Delia Truesdale has no idea her life's about to change forever. She's too busy enjoying the California summer. Her internet tycoon mother, T.K. Truesdale, is out of town, and that means Delia can spend all her time at the beach, surfing. That is, until everything unravels.
Her mother suddenly goes missing, and everyone thinks she's dead - except Delia, who knows T.K.'s way too organized to simply disappear. But Delia's still sent to New York to live with her two aunts - a downtown bohemian and an uptown ice queen.
And in case that's not bad enough, she also has to deal with a snooty new school and trying not to fall for the wrong guy. Oh, and finding her mother.
As she delves deeper into the tangle of conspiracies and lies surrounding T.K.'s disappearance, Delia begins to suspect that the wrong guy may be the right guy...and that some secrets - especially the dangerous ones - were never meant to be unraveled.
Delia was an original and likable main character. Readers get to learn more about her parents and background within the first few chapters and I love how diversity played a role with Delia being half Indian. Her father was not only a big computer genius, but also a big surfer and he passed this talent on to Delia before he was killed. You could tell how much Delia missed her father, and how it was even more important to her that her mother was alive. The mystery surrounding her mother’s disappearance was an excellent idea and had me trying to figure out what was going to happen next.
Delia’s mother, TK, was a well developed character and I had to agree with Delia right from the start that her “death” was very mysterious and unbelievable. The clues Delia uncovered were amazing and it really helped that her friend Natalie was such a computer genius (as were many of the characters in this novel!). Without her Delia still would be struggling to put some clues together. And there were a lot of clues and twists in the plot that will keep the reader on their toes. New facts, suspicious characters, and a hit and run attempt all made each page that much more exciting!
The mystery angle was my favorite, but there were still other sub plots that made me enjoy the novel even more. When TK disappeared, Delia was shipped off to live with her fun-loving, ice-cream eating Aunt Charley. I loved Charley, she was just the right amount of caring and understanding that made it easy to overlook her sometimes confused and random nature. Delia’s other aunt, Patricia, was the complete opposite of the carefree Charley. Patricia and her twins, Gwyneth and Grey (“with an E”) were all cold and demanding, but as the novel went along readers get to see a bit of Gwyneth’s other side and I hope to see more of her in the sequel.
There was romance in this too! Quinn was a fun loving and popular guy at Delia’s new school in
In conclusion, And Then Everything Unraveled was a delightful debut and one of my favorite reads of the year. Mysteries are few and far between in the YA genre so I can’t wait to see where Jennifer Sturman takes Delia’s story next. The ending was quite a cliffhanger and left me really anxious to get started on And Then I Found Out The Truth. This was just released in paperback so definitely pick up a copy soon!
Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
June 1, 2010 (PB)/Point/244 Pages/Young Adult/Book One
Great review! I read this one last year and I agree with most of what you say. It was certainly a great debut. Also, you're right, mysteries are few and far between in the YA genre... hmm, I wonder why that is. I mean I would love more of them.
ReplyDeleteFab review! That cover is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteExcellent review! This sounds like an interesting read, I'll have to check it out. :)
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