Be warned, this book will blow you away! 
 All right, perhaps I shouldn't make such a sweeping statement but it most certainly blew me away. I've been eagerly waiting for this book's release since last year and I can definitely say that the wait has been worth it. SO worth it. 
 Melissa Marr described it best. A murder mystery, YA budding romance, dystopian novel all nicely wrapped up in a sci-fi package. I have to say, in my most humble opinion, not many accomplished writers can write all these things so perfectly well together but will you believe that Beth Revis, a debut author, can? I was well and truly blown away. I have to admit, the novel's start was a little slow-going for me but a few chapters in and I was hooked. Every single new revelation had me gasping. 
 The murder mystery is compelling. Here you have someone who's slowly killing off the ship's precious cargo and you just feel the need to figure it out. I'm not sure about everyone else, but I guessed the "murderer" in about 5 chapters flat after Amy's rude awakening. I think it might be due to me watching CSI for so many years but if you're thinking that, "well, if it's so easy, then I'm not going to read it". Well, shame on you, because I can assure you that when it came to the revelation as to who woke Amy up, I was completely surprised. My jaw literally dropped. 
 Characters here are compelling. I won't say too much about Amy and Elder, because well, they are our protagonists but Revis wrote them perfectly. Amy was wonderfully written as the scared girl who upon waking up 50 years too early, finds herself in the middle of a murder myself. And Elder, what can I say? He starts off naive and rebellious for the sake of it, in my opinion, but by the end, he really showed that he had the potential to lead. 
 Harley is my most favorite character, by far. Labeled as one of the mental patients, he still manages to undoubtedly provide solace for me as a reader as I tried to grapple with the tyrannical rule of Eldest. I really wished we had more of him in the novel but without risking any spoilers, all I can say to him is "Godspeed, Harley". And now, to Eldest - well, he is someone who called Hitler "a wise leader for his people". You be the judge. 
 The dystopian theme of the novel will really eat at you. Why? Because only Amy, who was born on Sol-Earth (Earth's new name), knows that they're in a dystopia. Everyone just accepts whatever Eldest says and one can't help but feel sympathetic to her plight. 
 This novel is not suitable for younger teens, as there are certain scenes that have rather severe moral implications. I myself, after reading those scenes, felt the need to take a break before resuming my read. 
 So what now, you might ask? Well, the novel wraps up rather nicely but a sequel is implied (confirmed by author already, though) what with the nature of problems brought up in this novel. The problems will not be easily solved and for this, I can't wait for the sequel because I just need to know how it all ends! Oh, 2012, how far you are! And lastly, on a completely shallow note, this cover was amazingly gorgeous. I don't know how the designers are going to top it for book 2 but I most definitely can't wait to find out.