7/7/11

Day 2 AtU Read Along Ch. 7-12

Welcome to Day 2 on our epic journey through the pages of Across the Universe!  Today we're covering chapters 7-12.  So far, we've met Amy and Elder and now we're about to see what has been happening on the Godspeed while Amy slept.

Ch. 7 - Amy describes her nightmare.  It wasn't real- right?!

Is anyone else getting freaked out by Amy's frozen chapters?

Ch. 8 - Elder heads to the hospital to see his best friend, Harley.  There we meet Doc, the only doctor on the ship.  We find out that Elder takes mental meds.  Then we meet Harley, a painter, who is Elder's best friend and who lives in the mental ward.  Elder really comes alive when he is in the ward with the only people he really calls friends.  He thrives on the creativity and chaos there.  Elder then heads to examine the level that Orion told him about.  Once there, he sees that Amy's door is open.  Her red hair draws Elder to her like a moth to a flame.  He immediately checks her out- he is 16 after all and she IS naked.  The Doc catches him down there and Eldest makes him leave.

What is your first impression of Harley?

What do you think of Doc?

What do you think of Elder's first glimpse of Amy?

Ch. 9 - Amy has a dream about the new planet and her life there.  She is still floating through dreams and nightmares.

Ch. 10 - Eldest drags Elder to the learning center and leaves him there to learn the third cause of discord.  Elder wants to disobey but doesn't feel that he can.

Ch. 11 - Amy thinks about Jason.  Then she begins to feels things and hear things.  As she starts to panic, her heart begins to beat and she starts to feel the pain.

Why do you think Amy panics about being unfrozen?

Ch. 12 - Doc finds Elder in the garden near the hospital.  Elder admits that he just wants to see Amy.  Doc tells him to get over it that she is frozen and he is not.  Nothing can come of obsessing over her.  They see Orion walking up the stairs of the recorder hall.  Doc thinks that Orion reminds him of someone he used to know.  Then the cryo level alarm goes off and they race down to find Amy's box out on the table in the center aisle.  She's awake and thrashing in her box.  As they struggle to get the lid off, Amy pulls her tubes and begins screaming in pain.

Who do you think thawed her?

Who do you think Orion reminds Doc of?

That's it for Chapters 7-12.  We're just about to see Amy and Elder meet for the first time.  Remember to leave your answers to the questions in the comments below as well as any questions or items for discussion that you may have.  I hope to see ya'll back here on July 9th when we cover Chapters 13-18 and we see what Amy thinks of Elder and of the Godspeed.


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8 comments:

Brandy said...

Ch. 7 - I find the frozen chapters kind of interesting actually and kept wondering, are people's minds active enough for dreaming if they are frozen?

Ch. 8 - What is your first impression of Harley? I love Harley. I find it really interesting that those that maintain that creative spark are separated but cared for well. It's like even though the society is about sameness, they recognize at the same time that there has to be some who are different if that makes sense.

Ch. 10 - I just keep waiting for Elder to throw off Eldest's control. Elder seems like such a good person and Eldest is so dominating.

Ch. 11 - I would be terrified of what was going to happen next - the pain of the unfreezing as well as the uncertainty of a new future in a new place.

Ch. 12 - Who do you think thawed her?
Who do you think Orion reminds Doc of?
Since I have already read this book once, I can't answer these questions! ;)

AquaMarie said...

Ch. 7 - This sounds weird, but Amy's frozen chapters remind me of SCUBA diving in cold water, which freaks me out royally.

Ch. 8 - Harley's first impression: intense, focused, smart, and a good friend. Doc strikes me a very calculating - why would he lie to Eldest? Elder's first glimpse of Amy...well, at least the boy has good taste. He likes redheads.

Ch. 11 - I think Amy panics as she thaws because 1) it HURTS! and 2) she has no idea what she's facing when she wakes up.

Ch. 12 - I've read the book all the way through, so all I can say is you'll see...

Unknown said...

Ch 7. Makes you rethink being frozen for sure. I feel sorry for Amy they continued tourment of the nightmares. Very chilling to the bone. Freaky indeed.

Ch 8 Harley seemed creative, focused and a good friend to ELder.
Doc seemed cold and lifeless, just doing his job if you may call it that.'
Elder first opinion of Amy - the red hair definetly drew him in, her beauty, pale skin and unique appearance and more than likely the first female he has seen naked so very Curious !

Ch 9

Amy dreams of beauty ,, the new world and the ones she loves in it

Ch 10
Eldest seems controlling and cold, but Elder would not dissobey ,,

ch 11

The pain, is it time to be unfrozen, has she even left Earth yet, and who in on the other side of the glass box ? The insecurites, and the panic incase once again she is having another nightmare > ?

Chaper 12

I think Harley thawed her, he seems to behold beauty and one glance at Amy and he is also entranced with her ?

I think that Orion reminds Doc of Elder !! ??

Im really enjoying this read along. They say the boys where hospitalized and took medicine Im wandering what for ,, and the comment that Doc said Elder is special ??

kat

kittee_cat@bigpond.com

Michele said...

darn it!! I had a bunch of stuff typed and it vanished on me!!

ch7: I live Harley..

Doc creeps me out..

I think Elder is fasinated with Amy because she looks different...and she is naked!!

Ch11: I think Amy is panicking because she is in pain, and I think she is realizing that she is not being thawed the right way...she is trapped inside.

Ch12: Can't answer these because I have already read the book and know!!

Sophie said...

7. Amy's frozen chapters both freaked me out and intrigued me. In the beginning chapters, I thought that the frozen people wouldn't be able to think--they'd just wake up in the new world as if it had been only a few minutes of sleep. I thought it was interesting that Amy could think so much yet still not know how much time had passed.

8. Harley seems like a very likable person and a very good friend. He is creative and focused, unlike most of the other people on the ship.

Doc seems like a cold, indifferent person. He doesn't care about the state of the frozen people but does everything he can to please Eldest.

Elder is intrigued by Amy because he is so used to the way people look--olive skin, dark hair--while the frozen girl has pale skin and red hair. He is attracted to her beauty.

10. There's no question here, but I think this is the part where Elder begins to question Eldest's authority over him and where he begins to figure out his own power.

11. The pain is a big part of why Amy panics. I don't think she thought that unfreezing would be like that when she woke up--what if this is an accident? She also is afraid of what she will find when she opens her eyes--hat if she's still on Earth and no time has passed at all?

12. I can't say--read the book already :)

Melissa/welachild said...

Amy's frozen chapters are creepy. Just the idea of dreaming and knowing you can't wake up and not knowing when you will wake up or how much time has passed, is frightening.
I don't know what to think about Harley but I don't like Doc or Eldest.
Elder's first glimpse of Amy is so eye opening because he has just learned about difference being a discord. But Elder is drawn to her beauty and her difference.
When Doc got freaked out over Orion, I thought it was kinda like he'd seen someone he thought was dead-- like the other Elder! He keeps being mentioned so I can't help but conspiracy theory about Orion, who probably unthawed Amy just to throw a wrench at Eldest?
Amy being frightened of being unthawed makes total sense to me. There are people she doesn't know, standing over here frozen and naked body. Also, how does she know the reanimation will work! That would be my biggest concern.

IdentitySeeker said...

C7: Amy’s descriptions of being frozen are beyond scary. They remind me of the Jessica Alba movie, “Awake”, in which the main character goes under the knife in surgery but retains consciousness despite the anaesthesia. Truly a nightmare experience. I’d probably lose my mind.

C8: I think Harley is adorable with his habit of leaving trails of paint everywhere. He seems like a nice enough, friendly guy.
Doc appears to be a mysterious character and I’m sure at this point that he knows a lot more than he lets on.
For some reason, I expected Elder to be immune to the sight of a naked female body. I suppose I expected that things would have changed in the future and that, living in such close quarters, men and women would not be as surprised by the sight of a naked body. I did find it gratifying to know that he’s just like any other male and cannot resist the sight of a nude female form. It helped that he felt a little guilty for it.

C9/10/11: I think that it’s only natural that Amy felt panicked about being unfrozen since she was faced with so much of uncertainty. She could not know for sure whether conditions on the new planet would be suitable for human habitation and I expect that the experience of being unfrozen must have been very unpleasant and uncomfortable.

C12: I’m not sure who I think thawed Amy, but I think that Elder, Doc and Orion look like prime suspects.

I think that, whoever Orion reminded Doc of, it must not be a good person (judging by Doc’s reaction). Orion must remind him of some former trouble-maker he thought was dead.

Sarah

Litza said...

Ch 7 - YES! It makes me so claustrophobic... and terrified. I would hate to be stuck in my nightmares!

Ch 8 - I LOVE Harley! He's an artist, like me, & he just seems like such a nice guy & good friend.

Doc seems a bit sketchy to me... I still don't know if I like him, really.

I think Elder is mesmerized by Amy and how different she is. I like that Elder, as opposed to Eldest, likes and appreciates differences.

Ch 9 - I can't imagine being stuck in a state of dreaming. I wonder if her parents and the other frozens are struggling with it too... or if is it just Amy?

Ch 10 - Eldest seems so cruel... I don't like him. I like that we're starting to see the spark of rebellion in Elder... or at least seeing that he wants to disobey Eldest. Go boy, go!

Ch 11 - Well, like you said, there was pain. I think I'd panic if suddenly I was waking up and felt this immense pain. Plus, she's been stuck inside her own head for so long, any change can be terrifying.

Ch 12 - I can't really answer the last questions because I've already read the book previous to this... & I'm glad to know I'm not the only one!

Get ready for some fun, guys!