Monday, January 28, 2013

Julia Reviews Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

Title/Author: Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
Publisher/Year Published: January 15th 2013 by Razorbill
How I got this book: The Library
Why I read this book: The third and final book in an awesomely unique trilogy. I reviewed Across the Universe and A Million Suns if you are interested.
Rating: 5 stars

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

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

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

I just have to get this out of the way. The cover disappointed me. I miss the beautiful ones from the first two books. It messes up the visual awesomeness on my bookshelf.

But who judges a book by it's cover? What matters is what is on the inside, and what is on the inside is nothing short of the end of the greatest YA dystopian sci-fi series I've read. Hands down.

The beginning picks up right where A Million Suns left off, which for me left me a bit confused as I read that book a year ago. I had to confer with my sister to remind myself of all of the events that led to that point. So if you are like me and don't remember details that well, it would behoove you to brush up on the last few chapters of book two.

The ships lands, with a flutter of problems, and they get out to explore Centauri-Earth, their new home. In the midst of all of this, Amy unfreezes the frozen scientists. The two factions (the Frozens and the Shipborns) distrust each other greatly. Amy's father has been thrust into role of commander and is a bit put out that the leader of the shipborns is a kid.

Thus a story of distrust begins.

Worse than that though, is the fact that they are not alone on this Earth. There are these horrible monsters that are like dinosaur hybrids. In my mind it kind of looks like the deranged and dangerous version of Kevin, the giant bird from Up.

I am trying to be super vague here because the twists of this book are pretty awesome. But let me say this for Revis. She is not afraid to kill off people just because this is a book targeted at young adults. In fact, this book has a lot of maturity in it that I love. It's at it's heart a science fiction book that happens to have two teenagers as its protagonists.

Speaking of the teenagers, Amy started to piss me off in the beginning. Not thinking about any of the consequences of her unfreezing actions. Being all flirty with this one solider, Chris. I didn't need a love triangle in this book. In fact the whole things with Chris and flirting feel shoehorned in. I wonder if it was a "You need a love triangle in this" sort of thing. Revis redeemed herself to me a bit though with Chris and Amy toward the end. And that's all I'll say.

Speaking of the end, holy frex, could I not put this down! I have a lot of respect for the ending and the very, very end didn't seem too unplausable. (More vaguery here) I probably would have been okay (a bit) with the opposite of what happened at the end happening.

The twists and the actual plot of the story are as usually what hooks me and makes me not want to stop reading. The whole series is just so inventive. Since I read Across the Universe in 2011, I have not read another YA series that is as awesomely unique and imaginative as this. I highly recommend this and all of Revis' books. She is one of my favorite authors and for good reason. She sucks you into a story and you are transported to a world where you are trying to resettle a planet, when at the same time that planet is trying to kill you.

I tried to keep this review spoiler free, but I can't promise the same of the comments. Ye be warned.

9 comments:

  1. I need to go buy this book. Stupid having to have a budget and my library not having this book! I loved the first two in the series and really want to read this one. It sounds awesome.

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    1. I know! I've already spent this months and most of next on books. So I put myself in line at the library and luckily was first :)

      It worked out really well.

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  2. I've been shying away from this just because of the cover, but now I know from your review how wrong I am! Loved your review!

    Sunny @ Blue Sky Bookshelf

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    1. Have you read the other books? They are awesome, too!

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  3. I agree this is the most unique YA series. I'm glad I took a couple years to get to it so I didn't have to wait too long between books. And like I said before, I was suprized at every turn. I couldn't have predicted at all from the previous two books anything that occurred in Shades of Earth. It was a breathtaking finale, and I'll leave it at that, since giving any details would be cruel to people who haven't read it. I look forward to seeing more from Beth in the future.

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    1. It was pretty surprising and I would also have never predicted what would happen in book three based on one and two.

      I can't wait to see where else she decides to go as an author. But wherever it is, I am sure to follow.

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  4. This is definitely a unique series, but I haven't been the biggest fan of it from the beginning. I enjoyed some of it, but for me the characters (especially that of Amy) bugged me at times. I felt that her personality changed between books. I am a little interested to see how this series will end though. Great review!

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    1. I'd have to agree with you. Amy sometimes annoyed me throughout the series, but usually what would happen is that the plot would interest me so much that I stopped being annoyed and was engulfed. Amy pissed me off actually early in this book, but the end and the plot is worth it.

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  5. I can't believe book three is about to come out in a few months. I need to hurry up and start this series like I've been meaning to. Great wow pick!

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