And Then Everything Unraveled

Delia knows that her mother, the unflappable, always together, perfectly organized T.K. Truesdale, would not disappear off the face of the earth without previous notice. Which is why she’s suspicious when news comes of her mother’s death on an Antarctic environmental protection expedition and Delia is shipped off to NYC to live with her two aunts.

In between making friends, dealing with a newfound crush, and trying to fit in at her prestigious private high school, Delia investigates her mother’s supposed death on the side and discovers what she already believed: her mother is not dead. There is a reason she is hiding out, but the more Delia finds out, the more sinister everything sounds, and the more danger that she and everyone show more she cares about might be in.

Wow! How do I even begin to describe AND THEN EVERYTHING UNRAVELED, which defies categorization? It’s a mystery-suspense story wrapped around a typical girl-coming-of-age tale, and yet as a result it is so much more.

Delia is a darling, an unassuming high school girl with a lot of bad luck but an equal amount of smarts on her hand. In straightforward, attention-grabbing prose she tells us how the transition from California to NYC is, how living with her crazy aunts after her by-the-book mom is, and how important it is to her that she get to the bottom of this mystery with her mom. The plot is definitely the best thing about this book, for the hint of a mysterious and dangerous conspiracy in an otherwise normal YA novel is unusual, and thus delightful.

Besides for Delia, most of the other characters are interesting as well. Her aunts Charley and Patty are complete opposites of one another, and yet neither of them feel clichéd or unrealistic in their differences. Jennifer Sturman has the crazy-awesome ability to make even the most minor of characters have personality. The only character that falls slightly short in my opinion would be Quinn, Delia’s love interest, who’s gallant and noble and infuriating but still a little fuzzy in my head.

However, since the ending of this book clearly promises a sequel or two, I am confident that I will only fall more and more in love with Delia’s world. AND THEN EVERYTHING UNRAVELED is a stellar start to what promises to be an exciting, heartwarming, AND nail-biting series. Can it really get better than that? show less

This novel marks Sturman's entry into young adult, although at times it is hard to see how Delia Truesdale is less mature than Rachel Benjamin (leaving aside whether that is a compliment to the former or an insult to the later). It's an exciting read from beginning to end, mixing the genres of classic orphan novels with young adult and mystery others. I won't spoil the ending for you. Then again, neither will Sturman.

You know those books that leave you with nothing but love for? That's how And Then Everything Unraveled is for me. I really loved this book! I honestly didn't know what to expect. I didn't hear much about this book before receiving it, so I went in with just the premise. It wasn't long before this book had me hooked.

It was chocked full of mystery that you uncover along the way with the protagonist, Delia. But I also found loads of quirky humor that kept this story at a perfect balance. Delia is such a great character that anyone could enjoy reading about. When everyone is convinced that her mom, T.K. is dead, Delia knows there is more to the story. She never gives up on what she believes, even when everyone thinks she is wrong. That is show more such an admirable quality. Seeing her having to adjust from California to New York was fun to read about. New York is always one of my favorite places to read about.

What I loved about all of Sturman's characters were how uncliche they were, and how each of them brought something fun to the mix. You got the detective with the crazy ties, the friend who is ordered to parties by her parents to work on her social skills, the drone-like cousins, the two aunts who couldn't be any more opposite if they tried, and then there's Quinn. Quinn was was a fantastic character that surprised me in a good way. At first, I thought he would be that cliche popular boy, but there so much more to him. We didn't get to see nearly as much of him as I would want, so hopefully we get lots more of him in the sequel!

My absolute favorite character in this story - which is also now one of my favorite characters in literature - is Delia's Aunt Charley. How awesome was she! She lives in a converted warehouse that was described as big enough to roller skate in, she LOVES to shop, she does whatever job appeals to her, she is an 80's teen movie fanatic, oh, and she loves ice cream! If you are a teen who has to be shipped off to live with someone until you can find your mom, Charley is the person you want to live with. Or maybe I am just as wacky as Charley. :)

The plot was fun and moved at a fast, yet steady pace. I was left with so many more questions at the end, and was SO ready to jump into the sequel! And Then Everything Unraveled was a fantastic start in what promises to be a fun and exciting series. Sturman has won me over as a reader for this one. It is a must read for sure! show less

This is going to be a totally unfair review. It is based entirely on the premise that, as a reader, I have the right to abandon a book that doesn't interest me and not feel guilty. It's also based on instinct, the same instinct that allows employers to know within ten seconds whether or not they will hire and individual for a job. It's about experience and preference and, fair or not, no less valid.

And I'm going to take as long to discuss this book as I did reading it.

