All Unquiet Things Review

All Unquiet Things - Anna Jarzab
*January 12th, 2010 Delacorte

Carly: She was sweet. Smart. Self-destructive. She knew the secrets of Brighton Day School’s most privileged students. Secrets that got her killed.

Neily: Dumped by Carly for a notorious bad boy, Neily didn’t answer the phone call she made before she died. If he had, maybe he could have helped her. Now he can’t get the image of her lifeless body out of his mind.

Audrey: She’s the reason Carly got tangled up with Brighton’s fast crowd in the first place, and now she regrets it—especially since she’s convinced the police have put the wrong person in jail. Audrey thinks the murderer is someone at Brighton, and she wants Neily to help her find out who it is.

As reluctant allies Neily and Audrey dig into their shared past with Carly, her involvement with Brighton’s dark goings-on comes to light. But figuring out how Carly and her killer fit into the twisted drama will force Audrey and Neily to face hard truths about themselves and the girl they couldn’t save.

Anna Jarzab's brilliant debut All Unquiet Things is anything but quiet. With gorgeous writing, an interesting premise and original plot, this is one tome that speaks volumes.

At its core, All Unquiet Things is a contemporary mystery story of sorts. And that's great to see in today's YA market. Even more impressive is the fact that it's a finely woven mystery. It's got just the right amount of twist that actually takes some effort to figure out even for those that are usually able to predict endings fairly well.

The format of the way the story told really augments its effectiveness. The going back and forth (chronologically) and changing perspectives offers different perspectives and insights, which also aids to further draw the reader in. One slight thing would be that the voices of Audrey and Neily could have been a little more distinct, as at times it did seem a little difficult to differentiate. Nevertheless, Jarzab's got an awesome writing style and beautiful phrasing.

Carly, Neily, Audrey, Cass... All Unquiet Things is chockful of interesting and intriguing characters. The content matter is also on a different level - Carly knew "secrets that got her killed" (Jarzab synopsis). The situations encountered by the characters are heart-poundingly dangerous with very severe consequences. That definitely adds a level of action and adventure to the story.

With varied characters, an intriguing mystery plot and beautiful writing, All Unquiet Things is bound to be a hit.

Anna Jarzab | IndieBound | Goodreads

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