Full Tilt [Turtleback]

Neal Shusterman (Author)

Book Description

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. When 16-year-old Blake goes to a mysterious, by-invitation-only carnival he somehow knows that it could save his comatose brother, but soon learns that much more is at stake if he fails to meet the challenge presented there by the beautiful Cassandra.

--This text refers to the School & Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-The myriad bits in 16-year-old Blake's brain become the stuff of an alternate universe, a nightmare amusement park in which he must experience seven wild rides before dawn in order to escape. The teen has always been the careful child in his family; at age seven, he was the only survivor of a school-bus crash. Since then, he has taken on the responsibility of saving his brother Quinn, who constantly needs to be rescued from his own impulsive behavior. Blake would certainly never accept the invitation to a midnight ride offered by the icily attractive Cassandra, a mysterious figure he encounters at Six Flags. However, when his brother steals the invitation and disappears, Blake has to follow. As he makes his way from one terrifying ride to another, Cassandra appears and disappears, challenging him, leading him on, and, finally, desperately attempting to keep him where he is, in the world she has created. His brother appears and disappears as well, and in one ride they discover that they need to work together. But at the end, Blake is on his own to face his deepest fears and survivor guilt. As the pace picks up in his surreal fantasy, readers are sucked into the nightmare, tumbling full tilt from one bizarre occurrence to another. Set in the vibrant, vivid atmosphere of theme parks and computer games, this is an unusual quest adventure. Teens will recognize both Quinn's sensation seeking and Blake's withdrawal, and celebrate the balanced conclusion.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-10. Sixteen-year-old Blake, a straight-arrow, Ivy-league, college-bound kid, is at a carnival with Quinn, his thrill-seeking brother, and two friends when a beautiful girl invites Blake to another carnival in a remote part of town that only admits invited guests. Later that evening, Quinn is found at home in a comatose state with Blake's invitation by his side. Did he go to the other carnival in Blake's place? When Blake and his friends go in search of the mysterious carnival to find out what happened to Quinn, they discover that the price of admission to this bizarre, phantom place is one's soul. To save Quinn, Blake must survive seven different carnival rides before dawn, each one a terrifying reflection of one of Blake's deepest fears. In the final ride, Blake confronts the memory of a horrible childhood accident that he has buried deep in his psyche--a school bus wreck in which he was the only survivor. With a nod to Ray Bradbury's classic Something Wicked This Way Comes, Shusterman has created a surreal, scary fantasy, packed with suspenseful psychological drama. Readers will savor the page-turning thrills in this wonderfully eerie story. Ed Sullivan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Turtleback: 201 pages
• Publisher: Demco Media (November 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0606326901
• ISBN-13: 978-0606326902
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Neal Shusterman is the author of many novels for young adults, including Unwind, which was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers, Everlost, and Downsiders, which was nominated for twelve state reading awards. He also writes screenplays for motion pictures and television shows such as Animorphs and Goosebumps. The father of four children, Neal lives in southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very intelligently written children's book, January 15, 2005

By 

Jonathan Appleseed - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Full Tilt (Mass Market Paperback)

Full Tilt is one of the most impressive "children's" books I've read in years. I used quotes because the writing was terrific and intelligent, the characters (especially the main character - which is common when a story is told in first person) refreshingly real and alive, the author made frequent use of strong, powerful metaphors and similes that resonated throughout the entire work, and he did this while creating remarkable tension that would drive any reader from the first page to the last. In short, this was a children's book written on the level of an "adult" book.

When finishing this, I thought to myself: I really wish that I was writing a book report instead of a review, because the ending is so powerful and meaningful that I want to discuss, dissect, and analyze it for whoever reads what I write about this. It's a powerful, moving, intelligent, evocative ending that was cleverly written and plotted, with the groundwork for it laid out with grace and care through the entire book.

There are already plot descriptions on this page from School Library Journal, so I'll skip that, as I think they did a better job than I could have. Instead, I'll comment on why I found this book so impressive.

Literature (yes, I'm using that big word in a review of a children's book) is about character. If you don't have solid characters with real feelings, real experiences, real *souls*, you can't have a truly good book. You might get a bestseller - let's face it, lots of best sellers are filled with empty sacks that pass for characters - but you won't have a good book.

The most important thing about characters is that they have to grow, even if it's not in a positive direction. He/she needs to pass through experiences, those experiences need to evoke emotion, and they need to add up to growth (or change - just in case someone wants to get semantic on me and say that negative growth isn't real growth).

The growth of the main character, Blake, was the most remarkable element of this book. The author plotted his development in a 199-page book as carefully as I've seen authors of adult fiction do it in 900 pages. As he faces the various fears that other plot descriptions mention, he grows from each one of them - and they all lead neatly into the climax.

I mentioned that this book was written intelligently. As the main character was somewhat of a brainiac (he was graduating high school one year early and was slated to attend Columbia University in New York), we could expect some insightful introspection - and we got it.

During one of his challenges, he is in a house of mirrors. To quote from the book:

"I did my best to keep from looking in any more mirrors, but it was harder than you might think. Once you started looking into those mirrors, it was next to impossible to look away. I guess we all can't help peeking at our own imperfections, just like we can't help scratching a scab that keeps itching. When those imperfections are pasted across your face like that, exaggerated and magnified, it's hard to find all those good thoughts you have about yourself. If you believe those distorted reflections too deeply, you'll get out of the maze."

