A million suns by Beth Revis

Across The Universe 2. Penguin 2012. ISBN 9780141333687.
(Age: 14+) The sequel to Across the universe, A million suns continues continues the enthralling story of Elder and Amy Martin as they uncover the secrets of Godspeed, the space ship that is moving to colonise a planet. With the death of Eldest, Elder is trying to be a less autocratic leader, but this leads to chaos. Amy has had to resort to hiding as her white skin and red hair make her stand out as different.
Amy and Elder reveal small secrets and thoughts in alternating chapters. Their voices are distinctive and their differing viewpoints but care for each other add to the depth of the story. Often the chapters have a cliffhanger or hook at the end that ensures that the reader continues on with the story. Of course the major cliffhanger at the conclusion of the story is guaranteed to get readers to continue with the series.
I was fascinated with the idea of life on the ship and the gradual realisation of the lies and deceit that previous Elders had perpetuated makes gripping reading. It was easy to see why that had happened but as a reader I sympathised with Elder and Amy as they tried to get people to realise their potential rather than being drones.
The fact that Amy is white and is feared by the rest of the inhabitants of the ship because she is different made me think about racism and fear of the unknown. The themes of free will, revolution and access to knowledge are also strong and thought provoking, while Amy's thoughts about whether she would be attracted to Elder if there were other people of her own age around, made me think about the nature of love.
Combinations of science fiction, murder mystery, romance and a dystopian future make this series well worth the effort of reading.
Readers may like to look at Beth Revis' webpage and the site for the series.
Pat Pledger