it is weird here and she does not understand.

Amy wants to thaw out her parents and realizes they are too important to risk thawing them out. They are too important to the new Earth with their scientific skills. She pushes them back in to let them stay put.

1. Do you think Amy made the right decision to not thaw out her parents?

CH 44: Edler

There is a water pump on the 4^th floor, Elder is confused at first. He states it is old. Eldest and Doc wonder how he knows about it. It is designed to add something to the water. He sees a thick, syrupy liquid being infused into the water. Eldest and Doc say it was part of the original design. They use it to provide substance to the population and birth control. During The Season, they take out the birth control and add in hormones to help them during The Season. Eldest is happy with Elder as he is starting to question things like an Eldest should. Elder accuses Eldest of being in the Cryo chamber. Eldest is very upset that Elder would accuse him of killing the frozens. He then starts speaking about the 3^rd discord. Elder shouts back at him, asking how all this stuff is exists but he knows nothing about it. He calls Elder a fool. Elder is not convinced that Eldest did not do it though.

1. What do you think about the chemicals being put in the water?

CH 45: Amy

Thinking about last date with Jason, they were really together. They went out for supper and Amy runs into a gal in the bathroom. The girl tells Amy that Jason cheated on her last year and does not know how Jason keeps track of all of his girls. Amy is distraught over this. The girl then asks Amy is she is Cristin. Amy says no and wonders who the heck Cristin is. Amy wants to ask Jason about this all but does not. She remembers telling Jason goodbye that night. She questions who he was texting earlier that night and what his friends meant by the “big plans” they had next Saturday. Amy now regrets not demanding the truth.

1. What does this chapter tell you about Jason?

CH 46: Edler

Elder is looking for Amy and Harley says Amy wants to be left alone. Elder sees the dark bruise on Harley and reminds himself to ask Doc about the last time Harley took his other special meds to keep his dark moods controlled. Elder runs into Orion. Elder gets the feeling that Orion is trying to tell him something. After researching, Elder finds some symbols that do not make sense. Victria does not seem to care that it is old. Elder remembers a few days back when Orion showed him the old plans of the ship. How all the levels were different. How they have evolved. This is the second time that Orion has led him to a new discovery of the ship.

Victria watches the couple on the steps. She asks Elder if he thinks they are in love. Elder says no. Victria says it is not human nature because she is not like the couple on the steps. She admits that she would only do that with someone…she trails off. Elder starts thinking of how right she is. Victria asks Elder if he thinks the couple is ever happy because she never is. Orion brings in the newest picture and it is Elder, not Eldest. Orion hangs up. It is almost time for Eldest to step down and Elder to step up. The painting was done by Harley, Elder can tell. Elder never posed for it and does not think it looks like him at all. Orion says it looks like a leader. Elder does not agree. A leader would know what to do!

1. Elder is beign told that it will be time to be Eldest soon. How do you think he feels about that?

CH 47: Amy

Not able to shower away the memories and bruises from the previous day. Elder kissed her in the garden. Was that a real kiss? It had been real to her, but was it to Elder? Amy questions The Season. She wonders if there is something in the water, food or air. She then thinks that Doc should see this as not normal. Amy goes to see Doc to speak to him about this. Each room looks like a gynecologist office. Amy wants to know why all these women are here. It has only been a day. Could they all be pregnant already? The nurse determines that Amy is not there due to The Season. No one speaks to her. Amy asks the nurse about only having one doctor. Amy enters a room with a woman propped up in the stirrups. Amy covers her eyes and says she is sorry. The doctor says it is ok and to come in. He then asks the woman is she minds. He says of course not. Amy is weirded out by this!!! This woman does not care at all that Amy is there. Amy asks Doc about The Season as he continues his exam. Amy tries to talk to the woman on the table. She asks if she is happy, the woman replies “I am not unhappy”. Amy says “Don’t you see this is not normal”. The Doc questions what Amy is speaking of. The device the Doc is using states the levels of her hormones and various other stats. He tells Phillimina that she is pregnant. Amy does not understand how he can know. Doc says that all the signs show she is primed to be pregnant. He takes out a huge needle. He states this will help make the baby stronger and healthier. Amy knows that this is not right. All I did was give the baby a little DNA change to get rid of the incest deformalities. Amy runs out of the room. She knows that this is wrong, no matter what Doc says.

1. Amy is so insightful as she knows how life on Sol Earth was and knows this is not normal. Why do you think that Doc is trying to convince Amy of this?

CH 48: Elder

Elder is very suspicious of Orion. He is speaking of Hellish ice & how he has access. Edler is confused. He asked Orion what he knows. He was the one that led Elder to Amy. Orion then asks Elder “what do you know”?

