Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris
Expected Publication Date: April 24th, 2012
Publisher: Balzer & Bray Page Count: 445 pages Format: ARC Source: Publisher Purchase: Amazon * I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own *
Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she's opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn't possible, she knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.
But her revival, and Ben's possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI agent father's files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what's right in front of her: Everything that's happened—the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben's sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she's going to need to uncover Ben's secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.
From debut author Elizabeth Norris comes this shattering novel of one girl's fight to save herself, her world, and the boy she never saw coming.
When I first read the synopsis of this book (a girl who dies and then comes back to life to save the world?!) I was hooked. I went in to Unraveling knowing I was going to love it to death. And I absolutely did. Not one of my expectations was let down, and I am seriously hoping that Elizabeth Norris writes a sequel to this one, because I need more Janelle! And I need even more Ben!!!! All of the characters were so well written and Norris' writing style is just so beautiful. I know this is just a debut, but I can't wait to see what else Elizabeth Norris comes out with!
As I said before the characters are all really well written. While I didn't relate to any of them, I felt like I knew them. When disaster struck, I cried my eyes out. When some of the more romantic things happened, I smiled like an idiot and also cried my eyes out. Janelle is an amazing female protagonist; she's strong, smart, resilient, and incredibly selfless. She cares about people with her whole heart and she goes above and beyond to take care of her own. Ben is a great love interest, but I definitely wish there was more of him! The romance doesn't really set in until half way through the story, which is about 250 pages or so, and I just wanted more Ben!! Their relationships IS a bit insta-lovey, but I dealt with it because I was so in love with him, myself :)
The writing is fantastic, and the story is wonderful! I was constantly on the edge of my seat while reading Unraveling, and I could not for the life of me predict anything! Whenever I would sit back and think, "Oh this guy did it!" 20 pages later I would be proved completely wrong! Elizabeth Norris did a wonderful job creating something unique and fast paced, and I loved every minute of it! There is a quite a bit of swearing, so if you're uncomfortable with that then you probably don't want to pick this one up. However, I wasn't bothered by it, because I felt like it made the characters more realistic.
Overall, I absolutely loved Unraveling and I had a hard time putting it down. Fans of sci-fi. mystery, thriller, and adventure will fawn over this story-line. I was a bit confused sometimes, but I think the entire novel was just so well done. Usually I have a hard time reading books that are this long, but I found myself to immersed in the story that the length just didn't bother me. I can't wait to see what Elizabeth Norris comes up with next!!!
