Unraveling (Unraveling, #1)

by Elizabeth Norris

Reminiscent of Before I Fall, Elizabeth Norris's Unraveling blends realistic coming-of-age issues and heart-stopping romance with something just a little bit more. In this case, a gripping science fiction world.

Unraveling's heroine, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner, is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother.

And that was before she died...and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. The more Janelle tries to figure him out, the more she starts to believe he's connected to a case her father is working on. The one where people are dying of radiation poisoning and the body count is rising. The one that involves a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction. If Janelle wants to stop the clock and save the world, she has twenty-four days to uncover Ben's secrets--and keep from falling in love with him.

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.

• ISBN10: 0062103733
• ISBN13: 9780062103734
• Publish Date: 24 April 2012
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Unraveling is an incredibly thrilling and highly intelligent sci-fi young adult thriller, full of daring twists and turns, intriguing mysteries that will keep readers guessing at every turn, and an amazing cast of characters that only enhance the story being told. Think X-Files meets young adult, filled with mystifying parallel universes melding with the present and captivating intrigue. Norris fills her novel full of suspense and the right amounts of daring adventure, to keep readers engaged and on the edge of their seats throughout the whole story. She does a phenomenal job in creating realistic events, developing her characters with likable qualities, and keeping readers on their toes guessing. Unraveling is a novel that is completely unpredictable in every way imaginable.

The action starts almost immediately, when Janelle is hit by a truck and then brought back to life by a mysterious new guy. Questions start flying and readers are soon off on a chase to find the answers, along with Janelle. She is a wonderful lead heroine, full of incredible strength, intelligence, and compassion. She's certainly not afraid to give as well as she gets and always manages to roll with the punches somehow. She's not without her issues though, having to do deal with a barely functioning mother who's been diagnosed as bi-polar, tasked with taking care of not only herself but her younger brother as well making sure he has whatever he needs, and discovering a countdown to something infinitely bigger than the world and with the power to cause devastating chaotic peril.

Janelle is incredibly unselfish and knows when she needs help, which are admirable qualities about her that make it easy for readers to connect with her. She soon discovers that this mysterious guy who brought her back to life, Ben Michaels, and his friends may not be who they seem. Later on in the story, she realizes that she was right, they have a secret: they can possibly save the world from ending in chaos and destruction. There are two other major players in the story and they are Ben and Alex. Both guys have quite a bit of chemistry with Janelle and it's easy to see how she could be attracted to and care for them both.

Alex seems to be the other half of Janelle, her childhood best friend that she's grown up with. He seems to be her voice of reason, albeit one that she doesn't necessarily always listens to. He's incredibly supportive and sweet, when it comes to protecting her at all costs and being there for her. Ben, on the other hand, is mysteriously intriguing, and swoon worthy handsome. While he comes across as stoner and slacker, there's definitely more to him below the surface. The closer that Janelle and Ben work together to save the world, the more she feels drawn to him and their connection starts to grow and develop into something more. She starts to let go and fall in love with him. Their chemistry is passionate and full of strength, yet it's just there almost suspended in a sense and leaving readers craving more.

Unraveling possesses a super crazy unpredictable plot twists filled with action and the unraveling of mysteries and more questions leading up to the countdown that readers will never guess. Fans who enjoy mystery thrillers, filled with incredible intense action, a daring sense of suspense, and memorable characters that are well develop and easy to connect with, will definitely enjoy this novel. From the moment it starts, it never stops until readers reach the end, and then it leaves on a cliffhanger that will have them hanging on for more.