1. What role do you think Orion is playing at this point?

Day 7: AtU Read Along Ch. 37-42

2011-07-17T00:00:00.012-04:00

July 17 Day Seven: Chapters 37-42

37: Amy:

Amy states she never packed anything. She has no idea what is in her trunk. Elder gives her all 3 trunks. The first one is her moms. She thinks she can smell her moms perfume and realizes it was only a memory. There are numerous pictures in the trunk. Amy finds a cross necklace that belonged to her grandmother in her mom’s trunk. Elder asks Amy is she seriously believed in those “fairy tales”. Amy responds that the ship is named GODSPEED. Elder says it only means luck, Amy disagrees. Her Dad’s trunk is filled with books, notebook & pencils. Amy finds her teddy bear in her dad’s closet.

1. What is the name of Amy’s teddy bear?

2. What is so significant about Amy’s trunk being empty?

38: Elder:

Amy chooses a few items from her parent’s trunks. She chooses her teddy bear and a photo. Elder is trying to convince Amy that she has all she needs on the ship. Amy then hears a noise and starts running, telling Elder and Harley to hurry up. She finds a frozen female #63. Elder wi com’s Doc to get him to the Cryo lab ASAP. Amy wants them to refreeze her. She does not want her to wake up and be alone. Elder is upset that Amy still feels like she is alone. Doc gets there and determines that the frozen lady has not been out very long. He plugs in his floppy. He frowns. He then switches it back to green & puts it back into the wall. He states that she is fine & they caught her in time. Harley has walked down aisle on the other side. Doc asks how they knew about this woman. Amy explained that she heard it open. Harley keeps hollering at them to come to the 20s row. They find a man that has been removed and he is no longer frozen. They are too late. He is dead.

1. Who do you think is pulling the frozens out and leaving them for dead?

39: Amy:

Mr Kennedy used to work with Amy’s mom. She knew him. He was a pervert. . Doc thinks he was pulled out during the night. Amy feels guilty for running in the rain and taking a hot shower while Mr Kennedy was drowning. Doc pulls up his information on the floppy. Mr Kennedy, weapons specialist. Amy wonders how many more frozens will be removed and left to drown, just like her but she survived.

1. Even though Amy did not like Mr Kennedy, seeing his dead in the box had to be very hard on her. How do you think she was feeling during this time?

40: Elder

Harley and Elder dumps the body out of the hatch. Harley stares at the stars and all Elder sees is Mr Kennedy’s bloated body. Elder has a vision of Harley jumping out of the hatch, after Mr Kennedy’s bloated body. Doc tells Amy, Elder & Harley to keep this all a secret. Do not tell anyone else about the level, the bodies or the hatch. He goes to the wi com and Edler stops him from calling Eldest. Elder makes Doc look up to him. Doc says “You are the Elder” meaning he will have to answer to Eldest. Edler discourages Doc from calling Eldest and states that he has the authority to do so. He then takes Docs floppy from him. He is secretly looking so no one can see him. He is looking to see who has accessed the cryo level during the timeframe. Only one person on the cryo level besides them, Eldest.

1. do you think it is a good idea to allow Eldest and Harley to dispose of the body? Do you feel this dehumanitizes the deceased frozen one?

41: Amy:

Amy nows sees Elder as the leader he is meant to be. He has started standing up straighter and has changed his whole attitude. Amy thinks it must be strange for Elder to be the youngest on the ship and expect people to look at him like a leader. Amy asks Harley to take her to the Garden that Elder showed her. Harley is puzzled as he thinks Amy should be concerned about herself, as she is like a fish out of water. They walk into the garden and smell the sweaty, musty scent of sex. Harley says FREX as a nearly naked couple bumps into him. They decide to just go back in. After being frozen, Amy is seriously claustrophobic. Harley goes to get his paints and Amy decides to run. Everyone is so occupied she does not feel like it would be a problem. She is disturbed by all the people having sex all around her I the wide open. She hears a voice “It’s her” and she knows it is her they are speaking of. Feeders, but she does not know them. She recognizes the 3^rd one as Luthe. He yells “Hey freak” at her and she starts walking faster. Luthe states he wants a freak. Amy panics and full blown runs. She trips over a couple making love. She tries to get up but one of the large men is on top of her, pinning her to the ground. The other feeder grabs her wrists. Luthe approaches her body. She tries to yell HELP ME to the couple having sex right beside her. They do not help her. Luthe rips off her shirt and undershirt. She is exposed and terrified. Luthe buries his face in her chest. All three men are groping her and touching her. Amy starts to cry and sees the blank look in the eyes of the feeders. Luthe is smiling showing all his teeth. He knows fully well what he is doing and he likes it. The man holding her ankle starts to pull down her pants and she kicks him in the face. Luthe then starts to pull at her pants too. The man holding her hands starts to kiss her and she bites him & screams! “Little Fish, Amy” Harley yells. Amy yells back. Harley attacks the feeders. Two run away but Luthe stays to fight. He hits first but Harley hits harder. Harley grabs Amy’s hand and they run and run. They are being chased by Luthe. Pretty soon, Amy no longer hears Luthe’s footsteps but clings to Harley like he is a rope.

