Book Review: Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris

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!