All Unquiet Things [Hardcover]

Anna Jarzab (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 12, 2010

A riveting thriller set at a California prep school!

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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Anna Jarzab's debut novel (Delacorte 2010) is part mystery and part inner glimpse at dysfunctional families and the perceived entitlements at a wealthy private high school. Neily Monroe, 17, is the ex-boyfriend of Carly, a beautiful girl who spiraled out of control after the death of her mother and was brutally murdered months before Neily begins his story at the spot he found Carly's body. Audrey is Carly's cousin—and the daughter of the man convicted of her murder. Audrey comes back to school and back into Neily's life hoping that he will help prove her father's innocence. Never truly convinced that the right person was convicted and still in love with Carly, Neily agrees, although he is not eager to open old wounds. The narration alternates between the teens' perspectives—Neily, narrated by Mike Chamberlain, and Audrey, narrated by Allyson Ryan. Told through chunks of recollections from when Carly was alive alternating with current events, the dual narrators offer a well-rounded picture. The portrayals, while uneven in their voicing and pacing, vividly bring to the surface images of teens coping with intense tragedy, emotions, and a desire for closure. Listeners will be fully immersed in the mystery as it unfolds.—Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review

"It’s a slow-building, slow-burning mystery—Jarzab is as interested in probing Neily and Audrey’s emotional states and the ramifications of Carly’s murder as she is in solving it—but the author’s confident, literary prose makes for a tense and immersive thriller."
--Publishers Weekly

"An intriguing puzzle from a welcome new voice in psychological suspense."--Nancy Werlin, New York Times bestselling author of Impossible

"Part mystery, part character study, the story hooks readers immediately, propelling them through a serpentine path of secrets and lies."--Booklist

"A sophisticated teen mystery."--Kirkus Reviews

"[A] rich psychological mystery . . . from a promising new author."--School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press; 1 edition (January 12, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385738358
• ISBN-13: 978-0385738354
• Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 5.6 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,239,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anna Jarzab is the author of All Unquiet Things, The Opposite of Hallelujah, and Tandem, book 1 in the new Many-Worlds Trilogy. She lives in New York City and works in children's book publishing. Visit her online at annajarzab.com, follow her on Twitter @ajarzab, and follow her on Tumblr at annajarzab.tumblr.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Mystery! December 13, 2009

By Mint910 VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

All the Unquiet Things was a refreshing book for me, just what I was looking for. After discovering I was burnt out on supernatural stories this heartbreaking mystery set in the here and now, without any characters with powers was just what I was looking for.

Besides the mystery aspect the book spoke of lost love, friendship, and family troubles. It reminded me a bit of one of my favorite television shows, Veronica Mars. I love the idea of teens solving a mystery (and not a childish mystery), their tactics are obviously going to be different than an adults, or the police. It's just more fun.

I loved that the book was told both from Neily and Audrey's perspectives. Though sometimes I had to remind myself who the narrator was because they were often in each others scenes. It was also refreshing to come across two main characters that weren't involved romantically but worked together as a team, as friends, they helped each other find closure over the death of their love (Neily) and best friend/cousin (Audrey).

There were only a few suspects in the story but when it came down to it, I totally didn't see it coming when the actual murderer was revealed. The entire book was a complex web of lies and truths and I just had a great time reading the book. I also think it would lend itself nicely to a movie format.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and unsettling December 6, 2009

By The Compulsive Reader VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Carly was impulsive, smart, and hurting. Both her boyfriend Neily and her cousin Audrey adored her, but neither of them knew how to get her the help she needed when her mother died, and neither of them did anything when Carly dumped Neily and began hanging out with the dangerous popular crowd. But both Audrey and Neily are shocked when Carly is found dead one night, murdered in cold blood, and a year later they are still struggling to deal with their guilt and confusion, despite the accused murderer, Audrey's father, being behind bars.

But then Audrey approaches Neily, asking for help. The pieces of Carly's murder aren't adding up, and she doesn't believe her father is the killer. She suspects the murderer is someone at their school, who would go at any length to keep certain dark secrets covered. But in order for them to find the truth, Audrey and Neily will have to be honest with not only each other, but themselves as well, and risk ripping open old wounds and getting involved with dangerous people.

Anna Jarzab's debut novel is a superbly written and immaculate mystery that is completely gripping and unsettling. Her writing style is smart and sophisticated, peppered with observations that will make you really stop and think. Her main characters, Neily and Audrey, are both very different but very authentic. Neily is smart and capable, but struggles to deal with an immense load of guilt. Audrey is a little more reckless and assertive, but deep down, she's searching for love and acceptance. The story flows perfectly as Jarzab carefully pulls back layer after layer of the events of over four years as the viewpoints switch back and forth between Neily and Audrey, and the past and present....