1. Did you expect this to happen to Amy?

2. Why is Luthe different than the rest of the feeders according to what Amy observes?

42: Elder:

Orion told Elder the only way to get around Eldest is to be sneaky. He has never had to before. He checks Harley’s records. He sees that Elder/Eldest is showing as being on the floor when Elder was not. Elder goes into Doc’s other lab. He sees these gelatinous globs. Doc states they are embryos and when they land, they will breed them. They are different animals as they did not know what they would find on the new planet so they brought them from Sol Earth. Eldest and Doc then explain how they need to monitor The Season not only to prevent incest and birth defects but to also make sure that they have talent built into the genetic pool. Eldest and Doc explain to Elder that when he becomes Eldest, he will also have to be responsible for making sure that the ship has all the correct genetics in the people on the ship. Elder worries that when they injected him with the leadership goo, they didn’t inject enough. He does not have the confidence in himself that Eldest seems to have now.

1. Does this chapter make you see Doc and Eldest in a new light? Do you wonder why they are hiding things from Elder?

Stay tuned for Chapters 43-48

Day 6: AtU Read Along Ch. 31-36

2011-07-15T00:00:00.013-04:00

July 15 Day Six: Chapters 31-36

CH 31: Amy
Elder takes Amy to the Garden. Amy thinks there is a chaotic feel to it. Amy asks Elder if every leader is called Eldest. She then says it is stupid and confusing. Amy is saddened by the fake rain. She is yet again reminded that she is on Godspeed and misses real rain clouds and rain. Elder and Amy make fun of each other’s accents. The rain is in the ships original design. The feeder level was originally labeled Biological Research. Eldest engineers all the weather patterns. Amy asks Elder why Eldest has not taught him all these things. Elder does not have an answer for her. Amy thinks that Eldest is a dictator and Elder says he is a good leader. Amy calls him and old man and Edler thinks this is funny. Amy and Elder then discuss if Eldest would have really put her out in the hatch. They both agree that YES he would have. The couple on the bench are getting very friendly and Amy is taken back by this.

What type of person do you think Eldest is at this point? Do you think he has a hard or easy job?

Ch 32: Elder
The man and woman on the bench start getting naked. Amy is disgusted. Elder does not want to talk about The Season. Elder is trying to see if Amy dislikes Elder the man or Elder the position. As they are talking, Elder touches Amy’s hair. This leads to their bodies getting very close. They are now kissing. Amy pulls away, crying. She says “it is always in the rain, with Jason too”. Elder feels terrible thinking he pushed Amy way too hard. As Amy is reliving memories of Jason, she stops and realizes that the New York she left, is no longer that at all. She is not even sure if it still exists. She begins to run again and thinks “there is still Elder”. Amy finds the cows that do not look at all like cows to her.

1.       What does Elder like the best about Amy?
2.       Why do you think Amy pulled away from Elder, upset and crying?

CH 33: Amy:
Amy misses Jason, misses everyone that used to be in her life. She thinks she should go relieve Harley from watching over the frozens because they are her parents. She has never felt more alone. Amy wakes up all fuzzy feeling and the water does not help. Luthe is the only one in the common room and makes her very uncomfortable. Amy decides to go jogging. She then ends up full running. She loves the release of running. Amy runs into a girl a few years older than her, inoculating the rabbits. The girl abruptly states that Eldest said they do not have to talk to Amy. Amy agrees trying not to growl. Amy tells her she can still be nice. The girl asks who Amy was running away from. Amy tried to explain why she runs but the girl states that it is not productive.

The girl cries as she speaks of her grandfather go to the hospital wing as it was his time. She cries but does not really seem to know what the emotions are for. The inoculations are not inoculations, they are genetic modification material. Amy tries to explain to the girl who she really is and how dangerous the genetic modification is. She tells the girl that she is not dumb and that Eldest lied about her. She tries to get the girl to read the screen to see that they are not inoculations. She will not agree with Amy at all. She repeats again what Eldest has told her. Amy realizes that Eldest has absolute control.

1.       What is Amy’s running dream?
2.       What realization does Amy come to speaking with the girl giving the inoculations to?

CH 34: Elder:
Elder and Eldest carry on a conversation about how hard it is being the Eldest. Elder wonders what exactly Eldest has had to do over time that would make him so upset. Eldest then states that he hates The Season. Elder wonders if it is because he used to have a girlfriend. Eldest tells Elder to never get proud and to do whatever he has to do to keep everyone on the ship alive. Eldest asks Elder about the3rd cause of discord. Elder forgot about the question. Eldest gets upset and tells Elder to just go spend time with “the girl”. Eldest tells Elder that he realize what trouble she is. Elder leaves Eldest and walks through the garden. All around him are the sounds of people mating. EVERYWHERE.

