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thetamari's review
5.0
Nicely sophisticated YA thriller. This book is comparable in many ways to the movie Brick - the same style of clever noir mystery set in a high school. I would have rated this book four stars, but compared to other books of its genre it does an excellent job. The pace cracks along nicely and kept me reading all evening til I was through.
ckausch's review
5.0
I loved All Unquiet Things. Anna Jarzab has written a fantastic mystery, and I am not normally a mystery fan...
...The mystery development is believable and surprising. I found myself suspecting just about every character at some point in the book...
...While the mystery is page-turning, at heart the book is about relationships, love, and loss...
...All Unquiet Things is a strong, well-written novel that I highly recommend to high school and adults readers. Definitely one of my favorites of the year.
Full review at http://dogearedandwellread.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/all-unquiet-things-by-anna-jarzab/
...The mystery development is believable and surprising. I found myself suspecting just about every character at some point in the book...
...While the mystery is page-turning, at heart the book is about relationships, love, and loss...
...All Unquiet Things is a strong, well-written novel that I highly recommend to high school and adults readers. Definitely one of my favorites of the year.
Full review at http://dogearedandwellread.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/all-unquiet-things-by-anna-jarzab/
kaitrosereads's review
5.0
All Unquiet Things is one of the most beautifully written books that I have ever read. It was haunting and tragic but somehow so full of hope. It's hard to believe that this is Anna Jarzab's debut novel.
Neilly Monroe and Audrey Ribelli are both grieving for Carly Ribelli. They both loved her but in very different ways. For some reason, Carly's death still haunts Neilly. Her killer is behind bars so why does he feel as if he is missing something? Audrey knows what he is missing. Her dad may be in prison for Carly's murder but the real killer is still out there. And together they will bring him down.
One of the things that I loved about All Unquiet Things was the way the story was told. There were sections from Neilly's point-of-view and sections from Audrey's. It was a great way to show the different ways that they saw Carly. The flashbacks also really made it feel like I knew Carly. She wasn't just some dead girl, she was real. The book wouldn't have been nearly as good without seeing both sides of Carly.
The plot was spectacular. It was a little boring in the beginning but it picked up pretty quickly and didn't slow down for the rest of the book. I never could have guessed who the real murderer was and I could not stop reading until I found out.
Overall, All Unquiet Things is a fantastic book that I recommend to everyone. Everything about it was awesome and I can't wait for more from debut novelist, Anna Jarzab.
Neilly Monroe and Audrey Ribelli are both grieving for Carly Ribelli. They both loved her but in very different ways. For some reason, Carly's death still haunts Neilly. Her killer is behind bars so why does he feel as if he is missing something? Audrey knows what he is missing. Her dad may be in prison for Carly's murder but the real killer is still out there. And together they will bring him down.
One of the things that I loved about All Unquiet Things was the way the story was told. There were sections from Neilly's point-of-view and sections from Audrey's. It was a great way to show the different ways that they saw Carly. The flashbacks also really made it feel like I knew Carly. She wasn't just some dead girl, she was real. The book wouldn't have been nearly as good without seeing both sides of Carly.
The plot was spectacular. It was a little boring in the beginning but it picked up pretty quickly and didn't slow down for the rest of the book. I never could have guessed who the real murderer was and I could not stop reading until I found out.
Overall, All Unquiet Things is a fantastic book that I recommend to everyone. Everything about it was awesome and I can't wait for more from debut novelist, Anna Jarzab.
thisismenow's review
5.0
Last night, I planned to go to bed early, and I planned to finish this book in the morning, but I tried to sit it down and go to sleep, but I just couldn't. I wanted to know how it ended, so, instead, I stayed up into the early morning hours to finish. Then, once I was finished, I just laid in bed thinking about what I'd read.
While this is something of a mystery novel, I'd call it somewhat understated. It's more of a quiet, character novel, but it was some beautifully and wonderfully done.
Typically, I'm not a big fan of books that switch point of view, but I thought it worked really well here. The point of view switches back and forth a couple of times, but it's done in sections, rather than every other chapter, and it was very interesting to look at the same situation from two totally different views.
I think I enjoyed Neily's sections more. I seemed to identify with him more, or maybe I just found him more likable than Audrey. There were times when it was really tough to get through some of parts of the book. I just felt awful for Neily when Carly ended things - mostly because of the way she did it. My heart still aches thinking about it.
The mystery aspect of the book was good. It was well paced with multiple layers, but not so many that I felt like it was out of control. Through much of the book, I wasn't sure who had killed Carly, either, and usually I'm pretty quick to guess, but it wasn't blatantly obvious to me, and that's something I really appreciate in a mystery. I think looking back at the book now, I can see how the pieces and hints were there.
