Review: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Author: Elizabeth Norris

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Page Count: 445 pages, Hardcover

Date Published: April 24th 2012

Find it on Goodreads: Unraveling

Source: Purchased

 

 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, Janelle knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.

But her reincarnation, 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 one boy she never saw coming.

My thoughts: I had a bit of a hysterics attack at the end of this book... SO MANY FEELINGS!

Wow. Just. Wow.  I was so excited to read this book and for good reason. It was so incredible. Honestly, when I finished it, I went into slight hysterics. True, it was really late at night because I could not put it down, but still. I've always been fascinated by the end of the world, but not the cheesy stuff. No, I mean the subjects that have been addressed in this book, like other worlds and humans who live in separate universes. I won't get all into that because obviously that's a huge subject that we can talk about for hours, but my point is that Norris did a great job of expressing an idea that makes so much sense. 

Janelle was a great protagonist who was strong and funny. Her absolute confusion on how she 'didn't die' when she obviously did was real and was written in a manner that made me feel confused as well, as if I was in Janelle's shoes. She was a fantastic big sister and her relationship with Jared reminded me of what I used to have with my oldest little brother. I wish we could have gotten more of Jared time, but hopefully in the next book. Janelle and Jared's father was a great character as well. We learn more about him later in the book, but the relationship between him and Janelle is so complex, with tons of emotion. I absolutely adored Alex, Janelle's best friend. He is the type of guy I want to marry. Sweet, crazy smart, and incredibly loyal, he was by far my favorite character in this book. Then there's Ben. I was a bit indifferent about Ben at first, although the scene between him and Janelle in their English class talking about proposals had my stomach filled with butterflies, but he grew on me... A lot. His loyalty and commitment to his 'secret' that I won't reveal for those who haven't read Unraveling, was amazing and inspiring. Sure Ben was a bit cliche when it comes to heroes, but he and his friends were mysterious and cryptic, and that all lead to an amazing plot.

Unraveling was written extremely well. It was very descriptive but didn't have so many details that it was boring. Boring would be the last word I'd use for this book. Beth Revis helped me become more interested in sci-fi books again, and Elizabeth Norris has now made that interest into a love, that may transform itself into a passion. I used to be fascinated by anything sci-fi, but that dwindled down a few years back. But now it's returned and I am so glad! Unraveling got me thinking and had me on the equivalent of the edge of my seat for books. It was filled with suspense and craziness that blew my mind. There were a few things that probably could have been left out of the book that wouldn't have affected the main story, but hey, maybe it'll be important in the following book! I loved all the FBI aspects to it; I found those made the book unique from a lot of YA fantasy we get. There was a lot of mystery involved that kept the plot fast paced and action packed.

Like I said, once I completed this novel, I went into a bit of a hysterical attack. I was up late with my friend, her sister and their cousin, at their cabin. We were all reading silently, until I finished the book. Then I started to have an indescribable moment where I started to laugh, but cry, but also hyperventilate. I couldn't breathe, because the conclusion was so sad/happy. Unraveling was finally a book where I could not predict what was going to happen. So many things were going through my mind once I finished and then because I didn't have wifi, I couldn't check the release date for the next book, Unbreakable, (April 2013). So, yeah. I'm sure not a lot of people will have this kind of reaction, because the book did end on a nice note where it could technically leave off, but I'm very very happy there's going to be a second book! If you're into sci-fi, FBI mysteries and cute romances, this book is for you. It's filled with so many different things that I'm sure a ton of people will love it. I know I did. 

Happy reading!

~Kristy