Elder goes to see Amy secretly hoping she is like the others on the ship during The Season. She is not he is disappointed. Amy is disgusted by The Season and Elder is confused. Why didn’t her parents tell her about the season? People are just like animals, they go into heat and mate. Amy says “it must be something in the water” with a fake laugh. She does not feel it is natural. Elder can only think about them turning 20 so they will be in The Season.

Amy wants to go see her parents and Elder goes with her. He looks up her parent’s # and she runs towards them. They get there and Elder offers to open them but Amy declines and just stands there.

1.       How do you think The Season has affected Edler? Do you think it swayed him in any way towards or away from Amy?
2.       Putting yourself in Amy’s shoes right now, what are you feeling and thinking about life on board Godspeed?

CH 35: Amy:
Wants to see her parents. She wants to trace their features. She does not want to see them as frozen meat.

1.       Explain your feelings on this very short but very moving chapter.

CH 36: Elder
Elder and Harley are talking about Elder taking a shift. Edler is worried about Harley’s meds. Not the ones they both take but…Edler can tell that Harley does not want Amy to hear about this so they stop the conversation. Amy finds out she has a trunk onboard that she brought with her.

1.       Do you think that Amy will have them retrieve her trunk? What do you think will be in it?

INSERT THE THEME FROM JAWS HERE.......STAY TUNED!

Day 5: AtU Read Along Ch. 25-30

2011-07-13T00:00:00.090-04:00

Here we are on Day 5 of life on Godspeed. Current events have Amy in a crazed state of mind. Lets find out why!

Ch 25: AMY:
Amy sees a man from the Hospital ward. She is told he is having strange memories. The nurses are cold and calculating. This bothers Amy. The nurse states that "it is his time". Amy is saddened by this. Amy meets Harley for the first time. He introduces her to everyone on his wing of the ship. Harley reminds Amy of Elder in a way. Everyone is curious about her. Many comments are made about her pale features and her bright hair. Amy thinks by telling everyone abou Sole Earth, she will gain their trust and friendship.

1. Where do you think the older man is being taken?
2. Why do you think everyone is so intrigued by Amy's features?

Ch 26: ELDER:
Eldest & Elder are quite upset about Amy stirring everyone up with her stories of Sole Earth. Eldest and Doc speak of "The Season" coming soon and will make everyone forget Amy's crazy stories. Eldest makes an announcement over the WiCom. He states they have a new resident with pale skin and birght hair. She is a science experiment, harmless and prone to lying. She is a freak and should be treated as such.

1. Why do you think Eldest labeled Amy as a "freak" to everyone on the ship?

Ch 27: AMY:
Sitting with Harley in his ward, Guitar player says they are not crazy. Victria is reading an ancient, leather bound book. Amy is puzzled as to where she got it from! Victria reveals that they take mental meds to stay sane. Harley says they are all insane. Amy argues with them. Amy tells them that they don’t act crazy at all. Guitar players says ALL CALL. We have not had one since Elder died. Everyones stops to listen but Amy as she does not have wi com/ Harley calls it a “load of shiite”. Will nto tell Amy what it is. Victria calls her a freak…starts yelling at her, calling her a liar! Amy has no clue what everyone heard Eldest telling them in their wi com! Everyone but Harley is super mad at her. Amy is so confused. Harley takes her out of the hostile room.

1. How would you feel if like Amy, suddenly a whole room full of strangers turned on you? Started calling you a freak and you have no clue why?

Ch28: Elder:

Goes to visit Amy and Harley is there. Slight jealousy on Elders part??? Harley is sketching in coal on the walls. Elder states to Harley that he is no longer drawing his Koi. This does not mean anything to Amy. Harley gives Amy the nickname Little Fish. Elder is very upset at this as you can just sense the jealousy! Harley calls Elder boy and Elder wants to punch him. She then takes a drink of water & flinches. Elder asks what is wrong and Amy states “headache”. Elder tells Amy that Eldest sent the all call that she is simple, slow & a freak.

Harley is obsessed with stars. He loves that Amy used to see the stars with her family. Harley loves the stars and loves to hear about them. He is drawing them on the walls of Amy’s room. Amy tells Harley that they are spread out more & different shapes. Harley says” YOU HAVE SEEN THE STARS”?? Amy is honest and tells Harley about the hatchdoor for the dead that they saw the stars through. Elder remembers when harley had his last “downward spiral”. Not on the feeder level. Amy says can we see the stars? Elder wants to be the one to give Amy back her stars. Not Harley!! He tells Harley that Eldest wanted to throw her out hatch to keep life calm. Harley gets upset. Elder says that Eldest does not like disturbances. Amy compares Eldest to Hitler. Elder states that Eldest told him that Hitler was a wise culture leader for his people. They ponder why Amy would be chosen to be put through the hatch. Elder knew about it b/c a man was killed.

