Review: Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris

Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris
Publication Date: April 23rd, 2013
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Page Count: 496 pages
Format: ARC
Source: ALA
Goodreads | Books Inc.
* This is the second book in a series. This review may contain spoilers. *

Four months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but life is finally starting to resume some kind of normalcy. Until Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay shows up. Somebody from an alternate universe is running a human trafficking ring, kidnapping people and selling them on different Earths—and Ben is the prime suspect. Now his family has been imprisoned and will be executed if Ben doesn’t turn himself over within five days.
And when Janelle learns that someone she cares about—someone from her own world—has become one of the missing, she knows that she has to help Barclay, regardless of the danger. Now Janelle has five days to track down the real culprit. Five days to locate the missing people before they’re lost forever. Five days to reunite with the boy who stole her heart. But as the clues begin to add up, Janelle realizes that she’s in way over her head—and that she may not have known Ben as well as she thought. Can she uncover the truth before everyone she cares about is killed?

Unbreakable picks up right where Unraveling left off, focusing in on Janelle's current, sad state and the demolished condition that the world has been left in. Just like before, Norris sweeps us into the disorder that is intrauniverse travel and breaks our hearts over and over again. The book is quite a bit longer than the first, but it felt like such a quick read being that it was so packed with action and plot twists! We get to spend some more quality time with one of my old favorites, Barclay, and we learn a lot about what's been going on in Ben's world. I was as completely consumed with the awesomeness that is Unbreakable and I can't wait to see what Liz is going to come up with next! I'm saddened by the fact that there won't be more Janelle and Ben, but everything was wrapped up nicely!
Remember when Edward left Bella and she became a blubbering mess on the forest floor, staring longingly out her window for months in hopes he'd return and marking herself as one of the weakest and worst female protagonists of all time? Well, even though Ben's gone, Janelle doesn't let herself become a puddle of tears. She goes on with her life and maintains that strong, kick ass heroine role she had in Unraveling. I just loved how strong Janelle stayed throughout the book. She really is one of the best female characters out there. And don't worry, we do see more Ben, but he's less heroic this time, which made him seem a lot weaker. Even though I hate love triangles, and there really isn't one in this book, I almost wanted to switch teams! I was also really excited to see more of some of the side characters in this installment. Barclay plays a huge role and even Ben and Janelle's friends make small to medium appearances. As always, everyone is incredibly different and the personalities really go well together!
The world-building is fantastic, as Norris leads us through the underbelly of Ben's universe. The plot of Unbreakable is a lot more Law and Order than X Files, but there are still some great sci fi elements. There are way more plot twists within this story and I loved how every chapter ends with a mini cliff hanger that makes the book almost impossible to put down. My favorite part is definitely Norris's ability to keep everything completely unpredictable. I had no idea what was coming next and she kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book.
If you loved Unraveling, then there is no doubt that you need to pick up Unbreakable. Your'e going to be seriously shocked by what Liz Norris has in store for you. Although some of the science fictiony elements are toned down in Unbreakable, the pulse-pounding action more than makes up for it. I think I might even love Unbreakable a little bit more than the first. The characters grow throughout the story and it was great to see some old favorites as well as some seriously scary bad guys. Even though I'm super bummed that Liz won't be continuing this series, I'm really impressed with her as a writer and I will definitely be picking up anything and everything else she writes!