I think my one complaint, which isn't really a bad thing, would be that I didn't necessarily like the characters. They were all flawed in some way, which is realistic, but through much of the book, I just couldn't understand why people even liked Carly. Then I felt bad for thinking ill of the dead, but I just didn't like her. It seemed like all of the good in her was saved for other people, and not the ones that cared about her most. This, of course, is something she even admits to at one point, but even so, it was really hard for me to get past that.
As for Audrey, I had very mixed feelings about her. I didn't like many of the things she did, especially as it pertains to Neily and Carly. I suppose I could understand where she was coming from to a point, but it just didn't endear me to her. I also felt that way in regards to her and decisions about Cass.
I did like Neily. Yes, he was flawed and something of a loner, and he would was sometimes a little too judgmental about things, but I just didn't feel like same dislike for him as I did Carly and Audrey, and, as I said before, maybe that's because I identified with him more.
I think my favorite character of the book was Harvey, even though he was a minor character in the book. He was just the most likable person in the book, in my opinion, and overall good friend.
Another thing I really enjoyed about the book was the way the past was interwoven into the present. I think that's sometimes a very hard thing to pull off, but it worked so well here. Also, the past wasn't told in a linear way, which was very interesting, and that could have been very confusing, but it never was. It just flowed really well.
I'm still amazed that this was Anna Jarzab's first novel because it's so good. I don't know if I'd call it flawless, but it's pretty close. I'm very excited to read more from her in the future.
While this is something of a mystery novel, I'd call it somewhat understated. It's more of a quiet, character novel, but it was some beautifully and wonderfully done.
Typically, I'm not a big fan of books that switch point of view, but I thought it worked really well here. The point of view switches back and forth a couple of times, but it's done in sections, rather than every other chapter, and it was very interesting to look at the same situation from two totally different views.
I think I enjoyed Neily's sections more. I seemed to identify with him more, or maybe I just found him more likable than Audrey. There were times when it was really tough to get through some of parts of the book. I just felt awful for Neily when Carly ended things - mostly because of the way she did it. My heart still aches thinking about it.
The mystery aspect of the book was good. It was well paced with multiple layers, but not so many that I felt like it was out of control. Through much of the book, I wasn't sure who had killed Carly, either, and usually I'm pretty quick to guess, but it wasn't blatantly obvious to me, and that's something I really appreciate in a mystery. I think looking back at the book now, I can see how the pieces and hints were there.
I think my one complaint, which isn't really a bad thing, would be that I didn't necessarily like the characters. They were all flawed in some way, which is realistic, but through much of the book, I just couldn't understand why people even liked Carly. Then I felt bad for thinking ill of the dead, but I just didn't like her. It seemed like all of the good in her was saved for other people, and not the ones that cared about her most. This, of course, is something she even admits to at one point, but even so, it was really hard for me to get past that.
As for Audrey, I had very mixed feelings about her. I didn't like many of the things she did, especially as it pertains to Neily and Carly. I suppose I could understand where she was coming from to a point, but it just didn't endear me to her. I also felt that way in regards to her and decisions about Cass.
I did like Neily. Yes, he was flawed and something of a loner, and he would was sometimes a little too judgmental about things, but I just didn't feel like same dislike for him as I did Carly and Audrey, and, as I said before, maybe that's because I identified with him more.
I think my favorite character of the book was Harvey, even though he was a minor character in the book. He was just the most likable person in the book, in my opinion, and overall good friend.
Another thing I really enjoyed about the book was the way the past was interwoven into the present. I think that's sometimes a very hard thing to pull off, but it worked so well here. Also, the past wasn't told in a linear way, which was very interesting, and that could have been very confusing, but it never was. It just flowed really well.
I'm still amazed that this was Anna Jarzab's first novel because it's so good. I don't know if I'd call it flawless, but it's pretty close. I'm very excited to read more from her in the future.
davinakt's review
4.0
This was a difficult book for me to review. I wanted to love it, like five stars, crying and kissing it's shiny cover type love. It wasn't that. But it was pretty darn good. Summary: boy's girlfriend dies and he investigates the murder with her cousin. Why do I have to summarize the book? Can't you read the blurb?
Characters:
Audrey, meh. I didn't really get her, I should say, I didn't really relate to her. She was a well crafted and complex character but I just didn't feel it. I think that it was because she felt very clinical and detached. She talked about all her issues, she said she was angry, but somehow it didn't shine through the writing. I didn't think that she was very realistic, especially when the story was written from her perspective.
Neily was very similar to Audrey, everything that I said about her, works for him too, except that I could relate to him much more. His grieving process seems much more realistic, and he was funny, in that snarky way that I love. I would date him, Carly, what's wrong with you?
Carly, somehow she was the most interesting, complex, relatable character in this entire book, and she's dead. I see her grieving process, I see why she does things and how they could seem logical with what happened. And I was really sad that she was dead, I wasn't really that sad for other people in the book, but Carly I was really upset about.
Those were the only characters in the book. Everyone else was a throwaway. That was a huge issue in this book, I'd have liked to know more about everyone else.
