Shiirleyy's Bookshelf has migrated to Dear Shirley ! I will continue to post book reviews but there will also be a lot of personal and travel-related posts :)

Book Review: Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris

12 May 2012


Unravelling 
by Elizabeth Norris
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia/Balzer + Bray
Release Date: May, 2012 (AU)/24th April (US)
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher for review (Thank you!)


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.


UNRAVELLING.WAS.INCREDIBLE. IT WAS FREAKING EPIC! No kidding- I’m IN LOVE with this book; the characters, the plot, the ROMANCE; Everything about the book was flawless! There’s nothing I would change about it. I just wish I could literally jump into the book and experience the adventures with this cast of fabulous and memorable characters (Seriously, my life is so boring compared to Janelle’s! Why can’t I live a life full of excitement and adrenaline-pumping action and adventure? ) The rest of my review will probably be filled with excessive exclamation marks, squealing, fan-girling and just plain…over-enthusiam. So, BE PREPARED.

Let’s start with Janelle and Ben! I liked Janelle the minute I met her; and as the story progressed, I began to like her even more! She was brave, determined and selfless; everyone time something happens, the first person she thinks of is her brother- her brother’s safety is her priority. I seriously admired this side of her; it’s not every day you meet someone so selfless and caring! And  BEN! Ben isn’t the popular jock every girl falls in love with; he’s not the ‘girl-tossing-bad-boy’ we’re so used to reading about; he’s not a smokin’ hot paranormal creature in the body of a teenage boy who every girl falls head-over-heels for; he’s certainly notperfect, yet in my mind he IS perfect! In a way, he’s completely different from every YA love interest, but he’s charming in his own way! Okay, I know I’m going around in circles, but if you want to know Ben more, GO REA D THIS BOOK! I guarantee you’ll fall in love with him as well :)! Bascially he’s a mix of everything you’d LOVE in a guy and everything you’d never expect and well…HE’S JUST BLOODY PERFECT, ALRIGHT?!

The plot was unique, full of mystery and every page is full of surprises and something important to the storyline. There were all these jaw-dropping moments and unexpected twists that had me falling in love with it even more! There wasn’t one moment when I felt bored. I was also fascinated by the FBI-related cases and scenes in the book. Anything FBI-related, I LOVE! There’s also a lot of physics & chemistry terms which, by the way will usually put me off since I tend to stay away from anything related to physic but in this case, I actually understood everything and couldn’t put it down!

Now, I should probably warn you that there’s a lot of swearing. (Or it’s probably just me going overboard since I’m not used to reading books with swearing?) Anyway, here, I thought the swearing actually gave the characters dimension and made them more believable – especially Elijah!

Another thing I LOVED about this book was the fact that there WAS NO LOVE TRIANGLE. Oh God, CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? I literally died of happiness once I realised that there probably wouldn’t be a love triangle half way through the book! Janelle, however has a best friend – Alex. And he totally stole my heart as well! Their relationships is strictly FRIENDSHIP; and I absolutely loved these two! Their friendship reminded me a little of Harry and Hermione ! :D

Ohmyfreakinggoodness, that ending ripped my heart to pieces! I had no idea how the author would end it; I thought of all these possibilities and the way the book ended did cross my mind, but I just didn’t want to face that possibility. It was too heart-wrenching! But I guess, I’m still glad the book ended the way it did. I just hope that there will be a sequel! PLEASE! LET THERE BE A SEQUEL!!!

I’m really sorry for such a long review, but Unravellling was SO AMAZING that I could probably talk all day and write several pages on why I love it so much! Bascially, tip of the day; GO BUY/BORROW/STEAL A COPY IMMEDIATELY! Unravelling is officially another 2012 must-read! 




15 comments:

  1. Hey cute girl! Loved your gushing fan girl review...except I have to beg to differ on your I wouldn't change a thing line...I would change that sad sad thing that happens at the end...rip my heart out...I think though that the author did it so that if she does want to be with Ben it would be easier for her to leave, not much left to hold her there, right? Yes this is a must read of the year and I agree there had better be a freaking sequel! Happy Weekend my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds so good, Shirley! I have been waiting on a copy of this, I can't wait to read it, Janelle sounds awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I kept smiling while reading your AMAZING exciting review :D You make this book sound like so much fun, I can't wait to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. ADHFDAF! YOU ENTHUSIASM! *STUMBLES BACKWARDS* IS BLINDING ME!
    Shirley, this sounds AMAZING! So exciting and fun and !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    If I've read ONE review that has left me DYING OF EXCITEMENT for Unravelling, this is it. Sounds A M A Z I N G.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SHIRLEY!!!! OMG I LOVE YOUR REVIEW!
    I feel all giddy inside because i really want to read this book now.
    I actually saw the book trailer and thought it was awesome and omg i need to read this book now.
    Has anyone told you how awesome you are? Well, ah, um, yeah, you're awesome. :P
    AMAZING REVIEW! You are awesome, again :P I WANT TO READ IT NOW! OMG.

    ReplyDelete
  6. SHIRLEY!!!!!! GAH, it feels ages since I commented on your blog :'( Been so busy with school and I'm procrastinating by commenting on blogs :P

    Anyway...

    I AM SO DYING TO READ THIS BOOK NOW. AAAAAAAAA, it SOUNDS so AMAZING! I watched the book trailer recently and it's SO COOL!!!! AND OMG, I WANT TO MEET THIS AMAZING BEN you've been swooning about!!!

