Book Review: The Unquiet

The Unquiet
by Jeannine Garsee
(4/5 stars)

As full disclosure, I won a copy of this from the author.  I just want you to know that so you don't think this is one of the author's friends or family or something like that.

Anyway, I'm glad I did win this book because it was a fun read.  I recently read an advance copy of the new Amanda Hocking book that is in the same genre and I have to say I liked "The Unquiet" a lot more.  I think the primary reason being that the main character Rinn is a lot brighter than the main character of Hocking's book.  That and there weren't obvious typos and bad writing, just one slight factual error concerning slasher movie killer costumes.

As I said the plot involves a girl named Rinn.  Like so many of these type of books or movies, Rinn and her mom are new to town.  Or at least Rinn is new to town; her mom used to live here before college.  They've fled La Jolla, California after Rinn accidentally burned down her grandmother's cabin with her grandmother inside.  The main cause for the fire is that Rinn is bipolar and at that time was off her medication and thus careless.

In River Hills, Ohio, she figures she'll get a clean start.  She even makes friends with the head cheerleader Meg and her friends Tasha and Lacy.  She also makes friend with the neighbor/landlord's son Nate.

Her new friends introduce her to the legend of Annaliese Gibbons, a girl who drowned in the school pool about 20 years ago, back when Rinn's mom went to the school.  The pool area is now closed, but Annaliese's spirit is said to live on.

After Rinn and her new friends hold a seance around Halloween, strange things begin happening.  The lives of Rinn's new friends begin to unravel and then one dies.  Is it Annaliese striking from beyond the grave?  Or is it just that Rinn is having a relapse?

I figured out most of the plot well before the ending.  If you're familiar with either the original or remake of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" then you might be able to figure it out as well.

Still, as I said, it's an entertaining read that I breezed through in a few hours.  As far as the young adult books I've read it might not be more or less wall-to-wall action like "The Hunger Games" but it's less dull and stupid than "Twilight" or that new Amanda Hocking novel I mentioned.

So I would definitely recommend reading it, even if you weren't lucky enough to win a copy of your own.

That is all.