Review: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

April 24, 2012

Balzer + Bray

Young Adult | Science Fiction

Unraveling #1

Pages: 445

Source/Format: Bought/Hardcover

Rating: ★★★★ 1/2

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.

REVIEW:

I love this book. No, I really, really do. I mean, how can you not when the heroine, Janelle, says this: 

But somehow I manage to miss the faded blue Toyota pickup until it's so close I can feel the warmth of the engine and smell the smoke of locking brakes. Until the only thing I have time to do is haphazardly throw an arm in front of my face. Because apparently I'm vain like that.   

- page 8, hardcover (emphasis mine.)

I'd been wanting to read Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris for a while, ever since I saw the cover. I am in love with the cover--doesn't it just scream science fiction to you? I absolutely adore it. So when I finally had money to purchase a copy, it was the first book in the checkout. I had read the sample and knew, KNEW, I needed this book in my life. This isn't the first time this has happened to me. 

Unraveling... is amazing. I'm stuck in this strange reading slump, where everything I read doesn't seem to be good, but Unraveling was the light in the darkness. And while I am still stuck in that slump, I have read a few good books, Unraveling being the first one. I just love this book so much.

I love the plot, and the characters, but I wish Ben wasn't such a cliche. Janelle goes from the popular guy to falling in love with the druggie who always sits in the back. I also wish it wasn't such a insta-love, after her and Ben realize that yeah, there are feelings between the two. And while I normally like big books (heh), I felt there were a few subplots that weren't necessary, like the rape subplot. I mean, I understand it, but it just felt a little too much, you know? Maybe if it really connected to the overall plot, instead of the characters arc, it would have felt necessary, but alas, as it was it didn't. 

But man alive, I am in LOVE with this book. I don't think I've fallen for a book this hard since For Darkness Shows the Stars and Shine. Which now I realize I read those two in the past two months, but I DON'T CARE. I'm over here, doodling my name + Unraveling in the margins of my notebook. <3 this book so much.

This next part is spoilery, so highlight if you've read Unraveling:

I wish we got to see more of Prima; I felt like Janelle and Ben were only there for twenty minutes and then we were whisked back to Janelle's world. But this is just a personal peeve of mine: I love seeing futuristic worlds, and Prima was the prime futuristic world I want to learn more about. More please, Ms. Norris! I'm really hoping the sequel will include Prima.

I will most definitely be reading the sequel and be recommending Unraveling to everyone I know. BEST. BOOK. EVER. :D

Other Reviews:

The Midnight Garden 

The Diary of a Bookwurm 

i swim for oceans