Book Review: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Published April 24th, 2012 by Balzer + Bray
445 pages (Hardcover)

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.  (From GoodReads)

So, I read this book in less than 12 hours.  I may be a fast reader, but this is impressive for me.


I guess you can say I kind of loved this book.  And I'm going to list why...

1. Genre.  It's a great change of pace from the vampire and dystopian novels I keep reading.  Sometimes, this can lead to a disappointment.  Or it can be awesome.  This book was the latter.
2. Janelle.  She's a well rounded character that I would love to be like.  Determined and true to herself.  A little reckless.  Caring.  
3. Alex.  I want a friend like him!  I mean, I have some amazing friends, but honestly, none of them quite understand me the way Alex gets Janelle.  And, having grown up on a farm in the middle of nowhere, my friends all lived a good 15 minute drive away.  I guess I've always just wanted that best friend that lived next door and could get me in an instant.  Yeah...
4. FBI.  Books + Secret Agents = A happy Sam.  This part of me has always wanted to work for the FBI.  Probably the only thing I don't like about being Canadian is that our secret intelligence agencies suck in comparison.
5. The Ending.  I haven't cried over a book in a long time.  Oh god, I need a sequel.  NOW!

Definitely recommend this book.  This is a hard review to write without spoilers.  I've already text a bunch of people to read it.  


Much love, Samantha