Elizabeth Norris

Oh hey sequel to the book I was surprisingly in love with last year. How are you? Doing well? Life treating you good? Because I was rocked by reading you.

:ahem: Sorry guys, Unraveling made an impression on me (as did the e-book book "Undone" from Ben's POV) that Unbreakable had a bit to live up to. Which it did. So breathe easier now.

Quote: "She's so tough, its frightening. That girl will outlive us all." (pg 331, HC)

That quote up top there is the reason why this duology consistently pleases me. We're given an idea of what Janelle could have been like if some details had been changed, but largely kept similar. Unbreakable also addresses the idea that was brought up several times in Unraveling (and "Undone" for that matter), but largely unimportant to the plot. Its more relevant to this book however--that is the nature of 'doubles' across the multiverses.

Unbreakable doesn't pull punches. We see the devastation that Janelle's world is left with and its frightening honestly. Despite how messed up the world is, how insane and militaristic everything is now because its a necessity to keep everyone calm and safe, I wouldn't say all is lost. Life is far from normal, but there is some normalcy. Board games, the tedium of school, movie night--these normal activities keep Janelle's world from being completely bleak.

Barclay re-enters the picture and that's an interesting moment. He just can't turn up, be like 'Hey what's up? Let me follow procedure and explain the really dire circumstances so no one gets the wrong idea and doesn't trust me'. He's just as arrogant and smug as he was in Unraveling, but he's also got a desperate edge. And desperation makes people...secretive at times.



We learn throughout the novel that the IA (Interverse Agency) is pretty much everything he ever wanted. He wanted to make a difference, not just in his world, but in others. Through him we learn more about Prima, about the multiverses and about what could be at stake. I found that I liked the gradual understanding that grows between Janelle and Barclay, plus he offered a look into the larger picture that Janelle didn't care quite as much about.

Janelle and Ben take a sideways turn that I think would have bothered me more if I hadn't read "Undone". Without spoiling the choice that Ben makes, one that Janelle finds hard to fathom or forgive (especially after she encounters a similar moment of confusion), makes a whole lot more sense when you realize what he had been through when he made that choice. Its not perfect and its messy, but from Janelle's POV it makes sense why she's in so much pain because of it.

My one real complaint with the novel is the repetition. Maybe because I was so keen to find out what was going on and how it would wrap up I was more easily irritated by Janelle's constant repetition of facts. How guilty she felt over Alex's death. How much she missed Ben and held his memory so dear. How much was at stake. It felt like these things were brought up an awful lot.

In the end however this book keeps you moving at a break neck speed. Its set over an even shorter time span than the first book (7 and half days give or take some time in the end) and while it seems like a LOT is crammed into that week, when you break it down its not really as much as it feels like (considering how little they slept). This was a wonderful companion/sequel to Unraveling and well worth checking out!… (más)

Prelim Review: This book was surprising in a lot of ways for me. The premise interested me, as did some of the reviews I saw around the web, but honestly I kept putting it off. The first chapter didn't grab me initially so I kept placing it lower and lower on my reading pile until I finally realized it was out in stores so I should get a move on.

I'm really glad I did. It was gripping, tense and (most of the time) fast paced. The kind of back and forth narrative threw me originally, but I got used to it over time. The book is set up much like the 'countdown' Janelle is trying to solve. So much so that entire days go by without any chapters, or several chapters bunched together form half a day story wise.

This reminded me of Sliders though, which was one of my favorite science fiction shows back in the 90's (before it got picked up by the then SciFi Channel and so drastically altered by the last episode I wasn't surprised a formerly dead character came back as a head in a glass container because it made more sense than everything else). I should say that Ben, Elijah and Reid reminded me of the universe-hopping crew of the original season.

Full review to be posted at Poisoned Rationality… (más)

Oh my shiny stars...told from Ben's …POV and starting before he saved Janelle's life we see just how much he was torn between fixing a wrong he was only partially responsible for and moving on. I have to admit on paper, comparing his actions to other YA male love interests, he sounds like a super-creep.

He admits to this, justifying himself by pointing out he understands he's being creepy. But I think what sets him apart is that he doesn't force his attentions on Janelle. We see various 'crucial' moments in his life (involving her) before he saves her and each time its sort of sweet how he's like "All right I got this, we will talk and she'll find me funny and--there goes my chance. If i talk to her now it would be creepy. Well there's always next time."

We also get to see how his and Eli's homecoming was NOT what they (or anyone could reasonably) expect. My heart broke for them, and their families. I think things were a bit too easy in the case of Reid's family though.
And then there's the after-after which sets up UNBREAKABLE's (dire sounding) plot and THAT is horrific to imagine.… (más)

Requires a bit more suspension of disbelief than is typical even for sci-fi type stuff, but overall it was a fun, action-packed read. I could have done without the inaccurate reduction of feminism (feminism isn't saying that men and women (or non-binary people) are the same, but that they should be treated as the same, which are two very different things) and I think that the duology has some confusing gender messages but I'm willing to let it go. Especially since there was no love triangle, which I apparently will forgive a lot for.… (más)