Book Review- Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris

Title: Unravelling

 Author: Elizabeth Norris

Series:  Unravelling #1

Published:  24 April 2012 by Balzar and Bray, 7 June 2012 by Harper Collins

Length: 445 pages

Age rating: 12+

Source: Edelweiss

Summary : STOP THE COUNTDOWN. SAVE THE WORLD…Leaving the beach, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit head on by a pickup truck. And killed. Then Ben Michaels, resident stoner, is leaning over her. And even though it isn’t possible, she knows Ben somehow brought her back to life… Meanwhile, Janelle’s father, a special agent for the FBI, starts working on a case that seems strangely connected to Ben. Digging in his files, Janelle finds a mysterious device – one that seems to be counting down to something that will happen in 23 days and 10 hours time. That something? It might just be the end of the world. And if Janelle wants to stop it, she’s going to need to uncover Ben’s secrets – and keep from falling in love with him in the process…

Review: Janelle Tenner dies. And comes back to life. Mysterious Ben Michaels found her after being run over, and put her back together again. Obviously, she wants to know more about the guy who stopped her from being put into a coffin, but she soon has bigger problems-she discovers a countdown-but doesn’t know what’ll happen at the end of it all.

The thing that got me hooked was the countdown that started every (very short) chapter. It took me a little while to realise that the countdown started with days, because my brain doesn’t work like that, but still. It was a unique addition that got you gripped from the start.

Plotwise, I enjoyed it. Lots of things happen in a relatively short period of time, and there’s not many times when I don’t feel like I want to read on.

The mystery is built up quite well. Clues are continually dropped, letting you figure things out for yourself, but there were some really unexpected things that increased the urgency for Janelle and the interest for us.

Janelle was a rather annoying character. She takes on too much, does a lot, and never seems to tire..A bit unrealistic. She’s a good narrator, with no really distinctive qualities, aside from attempting to be smart Ben was and his lot are interesting. They’re all quite likable, aside from Ethan, but  it’s easy enouch to see why Janelle would fall in love with him. The other characters...where do I start and end? There’s millions of them.

It’s all rather stereotypical. The romance (instalove sprung from saving her), the strong heroine (who seems to be perfect), the stock characters (a***-holey boys, nice teacher) and so on.

I liked the idea of Ben’s healing powers. They’re very convenient at the beginning and a little useful at the end. Where he got them from-not quite as good. The explanation seemed to come out of nowhere, and I didn’t like the usage of parallel worlds in Unravelling. It’s just...why? How did you get to that conclusion? What’s the point of it?

Overall:  Strength 2 tea to something a little different, but not amazing.

Links: Amazon |  Goodreads | Author website |