Unraveling
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4.2 • 48 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Like The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Elizabeth Norris’s Unraveling blends realistic coming-of-age issues with a gripping science fiction world.
Unraveling’s heroine, sixteen-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, Jared.
And that was before she died…and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth’s destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this complex SF mystery, debut writer Norris conceives of parallel universes that can inadvertently collide and destruct when portals between them are opened, a predicament facing Earth if 17-year-old Janelle Tenner's theory is correct. Janelle's father is a workaholic FBI agent, her bipolar mother is hardly functioning, and Janelle herself was just killed by an out-of-control car and brought back to life by classmate Ben Michaels. Janelle had always dismissed Ben as a stoner, but after he saves her, she is powerfully drawn to him. She also suspects that there might be a connection between recent deaths that her father has been investigating and her accident. When Norris's story works, it's a satisfying puzzle full of novel twists and provocative clues. A protective older sister and defiant FBI agent-in-training, Janelle is a courageous, layered heroine. But the chemistry between Janelle and Ben is faint, relying on familiar paranormal romance devices, and some plot elements are convoluted. A planned sequel will surely offer more challenges for Janelle, Ben, and planet Earth. Ages 13 up.
Customer Reviews
Good read
It was very realistic in the parts where she talked about the smaller, less important things in life. I enjoyed hearing the author add those silly shows the characters like to watch or the one kid in class with a weird rumor back story.
The rest of the story was good but not great. I liked that it kept moving and didn’t stay on one plot too long. The ending definitely was left for a second part and I think there is a second book that starts right up with the same characters.
There’s no sex but just cute high school kissing and the eccentric love they feel when they touch/ sneak around.
I will say that every character was different in their own way and I appreciated that. They each had a believable part in the story and characteristics that reminded me of people I know.
Overall: I read the whole thing in one day (staying up late to finish) but it wasn’t a “special” read. It wasn’t one that deserved a movie or a second read. I just really wanted to know what happened at the end. It was cute and feel-good. Seemed a little plain on the surface but the realistic parts made up for it. A little sci-fi but not full “alien attacks”. Just a twist on real life high school kids- like Twilight or something.
Bought this Book by Chance
Amazing book! Very different plot, and I didn't care much for the ending! But, I'm very glad I bought it!
Unfortunate
The story started nicely but I wasn't prepared for the story to go sci-fi. I couldn't get into the main character but I did appreciate her relationship with her brother. The laments of love were too cliche and the author over-used an unfortunate writing trap "and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding". Every time I read that it took me out of the story which is the exact opposite of what should happen.