181. Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris

Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris
Published June 2012 Harper Collins

From the publisher:

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...

If the catch phrases ‘The Truth Is Out There’ and ‘Trust No-One’ mean anything to you, then this book will be right up your alley.  Yes, I am talking the X-Files, with a bit of Roswell and more than a little bit of Fringe thrown in.  This is a science fiction novel that fans of the afore mentioned TV shows will just love. 

Janelle Tenner does not have the easiest of lives.  Her mother suffers from Bipolar disorder, and hardly leaves her room.  Her father is the head of the counterintelligence unit with his local unit of the FBI, so he spends long hours away from home catching the bad guys.  This leaves Janelle to look after her younger brother Jared, keep up with housework, hold down a summer job and go to school.  If this isn’t hard enough, she gets hit by a speeding pick-up truck….and dies.  This is where the weirdness begins, because Janelle doesn’t stay dead, thanks to Ben Michaels, a boy Janelle has not spoken a word to in the entire time they have been at school together, her broken spine mends, and she lives.

What happens next is the bizarre case that her father is working on that involves unidentified bodies that have been burned beyond recognition.  Their identities cannot be traced, and the bodies seem to have suffered severe radiation burns.  There is also the pick-up truck that hit Janelle, it’s a make that doesn’t seem to exist, and the most terrifying is the  UIED (Unidentified Improvised Explosive Device) that began with a 46 day countdown, and now there are only 24 days left to find out what is going on and figure out how to stop the imminent explosion.

This book has twists and turns, action, mystery, heartbreaking sadness and a little bit of romance.  I am guilty of being a big fan of ‘the unexplained’, so this was a real treat for me.  For those readers who have almost had their fill of vampires/werewolves/fairies/angels, this book might be worth a try.  Because of the nature of the story, I do not want to give too much away…because that would spoil it. If anyone reads it, or as read it, I would be interested to see what you thought of the ending!

There is quite a bit of swearing in this book, although not so much it;s offensive, and there are a few drug references as well.

Who will like this book: Girls and Boys age 14+
Read it if you like: 'the unexplained'