The bulk of the story takes place in prosperous Empire Valley, and a lot of action plays out at Brighton Day School, where many of the students are privileged and unbelievably wealthy, but All Unquiet Things has so much more depth than your average rich teen novel. Instead, Jarzab exposes the dark side of rich living with unsupervised teens that have access to as much money, drugs, and alcohol as they want, and what happens when things quickly spiral out of control. The plot is twisting and complex, but it all comes together in a surprising, breathless end in such a flawless way, never once lacking in suspense.

All Unquiet Things, simply put, had me under a spell. This is a complex, smart, and disquieting debut. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars all unquiet things December 5, 2009

By Sarah Banks VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

"All Unquiet Things" centers on the murder of Carly Ribelli & is narrated by her ex-boyfriend & cousin, Neily & Audrey. Neily & Audrey are both outsiders at their California prep school, but they come together to solve the murder of Carly. The police have already locked away Audrey's father, but Neily has always had doubts; Audrey cannot believe her father would murder his niece. Forging an unlikely friendship, Neily & Audrey set out to uncover the secrets of the popular clique at their school, both convinced that someone from this group is responsible for Carly's death.

"All Unquiet Things" is well written & bit heavier than most of the YA I have read, but I finished the book in 3 days. It kept me interested & was a fast read. The murder mystery keeps the plot going, but "All Unquiet Things" is much more-- a story of grief, acceptance, & self-discovery.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Could Be Better March 27, 2010

By K.Warner VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

For such a literary poem excerpt at the beginning of the book, I found All Unquiet Things to be short of the literary mark. Centering around the murder of Carly Ribelli, a good girl turned wayward, this novel seems to be a perfect almost-summer read- exciting, consuming, and slightly spooky. But everything seemed off for me. Anna Jarzab's writing was merely passe. Many times throughtout the story her writing did not flow together, and at times she used too much exposition, which detracted from the overall effect of the story. Audrey and Neily, two people close to Carly, were both well-drawn characters, yet their voices were too similar. The murderer, when revealed, did not exactly surprise me. The ending was rushed and awkward, and the murderer seemed to have done a complete 360 character-wise; it just wasn't plausible that he/she was that evil and no one had caught it. Some things impressed me about this novel, like the building up of tension and suspense, but overall I wasn't impressed. I would not recommend this.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars All Unquiet Things is Not Just a Quiet Novel... January 3, 2010

By delicateflower152 TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Two outsiders at Brighton, a California private school, are united by their separate relationships with the deceased Carly Ribelli. Neily Monroe, her former boyfriend, is a scholarship student. Audrey Ribelli, her cousin and the daughter of the man convicted of Carly's murder, runs with the school's fast crowd. The two begin a tentative friendship when Audrey asks Neily to help prove her father's innocence. Having determined the evidence against Audrey's father is weak and in order to reveal the actual murderer, the two delve into secrets the "in crowd" would rather not be revealed.

Anna Jarzab has accurately captured the nuances of teen relationships and self-discovery. Her characters are recognizable; their hopes, problems, and fears are those all teens experience. While most of the characters in this novel come from a privileged background, they never deteriorate into stereotyped or totally unsympathetic individuals. Even Bean, one of the "bad" boys and a potential suspect in Carly's murder, is interesting and may elicit a sympathetic response. The language used by the characters is realistic; the dialog adds to the overall tone of the book. Jarzab's use of two voices, Neily's and Audrey's, to narrate the book provides differing perspectives on the mystery and its ultimate solution. In having the narrative span a four-year timeframe, Jarzab is able to provide depth of information and perspective on the people and events involved in the story.

I found "All Unquiet Things" to be a thoroughly engrossing novel; I finished it in one sitting. Jarzab is a skilled writer whose prose moved quickly to capture the reader's attention and hold it from the first page to the last.... That being said, this is probably one of the few books classified as "Young Adult" that I might not give every tween or younger, naďve teen to read. Several of the characters "hook up" without any emphasis being placed on the more detrimental effects of teen sex. Carly's rape is the only real negative result of teen sex and partying discussed in the book. While the sex is not specific or graphic - if this were a movie, the scene would fade to black as the action progresses - I do think the novel's theme would have been just as relevant without the numerous sexual relationships among the characters. Parents who are looking for an excellent Young Adult book may want to read "All Unquiet Things" first. This should allow parents to then have an active discussion about drug use, peer pressure, and "hooking up" as a teenager with their child as the novel is being read. Read more ›