Book Review: Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: April 23, 2013

Series: Unraveling #2

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal/Science Fiction

Acquired From: Public Library

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. 

REVIEW

I absolutely tore through this book. I read the majority of it in a single day just because I couldn't put it down. Elizabeth Norris is a master of the art of writing a great mystery interwoven with science fiction. She absolutely made me fall in love with the characters she wrote and the worlds she created. Because of that, I can honestly give Unbreakable a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

I think the thing about this book that I loved the most was the action. It was high octane and there wasn't a second of down time in the novel. In some books, that might seem like the author is trying to hard to keep the reader's attention, but with Norris it was a fine line of perfection. Barclay and Janelle go from one problem to another and go up against a world that isn't going to let them solve their case easily. 

More than anything, I sincerely hope this isn't the last time I read about Janelle and Ben. Because, ladies and gentlemen, this is how you write a young adult novel. This is a set of strong characters who are so real that they jump off the page. And it's all about a girl who is badass enough to take down the bad guys with enough snark and sass to make an impression.