And that was before she died...and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.
I'm going to talk about both Unraveling and Unbreakable in this post because I read them back to back. I kicked myself for awhile for taking so long to read the first book, but I have to admit that it was awesome to go straight from the end of Unraveling right into Unbreakable. I got to spend a good amount of uninterrupted time in Janelle's world which was pretty spectacular. Unraveling has such an intricate world and story that's so well written you'd hardly believe that it's just a story.
The science fiction aspect is so awesome. I've been really into the sci-fi stuff lately, and this is hands down one of the best of the genre. Multiple worlds and complex ideas are threaded together so flawlessly creating a vibrant basis and background for this thrilling story. Somehow, the science was explained so well, without making me feel like Elizabeth Norris was dumbing it down for people like me who suck so bad at science. I'm really liking this genre, but sometimes it's harder for me to grasp scientific concepts, so when I understand the theories and rules that go into creating something I get really excited.
Janelle is one of my new favorite heroines. She's strong and likeable - she's the kind of girl you could be friends with - and you totally want her on your side if the world is about to end. Like, if this actually happens, I'm clinging to the first person who gives me a Janelle vibe. She's a little impulsive sometimes, but she has the intelligence and strength to make up for that. I also love her relationship with her family, even though it's a little broken. Her mom's role is minimal and a little heartbreaking, and her father is in the FBI and not around much. But she's so connected with them it's amazing. She's taken on a mothering role to her little brother and the way she takes care of him is awesome. Then there's Ben, who's dreamy and interesting. Their relationship is just as intense as the countdown to the apocalypse.
The science fiction aspect is so awesome. I've been really into the sci-fi stuff lately, and this is hands down one of the best of the genre. Multiple worlds and complex ideas are threaded together so flawlessly creating a vibrant basis and background for this thrilling story. Somehow, the science was explained so well, without making me feel like Elizabeth Norris was dumbing it down for people like me who suck so bad at science. I'm really liking this genre, but sometimes it's harder for me to grasp scientific concepts, so when I understand the theories and rules that go into creating something I get really excited.
Janelle is one of my new favorite heroines. She's strong and likeable - she's the kind of girl you could be friends with - and you totally want her on your side if the world is about to end. Like, if this actually happens, I'm clinging to the first person who gives me a Janelle vibe. She's a little impulsive sometimes, but she has the intelligence and strength to make up for that. I also love her relationship with her family, even though it's a little broken. Her mom's role is minimal and a little heartbreaking, and her father is in the FBI and not around much. But she's so connected with them it's amazing. She's taken on a mothering role to her little brother and the way she takes care of him is awesome. Then there's Ben, who's dreamy and interesting. Their relationship is just as intense as the countdown to the apocalypse.
-------------------------------------------------
Unbreakable Synopsis: Four months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but life is finally starting to resume some kind of normalcy. Until Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay shows up. Somebody from an alternate universe is running a human trafficking ring, kidnapping people and selling them on different Earths—and Ben is the prime suspect. Now his family has been imprisoned and will be executed if Ben doesn’t turn himself over within five days.
And when Janelle learns that someone she cares about—someone from her own world—has become one of the missing, she knows that she has to help Barclay, regardless of the danger. Now Janelle has five days to track down the real culprit. Five days to locate the missing people before they’re lost forever. Five days to reunite with the boy who stole her heart. But as the clues begin to add up, Janelle realizes that she’s in way over her head—and that she may not have known Ben as well as she thought. Can she uncover the truth before everyone she cares about is killed.
So on to the second book, which is just as awesome. After the heartbreak at the end of the first book, I was really looking forward to healing all those wounds. I really should have known better because Elizabeth Norris managed to give me other emotional jabs to the soul. All in all, this is a solid sequel that tells it's own story where we get to follow Janelle across multiple universes.
Seriously, I love the parallel universe thing. And getting these snapshots of what the world might be like if history took different courses was so awesome. Learning more about the Intraverse Agency was great as well. The FBI involvement in the first book was great, but I think I definitely like seeing the IA a little bit more.
There were a few things that surprised me while reading, and the biggest surprise was Barclay. I was totally shocked at how I really came to love him in this book, because I definitely didn't love him in book one. He just melted my heart, totally. The other was the way Janelle struggled with her relationship with Ben. Because of the multiple universes, they have a unique issue of dealing with other versions of their selves that added a really interesting aspect to this story. It also brings up the question of what makes you who you are and what is it that causes another person to love you.
There's a lot I want to say about about both of these books but at some point I'd either be spoiling or writing a short story. I just completely love both of these books. It was a little hard to let Ben and Janelle, and the rest of these amazing characters go at the end of Unbreakable.
