Like The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Elizabeth Norris’s Unraveling blends realistic coming-of-age issues with a gripping science fiction world.

Unraveling’s heroine, sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner, is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle’s mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared.

And that was before she died…and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth’s destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.

She’s been given a second chance at life, but as she falls for the boy who saved her, she must ask the terrifying question: what if he’s the reason the world is ending?

• A High-Stakes Paranormal Romance: She was dead until he brought her back. Now Janelle is falling for the mysterious Ben Michaels, but his secrets are more dangerous than she could ever imagine.
• An Alternate Universe Thriller: Ben isn’t just a loner from her high school—he’s from another universe, and his arrival on Earth is tied to the countdown that threatens to destroy everything.
• A Countdown to Destruction: With only twenty-four days on the clock, Janelle must unravel a conspiracy that goes deeper than she knows, all while juggling family drama and her own impossible return to life.
• Nonstop Action and Twists: Perfect for fans of fast-paced YA thrillers, this novel is packed with shocking reveals, heart-pounding suspense, and a love story that defies the laws of physics.