Setting:
Brilliant. Brighton was just creepy enough, and the culture was super cool.
Plot and Writing:
The writing was good, but I saw another reviewer say clinical, and I think that's perfect, something about it was this wall, something that stopped me from really getting into it, I caught myself skimming some descriptions and some boring romance scenes...bleh.
The plot is what makes this book shine, so brilliant and so gripping, everything was a twist. I don't want to give anything away, but oh my, what a plot.
Long story short; this book would have been five stars if other characters were more fleshed out, the main characters more relatable, and the writing more emotional, but the plot and the creepy setting saved it. A gripping, fast read, but nothing too special.
Characters:
Audrey, meh. I didn't really get her, I should say, I didn't really relate to her. She was a well crafted and complex character but I just didn't feel it. I think that it was because she felt very clinical and detached. She talked about all her issues, she said she was angry, but somehow it didn't shine through the writing. I didn't think that she was very realistic, especially when the story was written from her perspective.
Neily was very similar to Audrey, everything that I said about her, works for him too, except that I could relate to him much more. His grieving process seems much more realistic, and he was funny, in that snarky way that I love. I would date him, Carly, what's wrong with you?
Carly, somehow she was the most interesting, complex, relatable character in this entire book, and she's dead. I see her grieving process, I see why she does things and how they could seem logical with what happened. And I was really sad that she was dead, I wasn't really that sad for other people in the book, but Carly I was really upset about.
Those were the only characters in the book. Everyone else was a throwaway. That was a huge issue in this book, I'd have liked to know more about everyone else.
Setting:
Brilliant. Brighton was just creepy enough, and the culture was super cool.
Plot and Writing:
The writing was good, but I saw another reviewer say clinical, and I think that's perfect, something about it was this wall, something that stopped me from really getting into it, I caught myself skimming some descriptions and some boring romance scenes...bleh.
The plot is what makes this book shine, so brilliant and so gripping, everything was a twist. I don't want to give anything away, but oh my, what a plot.
Long story short; this book would have been five stars if other characters were more fleshed out, the main characters more relatable, and the writing more emotional, but the plot and the creepy setting saved it. A gripping, fast read, but nothing too special.
minty's review
4.0
I stayed up pretty late to finish this one, which definitely says something--it was compelling and interesting and very well written. However, it is basically just season 1 of Veronica Mars, with of course the characters a bit mixed and matched so it's not exact. I loved Veronica Mars, so I enjoyed the book--but still.
Also I reiterate that the characters' maturity was out of proportion to their age. But given that I'm an adult reading it, I certainly didn't mind.
The cover is awesome, though I totally thought it was going to be about zombies when I saw it. But the thing that strikes me about the cover is that it looked like an adult novel, not a YA one, and I love that about it.
Also I reiterate that the characters' maturity was out of proportion to their age. But given that I'm an adult reading it, I certainly didn't mind.
The cover is awesome, though I totally thought it was going to be about zombies when I saw it. But the thing that strikes me about the cover is that it looked like an adult novel, not a YA one, and I love that about it.
kricketa's review
3.0
i'm not sure why high school was the setting for this mystery, because no one acted like a teenager. it was difficult to suspend my disbelief at times when the way neilly & audrey found clues seemed too convenient. neilly & carly's relationship was ridiculously intense for 8th grade.
that said, once i got to the halfway mark i did want to keep going and find out if my suspicions in regard the murderer were correct. (they were!) i would recommend it to mature teens looking for a mystery that's not overly simple, i guess?
that said, once i got to the halfway mark i did want to keep going and find out if my suspicions in regard the murderer were correct. (they were!) i would recommend it to mature teens looking for a mystery that's not overly simple, i guess?
majkf's review against another edition
3.0
I really like reading suspenseful novels. I like page-turners that keep you craving the ending to find out how the plot turns out. In that regard, the book was wonderful. Anna Jarzab’s transitions between perspectives were executed brilliantly. She kept me wondering until the very last chapter. The further I dove into this book, the more eager I was to know who killed Carly. The split perspective was really interesting and the flashbacks were so clear, I didn’t dread switching gears every few chapters. The story was mildly captivating, but not spectacular. I found myself enjoying the mechanics of Jarzab’s writing more than the content. All in all, a good young adult novel. Not quite a mystery and not quite romance, but good in both arenas.
piperhudsburn's review
I tried to read this book, I really did. But, I can't bring myself to understand this story. Both narrators were boring and the story droned on and on.
Neily is a spoiled brat. I think Jarzab has a lot of potential writing-wise so maybe I'll check out her other work. This book just moved too slow for me.
Neily is a spoiled brat. I think Jarzab has a lot of potential writing-wise so maybe I'll check out her other work. This book just moved too slow for me.
dbibliophile's review
5.0
Surprisingly great! I think I'll be reading more books about mysterious deaths. It fascinates me.