1. Why would Eldest tell Elder that Hitler was a good leader instead of the monster he really was?

2. Why do you think Harley has such an obsession with the stars?

Ch29: Amy
Amy finds out that the only type of police force is Eldest on the ship. This bothers her. Amy is very worried about her frozen parents. As Elder and Amy are talking about her thawing out, she is quite upset and telling Elder about this. Trying to breathe, wanting to rip the tubes out of her throat (I am almost hyperventilation just reading this…OMG)!!

Elder keeps encouraging Amy to drink her water. She has drank a glass full but he keeps refilling it. Amy notices a bitter aftertaste in the water. She feels a little calmer and is a little surprised. She then states that “how would you feel if these were your parents’. Elder admits he has never known his parents. Amy writes her name in paint across the wall of her room. She writes everything that could make her a target for the killer. Elder then accesses the Eldest/Elder records to review the deceased frozen man. Amy sees the information on her. She sees that they labeled her a non essential. She writes this on the wall. Elder states she is not non essential. The black paint runs down the wall.
1. What do you see as the foreshadowing in this chapter, if any?

Ch30:
Elder:

Amy is trying to keep her chin up and deep down, Elder knows this is hurting Amy. The stares & all the whispering from the others on the ship have to be getting to her.

Elder, Amy & Harley go down to the cryo chamber level. She asks where her parents are. Elder does not know but offers to find them. Amy says not today! Harley wants to know where the hatch is. He wants to see the stars. They let him go exploring. Amy wants to see where Mr Robertsons was kept and they stop at #100. Amy reaches out but stops. Elder thinks she is imaging her parents or herself laying on that table. Amy wants to CSI the crime scene. Amy sparks back up and calls for Harley to use his art supplies. Elder uses his com link to find Harley. He tells harley to get his art supplies. Harley agress ONLY if Elder shows him the hatch to the stars.

Amy then asks Elder about the wi com/com link. Tiny headsets//embedded in your skin. Brushes the wi com. Amy is intrigued by it. She leans in and he can feel her breath on his ear. She brushes the wi com with her finger. Elder is overcome the emotion to seize her and crush her mouth with his! Elder panics and says Doc can get you one if you like. Elder is not sure if Amy realizes how much he wants to embrace her! She declined the wi com for now.

Harley brings his art box. She finds the charcoal and crushes it. Harley gets upset as he has to make it himself. She uses a brush and picks up the power. She brushes it across handle and finds prints. Elder scans it with the floppy. The print dispays in seconds. He accesses the biometric scanners. The floppy beeps and it shows up as Elders print. Harley says it says Elder/Eldest. We have the same access. It always shows both of our names. Checked the biometric scanner and Eldest was not down there earlier. 4 docs, 12 of elder/eldest. Amy found another one. It is a thumb print. It comes up as Elder/Eldest . It has a slight scar in the print. Elder does not see any scar on his thumb at all. Amy, Harley and Elder are quite puzzled as where this print came from. It shows as Elder/Eldest but Elder knows it was neither of them that left the print. Elder asks Harley to watch over the frozens if he lets him spend the night in the hatch. He gives Harley all the info and programs it so Harley and Amy both have full access to it. Elder then gives Amy access to the floppy. Elder then blurts out to amy “DOYOUWANTTOSEETHEGARDENWITHME”. Amy smiles and says “WHAT”? Elder can see in Amy that she really wants to see the stars too. How can he compete with that. Amy says “Sure” to the garden question.

1. What emotions do you see developing with Elder in this chapter?

2. What do you think is the significance of the fingerprints?

In case you don't know me very well, my nickname is Brooke, as in "Babbles like a". I am a talker. My posts are probably going to be a little longer as I am a talker. So if this is bothering you or you want me to shorten them, hollar me ok? (OK after previewing this, I promise to shorten it with the rest of my posts. I just get excited and feel that I need to include everything. I am LIVING this book right now)!!!

Thanks for following along! See you at Chapter 31-36 on July 15th!

Day 4 AtU Read Along Ch. 19-24

2011-07-11T00:00:00.001-04:00

Here we are for Day 3! Amy is getting used to her new life on the Godspeed and Elder is obsessing over Amy and angry with Eldest. Onward!

Ch. 19 - Amy examines her new room and clothes. She's surprised by the clothes being handmade and begins to figure out how the technology in her room works. She decides that she has to protect her parents and learn more about the ship. She looks out her window at the rest of the Feeder level and wonders where Elder lives. Amy is less than impressed with their fake sun and sky.

How do you think Amy is acclimating to her new surroundings?

