Thursday 3 May 2012

Review: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris



Title: Unraveling
Author: Elizabeth Norris
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication date: 24th April 2012
Source: Edelweiss
My rating: 4 stars


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Unraveling was a book which had been receiving tons of great reviews in the last couple of weeks. Two of my friends Maja and Sam had also rated it 5 stars, so when I got the opportunity to read it, I actually squealed! (This was not at a good moment as I was at a rugby match and my team was at a pivotal moment - taking a penalty, and the squealing did result in me receiving several death glares), but I didn’t care, as soon as I got home I knew that I would be starting it straight away and I couldn’t wait.

Janelle was hit by a truck, it popped up out of nowhere that she didn’t have a chance to move out of the way. As she lay there on the ground and felt her life slipping away from her, she knew she was done for, her family would be left behind broken, who would look after her bipolar mother and her mood changes? Who would look after her little brother Jared when her dad had so much to deal with already being an FBI agent and cooped up in his office all the time? But no sooner than she thought she was leaving this world, she woke up alive with the three school stoners; Ben, Elijah and Reid hovering over her. What just happened? Janelle knew she had died, with the impact of the truck there was no way she could have survived. She had a feeling it had to do something with Ben and his friends, but it was impossible even to fathom the idea that either one of them could have brought her back from the brink of death.

Then strange things start kicking off and she knows her father and his fellow agent Struz are hiding things from her, she’s got a feeling it’s to do with the driver of the truck who hit her. Then there’s this countdown her dads concerned with, why is it so significant? Is it connected to everything weird that’s been going on? And more importantly what is it counting down to?
By the end of this book, I hardly had any nails left from biting them so intensely. There was so much happening in this book all the time to get your head around and I was so caught up in such a whirlwind of emotion. I had a pent up passion to get to the bottom of it all; discover the truth and who was behind it all. But all these mind blowing obstacles kept getting in the way, they left me flabbergasted, shouting in frustration and some were so raw and cut you deep.

The characters were like a bag of pick n’ mix; you never really knew what you would be getting. Janelle was one of the toughest main characters I have come across in a while, she was thrown so much crap her way, nearly dying, having a younger brother dependant on her, running the house as her mother wasn’t in a fit state to do so, finally meeting the person she truly loved; but even that could be ripped away from her so quickly. I truly admire her for the depth and courage she displayed. Ben; I know he had a lot of my friends swooning, and I give him credit he had that aspect about him which could make your heart flutter faster. But I can’t put my finger on it, I actually preferred Alex; Janelle’s best friend more. (may be its because I have a soft spot for people with the name Alex) but I had my doubts about Ben’s character, I didn’t feel that I could trust him straight away, maybe because he came across a little shady and I didn’t really know him as thought I knew Alex? Elijah and Reid you never really knew what you would be getting with these two either, Elijah’s dislike for Janelle was instantly obvious; it was dripping off him with the way he spoke and his attitude towards her when he was around her. Reid was the complete opposite, never hurt a fly and was genuinely concerned with others around him. To say I was surprised with the development of these characters could be the biggest understatement of the year.
Overall Unraveling was an action-packed read, which keeps you utterly captivated. I just wish we didn’t have to wait so long for book two!

Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray for the opportunity to read this book.

Unraveling counts as book 1 off my 100+ books I have every intention of reading list (for full list click here).

19 comments:

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

There were so many fantastic moments in this book, my nails were destroyed by the time I finished too!
Haha! I wonder WHY you have a soft spot for people named Alex! Could it have something to do with Lila's Alex perhaps? :D
Fabulous review, love!

Jenny said...

YAY!!! I'm so glad you loved this one Jasprit! I was definitely biting my nails the whole way through as well, that ominous countdown at the beginning of every chapter definitely didn't help matters! I really loved Alex too, though I'm definitely one of those girls who was swooning a bit over Ben. Maybe Ben will get under your skin a bit more in book 2:) Lovely review!

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

As much as I adored Ben, Alex was probably my favourite guy from the book. I think I have a soft spot for boys named Alex too! ;) Though I started falling for Elijah towards the end, which was strange... :P Anyway, awesome review! I'm so glad you enjoyed this book Jasprit. Bring on book 2! ;)

Jasprit said...

Thank you lovely! You know me so well! ;)

Jasprit said...

I totally forgot about the countdown! That definitely contributed a whole lot to the tension! I'm so excited about book 2, I wonder what Norris has in store for us next! And you never know I may end up falling for Ben! :)

Jasprit said...

Yay! for Alex I thought I was the only one! Yes I know what you mean I loved Alex from Deliium too and Alex from Perfect Chemistry! Gosh all Alex's seem to be hot! Hahaha Elijah did have his moments but so did Reid I remember at one point feeling really sorry for him too!

Nicola said...

Yay! Another person loving this! I'm going to be reading this... next week? Hopefully! I'm so excited. :) Great review!

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

This is a good one, right? Lots of twists and turns and shockers! I am anxious to see where the story goes. I really liked Alex, I am just hoping somehow he will come back...

Rachel said...

Wonderful review! I also really like characters named Alex. Whether it be a girl like Alex from half blood or a boy like Alex rider, I immediately want to now him.
I'm so glad to hear that unraveling has in-depth characters! Can't wait to read it!

Vegan YA Nerds said...

I'm so glad you loved this as well, this is just one more review that adds to my need for Unravelling!

Rachel said...

Lovely review Jasprit. I'm wondering about this countdown. I just got mine in mail but I can't read it yet. :/

Giselle said...

This sounds SO intense and crazy, for real! The countdown thing! I'm gonna have no nails left either I just got this last week and it's taunting me. I'll be getting to it soon!! Awesome review, doll!

Jasprit said...

Thanks Rachel! You got quite a few books to get through? My plan totally went out of the window when Insurgent came out! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you pick it up! :)

Jasprit said...

Thanks Giselle! I hope you have fun reading it too! :)

Celine said...

Hopefully I can get this book SOON!!!!!!! I've heard great things about it and I love the concept itself!!!!

Awesome review, Jasprit! So glad you enjoyed it! <3

Unknown said...

Aww, a soft spot for a guy named Alex? That's so cute, Jasprit!! ♥ I know that my heart always flutters whenever I heard Adrian's name. ;) Luckily, I only meet one Finnick's name! :P

Fantastic review, Jasprit! ♥ You make me dying to read this book! I hope I can read this soon! :)

PS: your blog design is super gorgeous! I adore it very much ♥

Rachel said...

Yes, I have a few galleys that are close to coming out. I feel I should try and get to those first. But we'll see, my plans always fall through too! I also know there's a third book, so if I wait to read Insurgent, I won't have to wait so long for the third. :)

tthepageturner said...

Ahh, I really enjoyed this book! "Janelle was one of the toughest main characters I have come across" Totally agree, she has quickly made it to my favourite heroines list. :)

Awesome review!

Mimi Valentine said...

I LOVE YOUR REVIEW, J! <3 And I love that you loved this even more! This is just one of those books where you can never really truly anticipate what's going to happen because it's so brilliant, so awesome, so intense that you -- well, bite your nails off LOL! And I thought Elijah was a bit jerkish at first too, but he surprised me because he was just really protective of Ben. And I have to admit that by the end, I totally loved him x)

Amazing review, J! <3 The wait for the next book is going to be torturous -- I really want to know how Liz will tie everything together! :')

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