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

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lalaine @ Ficbookreviews7 September 2012 at 18:47

    I cant freaking wait to read this book for real!!!! Omg! I cant breathe! this sounds so greattttt Shirley! SO happy that you loved this, im so gonna read this soon! x<3 Great review. x

    Ƹ̴Ӂ̴ƷFICBOOKREVIEWSƸ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great, great review! I'm a new follower and am loving your blog!!!! Eeek what a kick-ass review! I can't wait to read this! :)

    Check out My Latest Post?

    Happy reading!

    -Riya

    ReplyDelete
  9. SHIRLEY. SHIRLEY. *screams at you* SHIRLEEEEEEEEEEY!!! Oh my god. This book. OMG. Your love and enthusiasm and sheer FANGIRLINESS is slapping me in the face from this review. I LOVE IT. Any book that can make a reader this excited is obviously amazing and everyone needs to flipping read it. I have been frothing at the mouth for this for MONTHS and I am SO happy it lives up to the hype!

    I LOVE that Ben is a breath of fresh air compared to all the common love interests in YA. I am crazy excited to meet him and fall in love the way you have and then battle you in a fierce sword fight for his sexiness :D AND ALL THE JAW DROPPING SURPRISES. These are the kind of books I LOVE. That keep you guessing, that shock you at the best times, and a friendship akin to Harry and Hermione? SHIRLEY. WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME SWOON WHEN I DON'T YET HAVE A COPY?! And the ending?! AHHHH. *terrified* Amazing review!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. OH MY GOSH, SHIRLEY-BIRDIE, I love your review so much! It was almost as epic as the book, and judging from how we both rated it 5 stars (and heeeeey, look down there! Sam & Heidi rated it the same LOL!), that's pretty darn epic!! x) You nailed everything with your review! Janelle's badass awesomeness, Ben's total sweetness, the lack of love triangle, ELIJAH (hehe, gotta love the jerks <3)... Your enthusiasm and all caps and overall awesomeness make me want to HUG you (right after I re-read this book)!

    In case it wasn't clear enough, this was such an amazing review, Shirley! :') I could seriously talk about this book all day (or cry about the ending all day) too! <3

    P.S. I have received intelligence... And it said that there WILL be a sequel! :D *cues dancing in joy*

    ReplyDelete
  11. I LOVE HOW PASSIONATE YOU ARE ABOUT THIS BOOK! You're making me reaaaaaally really excited just reading this review! Wow, I don't think I've actually read too many reviews on this book (or maybe I have, my memory is like a strainer these days) but just by reading THIS, I am 100% convinced. BRING IT.

    Janelle sounds like such an awesome protag! Selflessness in a MC almost always makes me like them more and I love when characters have strong ties to their families! Ooooooh Ben sounds awesome <3 Okay, I pretty much just can't wait to read this book all-around AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL.

    And ooooh last thing: HP <3 Magic words and everyone seems to be using them in their reviews lately! What are you all trying to do to my TBR pile? D;

    Fantastic review, Shirley!! You always get me so pumped for books :D

    ReplyDelete
  12. I loved this one as well! Janelle and Ben are just perfect together. I adored the plot, all the twists shocking moments totally kept me hooked. I agree that the ending just totally killed me. I hope there is another book as well. Great review :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. cass_wordsonpaper7 September 2012 at 18:47

    Oh Shirley, I've been so so looking forward to reading this! If I don't get a review copy soon (I just requested, so fingers crossed) I'll end up buying it. YAY NO LOVE TRIANGLE!!! That's like the best news ever, when you learn that a certain book that looks like it could have had a love triangle actually doesn't. :) Hm. Physics and Chem terms, huh? BRING IT ON! LOL. Aww, I'm hoping for a really really cute friendship then, if you're comparing them to Harry & Hermione's friendship.

    Also, also! Janelle is a likeable protag. and Ben the love interest isn't some man-whore (looking at you, Mara Dyer) or some paranormal creature or "bad boy"? Awesomely awesome. Though I'm not sure I like that he's described as perfect...? People like Braiden will be crapping up a storm (get it? Because his review in STORM he went on about how generally the YA world depicts guys in such a way that puts pressures regular guys).

    I'm just really glad you were blown away by this and seem to only have positive things to say. Very, VERY promising.

    ReplyDelete
  14. OH. MY. GOSH.

    I don't know how many reviews I've read that all gave UNRAVELING five stars! Thank God that there's no love triangle. Honestly, I think I've read enough love triangles to last a lifetime. -__- And a perfect guy? Sounds overrated, but okay, I'll take your word for it. I ordered a copy for myself from BD yesterday. Can't wait for it to come!

    Great review! :D

    ReplyDelete
  15. EEEEeeeeek! I'm SO glad you loved this book too, Shirley! Wasn't it just epic?! :D I adored all the characters and loved the romance between Ben and Janelle, but it was Alex who mostly stole my heart. I love him to pieces and wish I could just pick him out of the book and keep him some place safe. I NEED the next book now, but I still feel really heart-broken over what happened!

    ReplyDelete

Hey there,
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog :) Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section; I appreciate all comments left here!
If you have a blog, I'll be sure to visit it and comment back(I love finding new blogs so feel free to leave a link!)
Thank you & have a nice day