Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Title: Unraveling
Author: Elizabeth Norris
ISBN: 9780062103734
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Released: April 24, 2012
Series: n/a
Page #: 445
Source: ARC from the publisher

Summary:
"Two days before her junior year, Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed - as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she's opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom she's never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn't possible, she knows that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.

But her revival, and Ben's role in it, is only one of the puzzles Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI agent father's files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock counting down to something - but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what's right in front of her: Everything that's happened - the accident, the countdown, Ben's sudden appearance in her life - points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she's going to need to unravel Ben's secrets - and keep from falling in love with him in the process."
___________________________________________________
First Lines:

"I can tell the exact moment Nick steps on the beach.
It doesn't matter that we've only been on three dates or that I wasn't his biggest fan for the last five years. It doesn't even matter that his romantic attempts to win me over this summer could be just a means to an end - better girls have been taken in by lesser guys."
Page 1
___________________________________________________
Review:

This book is part girl meets boy, part sci fi craziness, and part FBI mystery. It comes colliding together by the end, but you do feel like you've read two different books until that point. Well, sort of. But it's a very interesting story and I like how the author pulled in all of the different aspects. And it's a bit apocalyptic - with enough realism to be possible :).

It all starts when Janelle gets hit by a truck. Then brought back to life by a boy she barely knows, but is now intrigued by. She finds out there is something weird about him and his friends - they don't seem normal. Once the secrets start pouring out, she realizes there's more to this than she thinks. And her father is in the FBI, so there are secrets that she knows are being kept from her. Once there is a death really close to her, things start to get more interesting. Drama ensues.

Okay, so I loved the whole FBI part of this book. It gave it a full mystery feel - you know there are things going down from the beginning. It also allowed for some interesting adult characters that not many young adult books have. And on the flip side of that, you have Janelle's mother - who is a total loose cannon and doesn't live in reality. That balance of adult characters really made this an interesting story.

The way this book explains the end of the world is crazy cool. I love the idea that there are alternate realities where things are basically the same. Life is similar, people are similar, things are the same - well, in some of them. The concept is so well thought out, it feels like it could be truth. And that is the mark of an awesome book, I think.

While there are lots of dramatic things that happen, I have to complain about the ending a little bit. There is someone close to Janelle who dies in the end - and I cannot figure out why. It seems like a senseless thing to throw into the end... and I'm hoping there will be some sort of explanation in the next book. Otherwise, it seems sort of thrown in. But I'll keep my judgment for the next one :). 

Really, I feel like the cover of this book doesn't do it justice. But I definitely enjoyed the story and I think a lot of people who will love it - especially because it has so many different aspects. And it's an easy sell because of the whole semi-paranormal stuff. So, recommended. Give this one a shot. It's a crazy story and there's tons happening... but it's all worth it in the end.
___________________________________________________
Other Blog Reviews:

Geek Girl Book Blog
IB Book Blogging
The Diary of a Bookworm
The Bawdy Book Blog
A Little Shelf of Heaven
i swim for oceans
The Revolving Bookcase
On the Wings of Books

The City's Son by Tom Pollock

Title: The City's Son
Author: Tom Pollock
ISBN: 9780738734309
Publisher: Flux Books
Released: September 08, 2012
Series: The Skyscraper Throne #1
Page #: 480
Source: ebook from Netgalley

Summary:
"Running from her traitorous best friend and her estranged father, graffiti artist Beth Bradley is looking for sanctuary. What she finds is Urchin, the ragged and cocky crown prince of London's mystical underworld. Urchin opens Beth's eyes to the city she's never truly seen-where vast spiders crawl telephone wires seeking voices to steal, railwraiths escape their tethers, and statues conceal an ancient priesthood robed in bronze.

But it all teeters on the brink of destruction. Amid rumors that Urchin's goddess mothwer will soon return from her 15-year exile, Reach, a malign god of urban decay, wants the young prince dead. Helping Urchin raise an alleyway army to reclaim his skyscraper throne, Beth soon forgets her old life. But when her best friend is captured, Beth must choose between this wondrous existence and the life she left behind."
________________________________________________
First Lines:

"I'm hunting. The sun sits low over Battersea, its rays streaking the brickwork like warpaint as I pad through the railway tunnels. My prey can't be far ahead now: there's a bitter, burned stench in the air, and every few yards I find another charred bundle that used to be a rat."
Page 3
________________________________________________
Review:

This may be one of the strangest books I've read in a while. There's a lot of visualizing and imagination... but I'm not sure if it adds up to amazing. There are some crazy beasts, interesting friends, and a weird amount of lamp people. So yeah...

