Unraveling

“Humans have precious few instincts, but that's because we don't listen to them. We let logic and knowledge get in the way. My dad always said that when instincts are at war with something society has taught you, listen to your instincts first and ask questions later.”

2.5 STARS

Alright, this book exceeded my expectations. However, that doesn't mean that they did by much to rank it higher than I did. I thought that it was a refreshing take on the YA Paranormal scene, but it still had some major problems. The story centers around the protagonist Janelle Tenner, a 17 year old girl who is studious, loyal, and strong. Within the first chapter, Janelle is hit by a truck and dies....to then be brought back to life by Ben Michaels. I thought that Janelle and Ben were engaging characters; I could relate to them and see their struggles. However, most of the rest of the characters (with the exception of Alex, though the fuzziness is still there) just blended into the background because they didn't have enough of a dynamic appeal to draw me into their subplots. I will commend the author on the voice of this book. It was real, raw, and honest to the story. I would have liked to have seen more of an elevated sense of language, but it wasn't to the point that I'm too upset about it. I think that the author conveyed a true sense of being in a teenager's head, something that many YA novelists seem to forget about these days. Now, there was a lot crammed into this book. So much that I often would zone out a bit, read a new paragraph, be completely confused, and then be forced to go back and read the past couple pages. I think that some of the issues could have been drawn out and elaborated on a little bit more, just simply to give the reader a bit of a break, but that might just be my personal preference. Lastly, the ending. I thought that it was bit anticlimactic? Like, every chapter was counting down to (also, the breaking up of all the little chapters kind of bothered me a little; it seemed way too choppy) this big BOOM and turns out there wasn't one. I mean, don't get me wrong, yay that their world is saved, but I was expecting a "WE HAVE FOUR MINUTES TO SAVE THE WORLD" kind of vibe that would have fulfilled the suspense the novel was building, but I thought that it fell a bit short. Additionally, I thought that the death of (view spoiler) was unnecessary and just added more drama to a story that really didn't need any more of it. Now, I'm not saying that this book is a bad book! I thought it was rather refreshing, especially with the alternate universe theories and only a slight draw on the magical aspect (Ben's molecular capabilities) that was quite different than many books I see nowadays. I think that maybe it just didn't work quite right for me, but I would still recommend this for anyone in the mood for something with a teenage Fringe and X-Files feel.