Last year, I had the great pleasure of reading Across The Universe by Beth Revis. To say I loved the book would probably be an understatement of my true feelings for it. I even wrote a review, in which I sang it the highest of praises. My greatest wish was to have the next book, to know what happened next.
Fastforward to January 2012, during which, a friend miraculously obtained a copy of A Million Suns, the sequel to Across The Universe. I screamed. I cried. I jumped for joy. Then I begged to borrow it so that I could behold its secrets and would thus know what happened next.
Of course, once I got the book in my hands, I had second thoughts. I had these same second thoughts when picking up Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, Pretties by Scott Westerfield, and In The Hand Of The Goddess by Tamora Pierce. I had indeed loved the first book in each of these series, but I always worried that somehow the second book wouldn’t satisfy me as much as the first ones had. I’m sure we’ve all had those moments when we continued a beloved series and just felt disappointed by it.
What would I do in such an event? Would the series be ruined for me? Would it taint my opinion of the first book? These were difficult questions to answer, as you might understand. But I realised that to pick up any book expresses a willingness to take a chance, to go on an adventure. I picked up Across The Universe because I was interested and wanted to take a chance on it. I wanted to know how events would unfold, if the characters would touch me, and most of all, to discover if i would like it. Why shouldn’t I take a chance on the second book? Why shouldn’t I choose to go on that adventure?
Have you ever had that feeling? That moment of hesitation when you’re holding a sequel? What have you guys done?
Kris.