The boy is the son of the streets. His mother is actually London - like, for real. The city. The girl is a rebellious teen who has just gotten expelled from school for drawing her teachers face outside the building. And her father is totally zoned out since her mother's death. These two meet on accident, but the adventures they have from there are nothing short of intense. There's a war coming and they have to work together to keep it from destroying the city.

So... I wasn't expecting this book to be high fantasy. I mean, I got that it was going to be urban and gritty, but there was much more to it. The characters are all ones you have to get set in your head before you can move forward. It doesn't help that one of the characters changes every time you see them - conforming to whatever trash is handy. You have people trapped in statues, mirror people, voice-stealing spiders, lamp people, a creature made of trash, and a boy made of concrete, oil, and gasoline. And those are just the semi-good guys! Yeah, it gets a little confusing. I found myself stopping and having to reimagine some characters as the story went along.

I thought it was interesting the way that the city was its own character. Not in a setting sort of way - but the city actually comes to life. Cranes are characters... bricks are people... Everything is alive in some way - not that people notice it. But once you're aware of the way things really are, you can see it all. It's that whole see what you want to see thing. I do feel like I needed to know more about London to get some of the references to locations.

Because of all the strange characters and situations, it took me a while to get into the story. Once I sort of had things straight in my head, I could get into the battles and relationships. The ending is sort of heartwrenching, but I think it keeps me curious about the next book.

I cannot deny that this story is insanely imaginative. If you're looking for something really different and thought provoking, then I definitely recommend this book to you. If you're looking for something easy and fun, look elsewhere. It's an interesting book and I think it will find the right audience... I'm just not sure I'm in that group. And there's more to come from these characters, so I'll be interested to see how things pan out.
________________________________________________
Other Blog Reviews:

Book Review Blog for Caroline Hooton
A Mad Man with a Blog
The Book Zone
Fantasy Bytes
Bart's Bookshelf

Giveaway Winner!

Alright, everyone... I officially have a winner for my Summer Reads Giveaway! Rafflecopter did its randomized choosing and out came...

Holly L! 

She has been notified by email and hopefully a box will be on the way to her shortly.

To all of you that entered the giveaway - thank you so much! I'm glad you were all excited about it. For the new followers, welcome.
I hope you stick around for a while to see what The Ninja Librarian is all about. I'm glad to have you.

Thank you all again!

Waiting on Wednesday (113)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Here's what I'm waiting on this week...

Cold Fury

by T.M. Goeglein

To be released: July 24, 2012

Summary from Barnes and Noble:

"Jason Bourne meets The Sopranos in this breathtaking adventure

Sara Jane Rispoli is a normal sixteen-year-old coping with school and a budding romance--until her parents and brother are kidnapped and she discovers her family is deeply embedded in the Chicago Outfit (aka the mob).


Now on the run from a masked assassin, rogue cops and her turncoat uncle, Sara Jane is chased and attacked at every turn, fighting back with cold fury as she searches for her family. It's a quest that takes her through concealed doors and forgotten speakeasies--a city hiding in plain sight. Though armed with a .45 and 96K in cash, an old tattered notebook might be her best defense--hidden in its pages the secret to "ultimate power." It's why she's being pursued, why her family was taken, and could be the key to saving all of their lives.


Action packed, with fresh, cinematic writing, Cold Fury is a riveting and imaginative adventure readers will devour."

Doesn't this sound like an awesome spy/mystery/mob/action story?! I could really use a great one like this. I'm definitely looking forward to it!

What are you waiting on this week?

Out this Week (July 8-14)

Check out some of the wonderful titles coming out this week. This is only a portion - such a busy week! : 

 

•  7.10.12 The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt
• 7.10.12 The Last Guardian (Artemis Fowl #8) by Eoin Colfer

•  7.10.12 Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols
• 7.10.12 The Prisoner of Cell 25 (Michael Vey #1) by Richard Paul Evans

•  7.10.12 Lost Girls by Ann Kelley
• 7.10.12 Insignia by S.J. Kincaid

•  7.10.12 Diva (The Flappers #3) by Jillian Larkin
• 7.10.12 Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire

• 7.10.12 The Little Woods by McCormick Templeton
• 7.10.12 Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas