Unraveling (Unraveling, #1) in And So It Begins Reading Challenge

May 11, 2012 Crystal Paglino rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed

Wow Elizabeth Norris’ book was amazing; I couldn’t put it down until it was done. I even woke up super early to pick it back up after I went to bed really late reading it. Janelle went through so much in this book. It was heartbreaking at times.

Janelle was like a parent to her brother because her dad worked all the time and her mom was a drunk. So she grew up really fast basically to take care of Jared, who is a really good kid even when he is mad at his sister. Her best friend Alex was always t Wow Elizabeth Norris’ book was amazing; I couldn’t put it down until it was done. I even woke up super early to pick it back up after I went to bed really late reading it. Janelle went through so much in this book. It was heartbreaking at times.

Janelle was like a parent to her brother because her dad worked all the time and her mom was a drunk. So she grew up really fast basically to take care of Jared, who is a really good kid even when he is mad at his sister. Her best friend Alex was always there for her even when she had an outing with their other friend Kate; he chose her side because Kate stopped being friends with them long before the actual fight that made the loss of the friendship official. Now Janelle is dating a popular guy that is really nice and all but there is something missing from the relationship. Then she died, and Ben saved her but she sees all his thoughts and memories of her and by doing so made her a little hollow as she put it.

I loved how the death sequence was, one perfect day where you felt loved and loved everyone in it. It was completely different than everything anyone else has written. Of course I can see it being either way but it was a nice difference.

After all that she gets caught up with her dad and Alex in a cause with people melting like they have radiation poisoning. She and Alex think its bio-terrorism, but her dad ends up figuring it out. Of course that doesn’t end well for him. So now Janelle really is the only parent Jared has because her dad is murdered and her mom, she commits her to get her to handle her drinking and bipolar disorder.

Now Ben, Elijah and Reid are the boys in the book. Ben and Elijah are best friends and Reid is friends with both of them but not that close. They all get even closer after an accident happens when they are 10 years old. At the same time Ben almost drowned but Janelle saved him and ever since then he has loved her. Elijah is the bad boy of the group. But he really isn’t that bad at all.

I honestly don’t want to give too much away because this book definitely deserves to be read.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. ...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Avital rated it liked it

God! I was certain that there's going to be a second book so it's okay if Ben leaves, but really? Finishing it with Ben's gone and no intention of publishing a second book?

And all in all- this book wasn't a lot of entertainment. At the end Ijust kept wishing it will finally finish it.

So it's getting 2.5 stars. ...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Carrie Ardoin rated it did not like it

Shelves: couldn-t-finish-it, posted-on-blog, what-a-letdown

I'm not going to do a synopsis paragraph on this review, mostly because I'm really tired tonight.

First of all, let me say that I know there are many readers and reviewers out there who think that a rating and review should not be given for a book that was not finished. Well, guess what--I'm not one of those people. I read more than 250 pages of this book, and that was more than enough to get a feel on it, for me. So as you read this review, keep in mind that I DID NOT make it all the way to the I'm not going to do a synopsis paragraph on this review, mostly because I'm really tired tonight.

First of all, let me say that I know there are many readers and reviewers out there who think that a rating and review should not be given for a book that was not finished. Well, guess what--I'm not one of those people. I read more than 250 pages of this book, and that was more than enough to get a feel on it, for me. So as you read this review, keep in mind that I DID NOT make it all the way to the end. So if something absolutely mind-bending and awesome happened there, well, I didn't find out about it, cause I was not interested enough to get there.

From the first pages of the book, I absolutely HATED Janelle. And yes, even after reading about the things that happened to her and the obstacles in her life, my feelings did not change. I found her to be abrasive, bitchy, and holier than thou. She even lashes out at her younger brother, who's never done a thing to her. There are ways to be a kickass chick without being an insufferable one, but unfortunately that is the way Janelle came off to me.

As far as plot--I felt like the author was trying to work too many storylines at once. And, like I mentioned, maybe they all come together in the end, but for the portion of the book that I read, I found myself many times thinking, "What the eff is even going on right now?"

Ben was a bit more tolerable than his friends and Janelle, but I still did not find myself engaging with him. I don't know--he seemed like everything Janelle was doing was not a surprise to him. I'm not sure how to explain it, it was just one of those things.

At the point where I stopped, the sci-fi ish stuff was just coming up. And not that I'm stupid or anything, but once again I just found myself going, "What?" I do enjoy many sci fi shows and books, so it's not like I'm unfamiliar with the genre. At least I give the author props for being original in the wide world of YA.

There were many other things that led me to not complete this book. I am not a book prude by ANY means, but most of the curse words in the book felt forced--like the characters were cursing just for the sake of cursing. I don't know anyone who talks like that. I am 26 and I never say the F word like the kids in this book do. Another thing was Janelle's little catchphrases: "I'm like that" or "He's like that", and talking about wanting to punch someone in the face all the time. IDK. Just one of many things that rubbed me the wrong way.

This book was my first real paperback ARC, and I am so grateful to Elizabeth and HarperTeen for sending it to me as such a new book blogger. Unfortunately, it was not for me. And yes, I do fully expect to get flack on this review--out of nearly 300 reviews, mine is the only 1 star with an actual text review written, and I might be the only one who couldn't finish this book. Sorry, fellow reviewers--I just didn't get it. ...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Kam Brooksmoore rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dystopia, read-in-2013, young-adult

This was a VERY good book! It was as if I were watching a movie instead of a book because everything was so fast paced and there was cool mystery and just plain AWESOME. I'll post my full review soon! I still recommend it though!!! ...more

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