During another challenge, when one of Blake's friends attacks him in order to escape the terrors of the carnival and he survives his friends attack, he comments:

"They say you never know who's the real hero and who's the real coward until you're looking death in the face. I've always been afraid of plenty of things, but fear isn't what makes you a coward. It's how depraved your heart becomes when fear gets pumped through it. I would never climb over the backs of my friends to save myself."

Insights such as these are peppered throughout the book, and make the exciting tension of Blake's challenges that much more interesting, because during and after each challenge he learns something more about himself - all of which he needs to overcome the final challenge.

Please ignore the one star review given by another reviewer. This is exceptional literature.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Full Tilt' Review and Remarks, February 6, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Full Tilt (Mass Market Paperback)

There were many enjoyable parts in Full Tilt, but the most satisfying part of this book was when Blake and Quinn just finished the seventh ride. This element added such a thrill and a feeling of relief; knowing they both lived through such a nightmare. Although I expected this result, I was still content with them escaping the catastrophic ride. During our class discussion about each person's novel, everyone who read Full Tilt seemed to agree that the end of the plot was predictable. (The end of the plot being when Blake completes all seven rides.) Because it was knowable, I wished for something more out of the box and surprising. Even if the end was more on the lines of disappointing, that might be better than predictability. The actual end of the novel was definitely disappointing; and quite a let down. Contentment usually comes when something is relieved; you then feel satisfied.

That brings me to the least satisfying part of the book. The end of Full Tilt was very displeasing. Towards the end of the novel, I expected a great ending; however, the end was the opposite of what I was looking forward to. It makes me wonder why the author, Shusterman, didn't close the book with this thrilling and amazing conclusion! Did he intend for the ending to be boring? Maybe he never figured readers would predict the ending; Full Tilt could have possibly been geared towards younger readers. Even so, a pleasing ending that would just be a little better could make me more satisfied. I'm not exactly asking for one of those happy ending scenarios, but the ending definitely needs improvement.

Something I would ask for, to better this book, would be for the length to be generally longer. Something that would contribute to a lengthier story would be more chapters describing things you don't know, or simply add things to inform you of other occurrences throughout the novel. There's a major event happening outside of Blake in the park, and Shusterman should have juxtaposed between each scene. There seemed to be too much focus on the amusement park. Someone would wonder: What's happening with Blake's family? How does Cassandra function? Many more questions arise as I read this novel, and they really were left unanswered. A sequel could perhaps update on the plot and enlighten more people. The story was very short and I wanted more to read-the end didn't do it for me.

I definitely would recommend this book to others. Despite the lack of satisfaction, (which you aren't always going to get when reading a novel) Full Tilt was such a great adventure story and the details were done in good taste. I think the characters were absolutely believable, and that makes a book so much better. When you can relate to what you're reading, you feel more involved and the story makes more sense. Each chapter brought such exuberance and when the characters were riding the amusement park rides, it made you want to watch and be in the scene. I think anyone from grade 7th and up could read this. Even though it was an easy read, I never the less enjoyed it. This is the reasoning behind why I give this book thumbs up and would recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Haley's Review, November 21, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Full Tilt (Mass Market Paperback)

Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman is a children's book with 201 pages and an overall "wow!" book. It has big blasts of deja vu that makes the story just a little bit creepier. This fiction/adventure book can't easily be compared to other books. This book describes the scenery and you know exactly what it looks like because of the great description and words that explain it all. I can explain this book with so many words that it is unbelievable! It was amazing, descriptive, crazy, creepy, fun, a worst nightmare, awesome, twisted, Ect.

The book is about a sixteen year old boy named Blake and his annoying and fearless brother Quinn who is thirteen. They are very much opposite. Blake is the responsible one because his dad left his mom when they he and Quinn were little. Quinn on the other hand, could care less what people think about him and the danger of his actions. They don't get along too well until Blake is invited to a phantom carnival that takes people's worst nightmares and personal fears to turns them into reality. Blake has to ride seven rides by sunrise or not die on any of the seven rides or else the phantom carnival traps him as a prisoner slave forever! Many crazy things happen in this story from a carousel of galloping animals, to a maze of mirrors that change people into there wacky and freaky reflections.

My favorite part of this book is when Blake wakes up at two o'clock in the morning to ambulance lights outside of his bedroom window. When he goes out to the living room to see what was going on, he seeds Quinn lying on the couch with his eyes open like he is dead but the paramedic says that he is breathing. In Quinn's eyes, Blake sees something that reminds him of his invitation and something that Quinn said the night before. Blake raced to find the invitation to the carnival and can't find it. Somehow, even though Quinn's body is lying in the same house that he is in right at that moment, Blake thinks that Quinn has gone to the carnival. I like this part because of how bizarre it is but how you hear about things like that happening on TV and you don't believe it, but this story can really make you believe.

This book interested me in reading it at first just by the way it was described by others and on the back of the book cover. It seemed like it would be the coolest book to read and after finishing it, I believe that it would make a great movie with a lot of special affects!