Ch. 20 - Elder and Eldest go to the cryo level to meet Doc. Elder and Eldest find Doc with a dead man who died when his glass box was taken out to thaw and the lid was left on. Doc and Eldest seem to argue over the how of the man's death but much of it goes over Elder's head. Then Doc, Elder and Eldest release the body into space and Elder finally sees real stars.

What do you think happened to Number 100: William Robertson?

What do you think that Eldest and Doc know but aren't sharing with Elder?

Ch. 21- Amy is in her room preparing to go for a run. She runs out from the hospital and onto the farm on the Feeder level. The feeders that she encounters treat her as if she is a something and not a someone. Steela, an older feeder woman who used to live in the Ward, saves Amy from the growing crowd and tells Amy about the difference between those people who live in the Ward and the rest of the Feeders. Amy races back towards the hospital.

How do you think it felt for Amy to go from the life she remembers from Earth to this place where she is too different to be accepted?

Ch. 22- Elder is still standing at the hatch while Eldest and Doc talk over him about the dead man. Elder is obviously shaken by his first sight of REAL stars.

How do you think you'd feel in his place?

Ch. 23- Amy is having a breakdown on the path between the Recorder Hall and the hospital when Orion finds her and brings her into the Recorder Hall to clean her up. Amy finds the globe of Sol-Earth and rushes to it. She tells Orion that she's fine.

Do you think Amy will make it on the Godspeed?

Ch. 24- Eldest controfts Elder on what he should do in this situation as leader of the ship. Elder suggests they check the Wi-com and Vid records but find that they do not shed any light on the situation. They find that only Doc was shown to be down on the cryo level. Doc and Eldest keep talking about this happening before and it being "him" again.

Who/what do you think they mean?

Well, that takes us through to the end of chapter 24. Be sure to come back on the 13th when Mindy takes over starting at chapter 25!! Hope to see you then!

Day 3 AtU Read Along Ch. 13-18

2011-07-09T03:00:00.000-04:00

Here we are on Day 3 of the Read Along and things are heating up, if I do say so myself. Last time, we heard about Amy's crazy glass coffin dreams and Elder first saw Amy, was drawn to her by her hair, then he and Doc found her thawed out and freaked out. Now, let's continue and see what Amy thinks of Elder, since we already know what he thinks of her.

Ch. 13 - Amy describes the painful process of being unfrozen. She can tell, even though her eyes are still sealed shut, that there are two people touching her. She can feel a set of gentle hands (Elder) and a rough set of hands (Doc). Elder is kind, gentle and speaks to her as they work. Doc is rough, hard and all business. Amy first sees Elder and describes how she sees him in that moment. She wants to trust him.

What do you think of Amy's first impression of Elder?

Ch. 14 - Elder talks with Doc about Amy's thawing. Doc calls Eldest. Elder feels the need to protect Amy now that she looks so small and helpless. Eldest and Do talk over and around Elder about someone else does this before.

What do you think they're talking about?

Ch. 15 - Amy wakes to find Elder asleep in the chair next to her bed. She analyzes his appearance. When he tells her that her parents are still frozen and that they will stay that way for another 49 years, 266 days- Amy feels more alone than she has ever felt.

How do you think Amy took the news about her thawing but not her parents?

Did she handle it well? How would you have handled the news if it were you?

Ch. 16 - When Amy begins to cry- Elder gets the frex out of there- typical guy. He heads to the garden to pick her some flowers, thinking about how he can help her. Elder ignores the Wi-com from Eldest then finds Eldest right behind him. Eldest tells him to go to the learning center and Elder refuses. Eldest punishes him by making his Wi-com buzz painfully in his ear. Elder tries to go see Amy but bumps into Orion and Harley instead. Orion tells him to go to the learning center and to not fight it. Elder ends up running to the learning center.

What do you think of Eldest right now?

Ch. 17 - Doc talks to Amy about how she can not be refrozen and that her parents are not going to be thawed. Amy feels out of place on the ship and angry at the whole situation. Doc tells Amy that she must find a way to occupy her time on the ship and reinforces the fact that her life on Earth is over and that she must build a new life on the Godspeed. Amy is thrown by the idea that there are no other teens on the ship... except for Elder and now her. Eldest comes in and tells Amy that he will not stand for any disturbance on his ship.

What do you think about Eldest and Doc as they speak to Amy?

Ch. 18 - Eldest and Elder talk about Amy. Elder thinks about what he'd like to do with her. Eldest descides to let Elder see first hand how difference causes discord. He then tries to talk about the upcoming Season with Elder- who does NOT want to talk about it. After Eldest is called off to the Shipper level, Harley coms Elder about Amy. Elder sneaks into Eldest's quarters and finds a model of the reactors that fuel the ship, alcohol and inhibitor medication. Eldest bursts into Elder's room and they rush off.

