Not only have I had the privilege to know Elizabeth Norris through the Interwebs these past several months, but now I’ve had the opportunity to read her upcoming debut, Unraveling.
It. Is. Brilliant, you guys.
It’s a well-written, fast paced thriller with a strong heroine, an unexpected guy, and stakes that will raise your eyebrows right off your face. Whatever that means.
Here’s the official summary:
Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she’s opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn’t possible, she knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.
But her revival, and Ben’s possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI agent father’s files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be 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 murder, the countdown clock, 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 uncover Ben’s secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.
From debut author Elizabeth Norris comes this shattering novel of one girl’s fight to save herself, her world, and the boy she never saw coming.
You can read the first 90 pages of UNRAVELING here.
The following is a prompt given to me by Sarah Goldberg, the lovely lady who put this release day blog celebration into action:
In one scene of the novel Janelle and Ben get in a heated debate about a marriage proposal in the Dickens novel they’re reading in English class, a debate which echoes in the development of their relationship later in the novel. Do you have a favorite (or least favorite!) fictional declaration of love or proposal?
For me, it’s easy to choose two favorite fictional declarations of love, but not one. So I’m cheating. YOU’RE SHOCKED I KNOW.
First, the tried and true: Mr. Darcy’s first and last declarations of love in Pride and Prejudice. Seriously. It’s ridiculously romantic, honest, and simultaneously heartfelt and heartbreaking. A true portrayal of the agony that accompanies finally admitting love to yourself, to someone else, and handing over your heart while you wait for them to cradle it or smash it to bits. Perfection on the page. Perfection on screen.
Second, I’m going to show my girl face here and also pick the scene from The Notebook,when Allie has come back to Seabrook to see Noah. They loved each other once, but each is afraid of what it means to admit they still do. It’s become something of a cliché, but that scene in the rain, when she finally gets up the nerve to ask the question she’ll never be able to live without knowing the answer to – “why didn’t you write me?” – and then Noah finds the courage to replay “it still isn’t over.”
I don’t care. Make fun of me, but I can’t imagine that ever not being one of my favorite moments, novel or film.
So there you go. Please tell me your favorite declarations of love and/or fictional proposals!
And treat yourself to a hard or e-copy of Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris. It’s available today at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local booksellers!!!
Behind the Moon 