Shades of Earth Book Review

Rawr Reader,

   I need sleep . . . 
   I just spent the past two days finishing this series because I simply needed to. Yay, thank you Ms. Revis! Here is the synopsis of Shades of Earth by Beth Revis, provided by Goodreads:

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.

FUELED BY LIES.

RULED BY CHAOS.

ALMOST HOME.

Reference:

    From the first and second books!

Review:

(safe for those who haven't read this book yet)

   Okay, my feelings for this book are very conflicted, so get ready for a whole lot of good and a whole lot of bad. But let's start with the bad.

   This book in a way was worse than the first book. Why? Because it took me 310 pages out of 369 to finally begin getting interested in the story. While it wasn't exactly what you'd call a slow-paced story-- it really was. Especially compared to its predecessor, because A Million Suns was definitely a fast-paced story. Yes, there were some interesting moments, they lasted about a page and I got bored again. It's ironic isn't it? I was more intrigued about what happened on a small ship then what happened on a planet with much more range of conflicts, monsters, etc. While after finishing reading, I liked what all the mysterious "monsters" built up to, as I was reading it wasn't enjoyable. Elder and Amy just kept asking more and more questions which infuriated me about the monsters, because if you have a Goodreads and you follow me, you'll notice that I foreshadowed Ms. Revis would reveal all at the end, and I was right and it wasn't enough for me to forgive how long it took me to get into it. 

    And in the beginning I don't like how Ms. Revis had Amy behave. She grew so much over the first book and definitely in the second book, but then in the beginning of this it's like she's some spoiled girl from Earth who just woke up that day and not three months before. So it took me up until the last 100 pages or probably less for me to like Amy again. As for Elder, well just go down to the spoiler section to see how I feel about him.

    I was about to give this book a 2/5 stars, but the last 60 pages brought my rating up.

    As for the likes, I did like the story once I finished it. Thinking back on everything I learned since page 1 to page 369. Elder, Amy and everyone learned a lot about their new home. They learned a lot about themselves and what they want their lives to mean; their futures to mean. I don't know how else to say it, this story just simply sticks to me. Maybe it's because I just don't read many sci-fi/space books. Or maybe it's just the characters themselves. I can't stop thinking about how much I care for them, whether they were always mentioned (Elder/Amy) or the ones that were mentioned only every once in a while (Orion/ Bartie/Kit/Doc/Harley/many others). This world that Ms. Revis created just seemed so real and alive, it proves that a great story can come from anywhere, even if they existed in a time and space light-years away.

   I don't usually have one, but for this series I always think about this song called "The Beauitful Escape" by AJ Rafael. Maybe it's because the cover is a picture of space. Here's the link so you can agree/disagree with me:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAXM18vGm8s

I give this book 3.5/5 stars. I'd give it 4, but I didn't really like it, at the end of the day, it was a simple like.

I give this a series overall a 4/5 stars. I loved the characters and their development and the world so much. 

Author's Quote:
" What is in our hearts is real whether we name it or let it exist only in darkness or silence."
-Beth Revis, Shades of Earth

My Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole

Next To Read:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

River Song's Spoilers:

(unsafe for those who haven't read this book yet, so don't read this section)

   Can I take a moment to talk about how my heart stopped on chapter 70? Oh right, there is no chapter 70-- it's just a BLANK PAGE! Oh my gosh, seriously I was like frex, why? Why? WHY?? It was that moment I realized how much I loved Elder. Because before it was a like, I simply liked his character. But once I saw that blank page, I knew he had a special place in my heart.
   (I wrote this paragraph way before I was done with this book when I was bored and now only partially feel) At the end of the day, Elder and Amy deserve each other. They both held back their thoughts and it infuriated me the entire book-- no the entire series. For example when Amy never told Elder what Luthor really did, but still got mad at Elder when he didn't tell her what was wrong as soon as they landed on Centauri-Earth. (It infuriated me more when Revis kept bringing it up and still doing nothing about it, until the last time she mentioned it was when Amy's mom touched her wrists.) Or when Elder didn't tell Amy how he wanted to be there when she woke up after the flower attack, but instead just apologized. Ugh! Not all people hold back their feelings!
    One of the saddest moments of this book--because there sure as hell were a lot, practically everyone dies--I have to say was when Orion was about to die, my heart nearly broke. As I said in the A Million Suns review, Orion was my favorite character for that book, so when he died, I was about to tear. (About to, I don't cry when reading, only with movies.) Actually, that's partially true, I was on the verge of tears when Revis described his blindness so subtly: "His fingers curl like claws, and raises them to his face." It was such a beautiful way to describe Orion's blindness, the extreme consequences of Elder's compulsive actions. And how it was something that could never be given back, even if it turned out Orion actually did care about the people on the Godspeed. As I finish this book now, I have to probably say that Orion became my favorite character for the entire series. While Harley is a close second. I feel Orion just impacted me and stuck with me more.
   I really enjoyed Ms. Revis introducing another society much like the society that lived in the Godspeed. They weren't entirely human, alienating from anything that wasn't like them. They really made a nice added contrast to the Godspeed people. When Amy became one of them, I felt like she became closer to what Elder was. That they truly were made for each other. That probably makes no sense, but it does in my head! xD
    I'm sorry, I thought the last chapter was the cutest and probably my favorite chapter of the entire series (she just ended it very well-- having nothing to do that it's a happy ending), however the last word -- Always -- only reminds me of Snape from Harry Potter. And even though I never read the books, I have seen the movies once or twice, and that possibly is the most iconic phrase of the series and is highly acclaimed by fans (of which most may be found predominantly on tumblr.) However, if I hadn't thought of HP, I definitely would've thought that was the most romantic promise ever. 

    I could probably keep going on how I love this series. Ms. Revis is just a visionary, and I love how she intertwines an interest of hers (space and science, not typical fiction topics outside of sci-fi) into this young-adult, romantic, adventure. But for now, I'll just patiently wait for the day I get to relive this adventure all over again. 

Until Next Time,

Nicole Ciel