In short: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris is an intense mystery thriller with a fascinating sci fi twist and a countdown to the End of the World. 
 Unraveling took me by surprise. I went into it not really knowing what to expect, maybe just a nice read with a good mystery. But what I got exceeded all my expectations in every single way. Unraveling is a superb and intense mystery thriller with a super cool sci fi twist. I became so involved in the plot and characters while reading that I found it near impossible to put Unraveling down. Despite being relatively lengthy, short chapters and a plot involving a countdown clock to the End of the World ensure a fast paced read. 
 Unraveling's protagonist, Janelle Tenner, is what really made this book for me. It may partly be a factor of really hating the protagonist in the last book I read and thus in comparison, Janelle seems extra awesome, but I'd like to also think that I loved her for being completely independent, smart and nerdy, and snarky. She never once relied on someone else to get things done - she was a go-getter. When faced with the mystery of how she was brought back to life, why people are turning up dead with their bones liquefied from a nuclear-like blast, and how the End of the World Countdown can be stopped, she makes it her business to find out. Yikes - if it were me, I'd probably hide in a corner and hope for the best. 
 I also adored Janelle's love interest, Ben, and all their scenes together. And you know that if I'm mentioning the love and relationship aspect of a book in a review, then I must've really loved it because I am not one to gush over that kind of thing in my reviews. Ben has all of the intrigue and mysteriousness of the "Bad-Boy Type" without any of the dickish-ness, which was awesome. Together, Ben and Janelle make quite the cute couple. There were many a moment - most notably, Janelle's ideal proposal scene - that made me swoon. 
 My one quibble is one that I have with lots of YA mystery novels - namely, that the characters feel the need to play teen detective and save the world instead of turning to a professional for help. I loved Janelle, really I did, but the girl needs to learn that when the End of the World is looming over your head, it's maybe time to turn to the FBI or a Physicist and not worry about if they'll think you're crazy - ASAP. 
 Unraveling is author Elizabeth Norris' debut novel and I cannot wait to read more from her in the future. I am especially looking forward to seeing more of Janelle and Ben and maybe a certain other mystery that was mentioned briefly in Unraveling and will hopefully be solved in a sequel! Unraveling will be released April 24, 2012. I highly recommend it.