Unraveling

June 11, 2012
In this complex SF mystery, debut writer Norris conceives of parallel universes that can inadvertently collide and destruct when portals between them are opened, a predicament facing Earth if 17-year-old Janelle Tenner's theory is correct. Janelle's father is a workaholic FBI agent, her bipolar mother is hardly functioning, and Janelle herself was just killed by an out-of-control car and brought back to life by classmate Ben Michaels. Janelle had always dismissed Ben as a stoner, but after he saves her, she is powerfully drawn to him. She also suspects that there might be a connection between recent deaths that her father has been investigating and her accident. When Norris's story works, it's a satisfying puzzle full of novel twists and provocative clues. A protective older sister and defiant FBI agent-in-training, Janelle is a courageous, layered heroine. But the chemistry between Janelle and Ben is faint, relying on familiar paranormal romance devices, and some plot elements are convoluted. A planned sequel will surely offer more challenges for Janelle, Ben, and planet Earth. Ages 13âup. Agent: Janet Reid, FinePrint Literary Management.

June 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-Janelle's life hasn't been easy. She helps raise her younger brother while her father busily heads the counterintelligence unit of San Diego's FBI office, and her bipolar mother is busy, well, hiding out in the bedroom. Life becomes more complicated once Janelle's hit by a truck. Instead of dying from her extensive injuries, she's revived by previously ignored classmate Ben Michaels, who isn't talking about what happened. Surprisingly, Janelle has more immediate concerns: her father is investigating gruesome deaths involving disfigured bodies and some sort of countdown timer/explosive device. Thanks to her knowledge of his likely passwords, his work laptop is no problem for her to hack, leaving Janelle and her friend Alex with all of the frightening facts of the case and a determination to solve it. The characterizations are excellent: Janelle's friends and family, as well as her new acquaintances, are fully fleshed out. The beginning of the book reads a bit like Carol Plum-Ucci's Streams of Babel (Harcourt, 2008), as Janelle is convinced that only a terrorist's plot could explain the bodies and countdown timer. However, the story then veers into a multiple universe theory that, while explained, is not completely explored. This and any other concerns are minor; in general, readers will enjoy the nonstop action and romance.-Kelly Jo Lasher, Middle Township High School, Cape May Court House, NJ

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2012
Grades 8-12 Janelle and Nick have a moment. Perhaps she's distracted, but as she leaves her friends on the beach to cross to her car, she doesn't see the faded blue pickup until it's too late. She dies, right there in the road. Then mysterious Ben arrives and lays hands on her, and she is alive and completely unharmed. At home, she finds some strange pictures in her FBI-agent father's study, pictures of apparently melted bodies, each noted with a time stamp. Janelle sets off to pursue both mysteries and begins to suspect that two opposite phenomenathe loner boy with his healing abilities and the perpetual disintegration of strangersmay be related. And related, somehow, to her. Short, episodic chapters, most no more than a page or two, each begin with the countdown clock making its steady progress to certain, unknown doom. The taut pace, complicated relationships, perpetual plot twists, and inevitable progress toward an abstruse end give the fantastical adventure a J. J. Abrams appeal, complete with inscrutable characters and huge surprises.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

March 15, 2012
In a refreshing change of pace from the current glut of angel books, when Janelle is killed in a car accident, she doesn't move on to a seraphic afterlife; she's brought back from the dead instead. Her savior is stoner Ben, and even as he is bringing her back to life she notices his "huge brown eyes, ... wavy dark hair [and] tortured half smile." Janelle needs to be alive. Her mother has withdrawn into total bipolar uselessness, and though her X-Files-obsessed, FBI-agent father is fabulous, he works insane hours, so Janelle holds the family together. Through some efficient snooping in her dad's office, Janelle learns that people are turning up melted--including the person in the car that hit her. And there's mention of a countdown to an event that could destroy the Earth. Could there be a connection? First-time author Norris surrounds her likable narrator with equally appealing and complex primary and secondary characters, compensating for a relatively slow pace. Plotting is not quite so strong, particularly in the book's science-fiction elements. Ben's healing ability is given a ludicrously vague explanation, and the potential Earth-ending event is made only barely more credible. Still, the writing is smooth, and the love story satisfies despite its predictability. Good for romance fans, if not science-fiction aficionados. (Science fiction/thriller/romance. 14 & up)

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July 1, 2012
After Janelle is killed in a hit-and-run car accident and brought back to life by a mysterious classmate named Ben, she discovers that her rescuer may be involved in one of her FBI-agent dad's supernatural cases. This mixture of [cf2]Veronica Mars[cf1] and [cf2]The X-Files[cf1] will appeal to readers who like teen sleuths, otherworldly mysteries, and plenty of romantic angst.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)