Tuesday 29 May 2012

Review: Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris

Title: Unravelling
Author: Elizabeth Norris
Publication date: June 7th 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Age group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Cover rating: 4/5
Content rating: 4.5/5
Buy: Amazon / The Book Depository


Description:
Leaving the beach, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit head on by a pickup truck.
And killed. 
Then Ben Michaels, resident stoner, is leaning over her. And even though it isn’t possible, she knows Ben somehow brought her back to life…
Meanwhile, Janelle’s father, a special agent for the FBI, starts working on a case that seems strangely connected to Ben. Digging in his files, Janelle finds a mysterious device – one that seems to be counting down to something that will happen in 23 days and 10 hours time. 
That something? It might just be the end of the world. And if Janelle wants to stop it, she’s going to need to uncover Ben’s secrets – and keep from falling in love with him in the process…
My thoughts:
Unravelling was a book I initially had no interest in reading. But then the gushing reviews started popping up, and then I saw and loved the UK cover and finally, I won a copy of an ARC. So clearly I was meant to read this book and I'm so glad I did. It was fantastic! The books I give high ratings to are always the ones that I take days to actually read because I don't want them to end. That was definitely the case with Unravelling and I hated seeing the ending getting closer, which was heightened by the fact that the chapters showed the countdown to the end. A little detail that I really liked, actually.

Janelle may just be one of my favourite female protagonists of all time. There was just something about her voice that really resonated with me. If I haven't made this clear before, I love well-written snarky characters and just can't get enough of them. They make the reading experience a lot more amusing, especially when the character is also really intelligent, as Janelle was. I especially liked how kind and caring Janelle is despite everything life keeps throwing at her. She has a really close bond with her younger brother Jared mostly because she had to step up and parent him since their actual parents weren't doing too good in that department. She does get frustrated with it at times but mostly just does her best and gets on with it.

It is not often that I like a main character's best friend. Let's face it, when they're girls, they're made annoying probably just to make the protagonist seem even amazing. And when they're boys, they lust after the protagonist- again to make her seem even more amazing. But I loved Alex! He was such a sweetheart and an actual friend! I adored him right from the first time we met him and wish he'd been in it even more. And there's a scene with his mother that I found pretty comical too! Ben- the love interest- is a very different guy but just as brilliant. I enjoyed getting to know him and I think he'll have many readers crushing on him!

The plot itself moves at a perfect speed and had many twists that I really did not see coming which was awesome. But why am I not giving it a full five stars? Well it was depressing as hell. Seriously. The first half wasn't so bad but I got so weary of bad things happening after a while. It just felt so heavy and sad to me a lot of the time. Not that I can't give 5 stars to sad books (I mean, The Road is an all time favourite) but I had just been wishing some things would go differently. Other than that though, this was a seriously amazing book and I will be recommending it to everybody!

14 comments:

  1. I felt the same way initially, but, like you, I became interested after seeing all of the marvelous reviews. Your review has only made me more excited to read this book. It sounds like one that I will really like, and I cannot wait to get my chance to check it out!

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  2. Oh my goodness, this sounds AMAZING! I actually have a copy sitting at home, and I've been excited to read it, but now I'm going CRAZY! Oh, I LOVE the sound of Janelle, AND of her best friend! I know EXACTLY what you mean about 'best friends' only being there to make a protagonist look good, but this sounds amazing.

    AMAZING review! So excited to have found your blog! It's so pretty! ♥

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    1. Which, I might add, is CRAZY, given I already follow you on Twitter! ^__^

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  3. I'm so glad you liked this! I completely agree about Janelle's voice... she might be one of my favourite protagonists of all time, too. And wasn't Alex just amazing? They need more best-friend characters like him in YA books. ;) Brilliant review!

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  4. I totally understand your reasoning for not giving this book 5 stars, its just so much crap was thrown your way, I found myself sobbing on so many occasions and it was seriously a tense book at times! But I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Like you said it was a book you were mean to read! :)

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  5. New follower. :) Loved the review. :)
    http://ebonyblacklines.blogsspot.co.uk/
    drop by sometime! :)

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  6. LOL, I was laughing like crazy when I read the part about typical heroine's best friend in YA books, Nicola! x) I'm completely and utterly agree with you! Guy best friends always seem to fall in love with the heroine, while girl best friends are always unbelievably annoying! It's awesome that this book is different though! Now I can't wait to meet Alex! x)

    Absolutely AMAZING review, Nicola! So glad that you really enjoyed this book <3

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  7. So happy that you liked this, Nicola! I must agree with you, characters were my favorite part too: Janelle, Ben and Alex, and her dad's partner, I forgot his name because I'm old and have very limited brain space. :D
    Wonderful review. I can't wait for the next book.

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  8. This sounds like my kind of book! Awesome review! :)

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  9. Yes, I agree! I also loved this book. I found it kind of depressing as well, especially towards the end.

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  10. I haven't thought about reading this book. I will definitely take a look now. Hopefully, I don't blubber at all the sad parts. I also feel EXACTLY like you when it comes to stretching out a good book. Even when it's getting crazy-amazing, I'll keep myself busy for awhile. haha great review :D
    -Bones

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  11. I was EXACTLY the same way, Nicola! I wasn't that intrigued about this book at first, but then all the amazing reviews started coming and I couldn't resist reading it -- and I hoped onto the Unraveling-loving club! It was just such an AMAZING book! The characters, the plot, the out-of-this-world concept... and ALEX, oh Alex! I loved him as the best friend character who wasn't a love interest too, so what happened in the end just broke my heart.

    Amazing review, Nicola! This book kind of IS depressing as hell, isn't it? LOL but I'm glad you enjoyed it despite that! :) <3

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  12. Oh I'm so glad you liked this Nicola. I loved it. I totally agree, Janelle, Alex and Ben are amazing characters. It is totally heartbreaking at times though. I can't wait for the next one. Awesome review :)

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  13. Great review, Nicola :) I think most people have been enjoying this one. I have it for review so I would really need to hurry up & pick it up soon. :)

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So sorry about the word verification, it's the only way to stop the huge amounts of spam!

Thanks SO much for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it.

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