Delia Truesdale can't believe it's only been a few weeks since the story she is about to recount took place. Her mother has "left for Antarctica with one of her environmental groups," leaving Delia with her semi secret surfing in the care of the housekeeper in her Silicon show more Valley home. Delia's friends, what few she has, are all tech geeks who are already wheeler-dealers and inventors. Dad is not in the picture, victim of freak accident. The car of the person who runs her mother's business affairs is in the driveway when she gets home. Bad news: Mom's ship has disappeared, no word on survivors. Mom must be... but no, Delia refuses to believe her mother is dead.

And we aren't even at page five.

I don't need anymore. The rule of a book that starts off like this is that any teen who refuses to believe their parent is dead is right. The rest of the book will concern the main character on a journey of discovery that will prove them right. Not having friends means she'll make some along the way (including a romantic interest) and will solve the mystery on her own. Naturally there will be obstacles along the way, including those close to her she is supposed to trust. Happy ending all around, and nothing will ever be the same again.

As proof, I jump from the first five pages to the last chapter, in this case the last three pages. Mystery is wrapping up. Kisses, and the promise of many more, from a boy named Quinn. Almost obligatory Shakespeare reference to Romeo and Juliet. Mother is safe in Chile. Trio of bad guys mentioned, indicating conspiracy, including aforementioned person who helped run her mother's company. And the story ends at the point where Delia can finally take a breath and recap it for the reader.

I don't care about this character before her mother disappears, I don't know the mother enough to care about her disappearance, and so I don't care enough to read everything between those opening pages and the last paragraph. I don't necessarily believe you need to go deep with character development before you can launch an adventure story, or a mystery, but you must engage the reader, you must give them something they can latch onto, something they can care about that will make them want to know what is going on in those 238 other pages in between. Unless, of course, you're writing formula for teens accustomed to artificial television drams with the attention span of a noodle.

Personally, I think teens deserve more respect from their reading material than that.

Did I get it right? In hunting down a cover image I landed on Scholastic's page for the book and missed only one element:

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.

Okay, I should have seen that: fish out of water, something to compare against a cardboard cutout of Silicon Valley. Other then that, I could have written the blurb for this book without having read it. show less

I felt like this book just got me. It was a mix of my favorite things, a little sleuthing (I love Veronica Mars) a pair of crazy aunts (I love Pushing Daisies) one who has fabulous taste in 80s movies, a cute boy, New York City and ice cream. Yes, there is a lot of ice cream in this book, I kid you not! I just loved this book.

I loved the mystery in the story and really I still don't know how it going to end, can you say sequel! I found the book really funny too, Delia's descriptions of her cousin's facial expressions, just priceless. And Delia in general was just a great character, I really liked her. She was one of many strong characters in a great cast. They were all unique from the P.I. with the cute ties to Natalie the girl that show more promised her parents she would go to a party to work on her social skills!

There are so many elements in this story I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find out that the story is left open for a sequel. I need that sequel NOW! It ends with so many unanswered questions, I must know what's going to happen! It reminded me a lot of how Kiss Me, Kill Me and Kisses and Lies acted together, almost thinking of the first book and sequel as one book split into two.

I found this to be a great opener to a really interesting story. I can't wait to see where the story picks up and check out some of the author's adult titles in the meantime. show less

I really enjoyed this book-it was a true gem of a find! If I am not mistaken, I bought it after I got my Kindle. The UK Kindle bookstore was not as large as it is now and the YA pickings were slim (if like me, you are not so keen on paranormal romance). So, I stumbled across this and I am glad I did! In short, Delia Truesdale finds herself uprooted and transplanted to NYC from her native Palo Alto when her mother disappears whilst on an expedition; however, Delia is convinced her mother is well and truly alive and kicking. So, she attempts to seek out the truth amidst a backdrop of her polar opposite aunts; an elite private school featuring well known and loved staples such as 'fast-talking-know-it-all' and 'hot-but-misunderstood-rich show more guy'; melodramatic clairvoyants; detectives; and a few dodgy hedge fund managers for good measure. Delia was a likeable character and the story read at a consistent pace. It all seemed well planned and therefore it was well executed. I was extremely pleased to read 'To Be Continued' at the end. Therefore, I would rate this a solid 4/5. show less

This novel marks Sturman's entry into young adult, although at times it is hard to see how Delia Truesdale is less mature than Rachel Benjamin (leaving aside whether that is a compliment to the former or an insult to the later). It's an exciting read from beginning to end, mixing the genres of classic orphan novels with young adult and mystery others. I won't spoil the ending for you. Then again, neither will Sturman.