Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris

Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris
Series: Unravelling #1
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: April 24th 2012
Source: Bought

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…

Unravelling was a gripping and thrilling novel that I just couldn't put down. As soon as Janelle was hit by that truck and killed and Ben brought her back to live, I knew I was hooked and that I had to find out exactly who and what he was. That wasn't the only intriguing part of the book though. There were also horrific discoveries of bodies by the FBI and Janelle is digging into her father's files when she realises that there are numbers on the pictures counting down to something that was going to happen in 23 days. So yeah, this book was full of intriguing, mysterious and shocking discoveries.

I loved Janelle straight away. She was a stubborn and strong character who didn't like to back down when she knew she was right. She was determined to get Ben to talk and tell her what happened and who he is. She was also very determined. She was determined to figure out what the hell was going on and help her father solve his case. Janelle's mother is bipolar and she basically raised her brother and protected him from their mother's moments. She's slightly angry at her father for leaving her in charge of raising her brother, taking care of her mother, the house and for making her grow up too quickly.

As soon as Ben brought Janelle back to life, I was extremely intrigued by him. I spent quite a bit of this book thinking he was an alien (and how funny it was that Janelle's father wanted to look for aliens and Janelle may have just found one), but then we found out Ben's story and it was much more interesting that my alien theory. I found myself drawn to Ben and wanting him and Janelle to get together because he cared about her so much. 

With the gruesome bodies and Ben's reveal, there was definitely a lot going on in this book. It's very hard to describe without spoilers, but there was someone else like Ben who was doing stuff that was causing destruction on Earth and causing all the gruesome deaths to happen. And it wasn't just Earth that was being affected. I enjoyed discovering Ben's story and learning about what happened to him. I felt bad for him because of how he was separated from his family and he's been trying for years to get back. 

The ending was cruel and heartbreaking. I ended up crying a bit at it because Janelle had lost so much throughout the book and that hit at the end was the last straw for my emotions. I just couldn't believe everything that had happened to her and how much she would have to deal with. She's a strong character though, so I knew she'd managed to get through it.

Overall, this was a fantastic novel that had me hooked from the very start. It was mysterious, intriguing and thrilling, and I definitely recommend reading it if you haven't already.