I really, REALLY wanted to love Across the Universe. I've been eagerly anticipating this book for months. And then...I started reading. And it put me to sleep three nights in a row. 
 I hate that feeling when a book you've looked forward to for so long turns out to be...meh. 
 Part of my problem? I read Maria V. Snyder's Inside Out last week, and I couldn't help but make comparisons with Inside Out so fresh in my mind. Inside Out is so unique and compelling that Across the Universe felt flat, weary, and (frankly, in some parts) disturbing in comparison. 
 (As an aside, I highly recommend Inside Out for sci-fi lite, dystopian fans. It's a little tedious in the beginning with all of the technical descriptions--props to Across the Universe for including the ship diagram--but Inside Out hits its stride and turns into a riveting tale of life contained inside a metal cube of secrets.) 
 I admit--I had lofty expectations for Across the Universe, which affected my enjoyment. The novel has such a promising premise--I love the idea of blurring the genres into a this sci-fi mystery romance in a dystopian world--and I guess I was just expecting too much. The characters weren't unlikeable, but I didn't find myself really cheering for them, either. The best character in the novel went the way of Cogon from Inside Out, and I'm disappointed this character won't be back for the sequel. 
 The worst part of Across the Universe is the overuse of "The Season" hammer. I get it--the Season is disturbing and creepy and unnatural--but I felt like Revis kept hitting me over the head with it again and again. I think a few mentions would have been okay since it is important to the plot, but I feel like I spent the entire middle of the book scrunching my nose and saying, "Eeeew, gross." I wanted to scrub my mind with some disinfectant afterward. 
 Across the Universe was not a terrible read, but it just never felt completely engaging and compelling--I never had that crazy obsessed feeling you get when you're reading the most amazing book and just CANNOT. PUT. IT. DOWN. 
 Across the Universe poses some intriguing questions regarding survival, leadership, free will, individual thought, and differences in society, and I hope these ideas will be explored in even greater depth in the sequel, as some of the answers at the end felt too simplistic. It was too black and white without enough exploration of the characters' motivations. The mystery is a little obvious and you'll figure it out way before Elder and Amy, but it did add another dimension to the novel. However, for me, Across the Universe did not live up to the hype.