What do you think of the things that Elder found in Eldest's quarters?

Amy and Elder are both awake on the Godspeed now and the action is starting to pick up! Hope to see you back here on July 11th when we cover chapters 19-24. Remember to leave your answers to the discussion questions below and add whatever you like to the discussion!

Big Frexing News from Beth Revis and Razorbill!!!

2011-07-07T16:52:00.001-04:00

AH! We have totally HUGE news from Beth! It's the cover for the second Across the Universe Trilogy book: A Million Suns! *Fangirl Squeeing*

So I blew it up some so we could better bask in the glory of this cover. Amy and Elder appear to be standing at the hatch- HOLDING HANDS!!! She is looking out at the stars and he is looking down??? Anyone want to come up with a say, 5 sentence or so description of WHAT is going on in this picture and WHY? We'll give a signed bookplate and swag set to whoever has the idea that Beth deems "most worthy/interesting/creative." This is open to our international friends too! So go, what is happening in this image and why in 5 or so sentences. We'll leave this open until the end of the month. Be sure to leave an email or other way to contact you in the comment too!

Day 2 AtU Read Along Ch. 7-12

2011-07-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Day 2 on our epic journey through the pages of Across the Universe! Today we're covering chapters 7-12. So far, we've met Amy and Elder and now we're about to see what has been happening on the Godspeed while Amy slept.

Ch. 7 - Amy describes her nightmare. It wasn't real- right?!

Is anyone else getting freaked out by Amy's frozen chapters?

Ch. 8 - Elder heads to the hospital to see his best friend, Harley. There we meet Doc, the only doctor on the ship. We find out that Elder takes mental meds. Then we meet Harley, a painter, who is Elder's best friend and who lives in the mental ward. Elder really comes alive when he is in the ward with the only people he really calls friends. He thrives on the creativity and chaos there. Elder then heads to examine the level that Orion told him about. Once there, he sees that Amy's door is open. Her red hair draws Elder to her like a moth to a flame. He immediately checks her out- he is 16 after all and she IS naked. The Doc catches him down there and Eldest makes him leave.

What is your first impression of Harley?

What do you think of Doc?

What do you think of Elder's first glimpse of Amy?

Ch. 9 - Amy has a dream about the new planet and her life there. She is still floating through dreams and nightmares.

Ch. 10 - Eldest drags Elder to the learning center and leaves him there to learn the third cause of discord. Elder wants to disobey but doesn't feel that he can.

Ch. 11 - Amy thinks about Jason. Then she begins to feels things and hear things. As she starts to panic, her heart begins to beat and she starts to feel the pain.

Why do you think Amy panics about being unfrozen?

Ch. 12 - Doc finds Elder in the garden near the hospital. Elder admits that he just wants to see Amy. Doc tells him to get over it that she is frozen and he is not. Nothing can come of obsessing over her. They see Orion walking up the stairs of the recorder hall. Doc thinks that Orion reminds him of someone he used to know. Then the cryo level alarm goes off and they race down to find Amy's box out on the table in the center aisle. She's awake and thrashing in her box. As they struggle to get the lid off, Amy pulls her tubes and begins screaming in pain.

Who do you think thawed her?

Who do you think Orion reminds Doc of?

That's it for Chapters 7-12. We're just about to see Amy and Elder meet for the first time. Remember to leave your answers to the questions in the comments below as well as any questions or items for discussion that you may have. I hope to see ya'll back here on July 9th when we cover Chapters 13-18 and we see what Amy thinks of Elder and of the Godspeed.

Day 1 AtU Read Along! Ch. 1-6

2011-07-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

Hey all and welcome to day one of the read along! You should have read chapters 1-6 before reading and commenting on this post. There will be spoilers. Remember, that you don't need to post on the day of the post but by the END. There is some wiggle room since it is summer and life does come up. Now on to the chapters at hand!

Ch. 1- Amy & her parents are about to be cryogenically frozen. Her mom goes first, then her dad and Amy goes last. Amy's dad wants her to see what the process entails before she goes through it. It's really emotional for Amy to see her parents vulnerable while they go through the process. After her mom is frozen, Amy's dad gives her the chance to back out, to go back home and live out her life. But Amy decides to go through with it because she doesn't want to live her life without here parents. As she is being frozen, Amy hears Hassan & Ed talking about the ship's mission, the financial crisis on Earth and the delayed launch of the Godspeed. When Amy hears that the launch has been delayed, she panics and fights the cryo process. As she freezes, she is still conscious

Why do you think Amy is so panicked over the thought of losing a year of life on Earth?

How does the description of the freezing process affect you as you read it?

