Review : Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Summary (from Goodreads)

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.

Personal Thoughts

I have been dying to get an ARC of Unraveling for months. The first time I saw the beautiful cover and read the intriguing synopsis, I was hooked. The book sounded so wicked! I literally jumped out of my seat when I checked my inbox and saw that I had been approved for a copy of Unraveling via Edelweiss! Needless to say, I had huge expectations going into this book.

Janelle Tenner, our 17 year old protagonist, is on the phone with her best friend Alex, when she is hit by a truck. She dies on the spot and even gets to notice the light at the tunnel. However, she soon opens her eyes to see Ben Michaels, a boy she has never talked to in her life, leaning over her and asking her to stay alive. She is flabbergasted. Janelle is a hundred percent certain she did die when the truck hit her and now she is determined to find out what Ben's role was in bringing her back to life. Around the same time, weird things keep occurring in her town and Janelle realizes that everything is somehow connected.

Janelle was a perfect main character. She was witty, brave and really smart. I loved her determination and her strong-will. The courage and the strength that she exhibited throughout the story was remarkable and praise-worthy. She had an inner fire to her that made her seem extremely likable. Also, connecting with her character wasn't difficult. I found myself being in synch with her and her thoughts throughout the entire story. There is no doubt that many readers will love her character because I think she was truly admirable. She had the kind of personality that was warm, friendly and sweet, but at the same time she was a little feisty and didn't bow down whenever she faced difficulties. Not once did she complain or whine in the book because of the obstacles she faced. I really liked how she took care of her bipolar mother and her little brother whenever her father was away for long hours, wordlessly. She showed enormous inner strength, which is why I didn't hesitate to like her character at all. She did make mistakes in the book, but that only made her character believable.
Overall, Janelle was a fabulous character that I have no doubt many YA readers will instantly click with and cherish.

Ben Michaels was terribly swoon-worthy. I freaking loved him! Initially, his character was shrouded with so much mystery that I found myself being so frustrated trying to figure out what his secret was. I couldn't wait to find out what or he was. He was a wonderful and good-hearted character who was easy to love. His sweetness and loving side made him seem so realistic. All I wanted to do was hug the guy throughout the story because he was adorable. I really enjoyed how friendly, sweet and caring he was to Janelle. He was constantly supporting her no matter what she did and I found that to be admirable.

Elizabeth Norris, if you're reading this, I love you. I love you for the simple reason that you didn't include a stupid love triangle in this book. Yes people, there is NO love triangle in this book! No love triangle is equivalent to a VERY cheerful me.
The romance between Ben and Janelle is truly cute. They shared some adorable banter. Their relationship was really heart-melting. Ben and Janelle actually bother to get to know each other.  Seeing their relationship grow was enjoyable. They shared a very realistic romantic relationship in Unraveling. What I really liked in this book is the fact that the romance was not the focus of the story. In fact, I would say that compared to other books it was very minimal. Yet, the two characters shared an explosive chemistry that had me, figuratively speaking, fainting.

The secondary characters were all very developed. They all had depth and personalities. I loved the fact that all of them somehow were vital to the story-line. Like many other reader, my favorite secondary character in this whole book has to be Alex. Alex was Janelle's best friend and he was a boy. He was such a sweet, smart and hilarious guy that I couldn't help but like him. I loved Janelle's friendship with him, because they actually shared things with each other.
One other thing I loved in Unraveling is the way the interactions between Janelle and the secondary characters was portrayed.

The plot line was action-packed and full of suspense. Some scenes were gruesome and revolting, but that only made the story more mysterious. There were so many twists in the book that actually surprised and sometimes shocked me because I truly wasn't anticipating them. This made the whole book even more fun and enjoyable to read. From the first page to the last, the author kept me on the edge of my seat. I was pining to know what was going to happen and the author managed to keep the suspense throughout this thrilling book.
The ending had my jaw dropping and there was a killer cliffhanger. I sincerely hope that Unraveling has a sequel or else I might be heart broken.

Elizabeth Norris wrote wonderfully for a debut author. Unraveling was an excellent book. The author managed to weave science fiction, appealing characters, realistic themes, an original plot and a heart-warming romance to give rise to this wonderful book. The fast pace at which the events occur keeps you on your toes and ensures that you're not bored even for a single moment. I hope to read more fast-paced, unique and interesting novels from this author in the future.

To sum up, Unraveling was an action-packed story with magnetic characters that will surely make you fall in love with this author's writing style. This book deserves more than 5 stars from me!

Rating

Cover : 5/5
Plot : 5/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

Big Thanks To HarperCollins for providing me with an ARC of this book.