Ch. 2 - Elder finds a locked door on the Godspeed. He wants desperately to prove his usefulness to Eldest. Elder feels the weight of his position and that he needs to be ready to lead when his time comes. But it sounds as if Elder believes that Eldest doesn't really want to train him to be Eldest. Then Elder finds his way into the great room and opens the ceiling panel, exposing the room to the starry vacuum of space.

What is your first impression of Elder?

Ch. 3 - Amy floats in and out of consciousness as she cryo sleeps. She thinks about the financial reason for the mission- to find more reasons to make more money. She dreams of Earth, of Jason and of her memories of her life on Earth. Amy sums up the reason that her family chose to be frozen and placed aboard the Godspeed and why she gave up her chance at a life on Earth: "All my parents ever wanted was to be a part of the first manned interstellar exploratory mission and all I ever wanted was to be with them."

What do you think of this statement?

Ch. 4 - Elder realizes that the "stars" are lights- a navigational chart. Eldest comes rushing in to see what the problem is. As Elder and Eldest interact, you can really see the rift between them. Eldest tells Elder that the first two causes of discord are: difference and lack of a strong central leader. He also tells Elder that mutiny is the greatest threat to the ship.

What do you think of the society/life on the Godspeed?

Would you like to live there?

Ch. 5 - Amy describes the feeling of being stuck in her body but unable to move or speak.

How would you handle being in this situation?

Ch. 6 - Eldest sends Elder to the recorder hall to research the third cause of discord. As Elder makes his way to the recorder hall, he fills us in on his life story and we get a glimpse of how alone he feels. As Elder works with Orion, we see just how the Godspeed has been changed since leaving Earth.

What do you think is on the hidden level and in the area marked "contingency"?

What do you think Elder is going to do?

That's all for today's chapters. Leave your answers to the questions as well as any comments or discussion in the comments below. We'll be back on July 7 with chapters 7-12. Hope to see you then!

Freedom Giveaway Hop!

2011-07-01T00:22:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone and welcome to our stop on the Freedom Giveaway Hop! We're celebrating the Grand Opening of our site with a giveaway for all you hopping by! We're giving away a hardcover copy of Across the Universe by Beth Revis. This giveaway is International and the book will be sent from The Book Depository- so be sure to check that they will ship to you, wherever you live. We also have a SIGNED bookplate and swag pack that will go to the winner so that they can have their very own signed copy! (you can check it out below) As for who can win: you must be at least 13 years of age, have an address that the Book Depository will ship to and that is it. We'll give an extra point each for following with GFC and sticking our button on your blog. Just fill out the form below and you're entered! This giveaway runs from July 1 at 12:01 AM EST to July 7th 11:59 PM EST. We'll notify the winner on the 8th and they will have 48 hours from when we send the email to claim their prize. It is that easy. For those of you who may not know about Across the Universe here is the Goodreads blurb and the covers. YES, I said covers. The dust jacket is reversible so you can choose your cover! I know I love the kissing cover and my husband likes the schematic. The book and covers have something for everybody.

A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Add it to your Goodreads.

Find out more from Beth Revis herself.

Thanks for stopping by and happy hopping!!

This giveaway is closed!

You can also find the form below. If you have issues with the form you can send your info ( name, email, if you posted the button and where, GFC name if you follow us) to our email address located on the About Us page. I know some virus software users are having google form link issues this weekend. I'm not sure what that is about but I can tell you that the link on the .com and the blogspot address are correct and that they only lead to the form which comes up in a secure window when Mindy and I test it. The form is ours, not a phishing site's form. Promise! If you have this issue, you should probably report it to google apps or your virus software.

Grand Opening Welcome!

2011-06-21T00:05:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Secret of the Stars everyone!! We're an Across the Universe Fansite. The title comes from Amy's line near the end of the book: " Maybe the secret of the stars has nothing to do with being alone." It comes at a very emotional time in the book when Amy comes to a realization and makes a decision on how she will move forward. This line also applies here because the point of this site is to get readers to come together to discuss the book, our experience in reading it and the emotions that it entailed. We also want readers to come together to show support for Beth Revis, the author of this beautiful and soulful book. That's why we're here. So none of us has to be alone in our experience of this series. Books are better when they're shared. Please come share with us! For our Grand Opening we have a number of events going on. There's the giveaway of a hardcover copy of Across the Universe as part of the Freedom Giveaway Hop (you'll find the graphic and link on the right hand side). The giveaway runs July 1st through the 7th. Starting July 5th we'll be doing our Read Along of Across the Universe. So, please join us for that. Get your hands on a copy any which way you can (you can buy it off the shelf at most bookstores or check your library or get an audiobook on Audible.com) because there will be prizes! Check out the Read Along page for all the details. Feel free to look around, we're still settling in but we're hoping that you'll all join us for the events this month. Thanks so much for stopping by and following if you choose to!

And THANK YOU Beth Revis, most of all, for creating this world and these characters and for sharing them with us!! You are the best!