Tara Gilboy

Book: Unwritten
Author: Tara Gilboy
Release Date: October 16th, 2018
Star Rating: 3/5
This is a Middle Grade book perfect for grades 4th-6th grade. I love that the main character Gracie is a female and someone who is not perfect. She will be a great influence on little girls around the world.

I really loved the idea of this story within a story. Gracie wants to meet Gertrude Winters, an author that has written a world that has come to life. Gracie and her mom were part of the world but had escaped to live their lives the way they see fit, not how Gertrude wrote them.
However, 12-year-old Gracie wants to know what Winters wrote about her and her family. Gracie has flashes of fire and sees a beautiful woman standing over her. Despite her mother's warnings Gracie went the author's book signing at their local bookstore and sets in motion a chain of events that bring her, her mother, and other characters from the storybook into the story world.

"Inside the story, Gracie struggles to navigate the blurred boundary between who she really is and the surprising things the author wrote about her. As the story moves toward its deadly climax, Gracie realizes she'll have to face a dark truth and figure out her own fairy-tale ending."

I loved the idea of this story but I do wish that the characters had more growth. They seemed a little one-dimensional. I feel like this could be a great series, but I am not sure if there will be a second book.

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.… (mehr)

NOTE: I received an Uncorrected Advanced Proof of this book from NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion of the book.
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TITLE: Unwritten

AUTHOR: Tara Gilboy

EXPECTED DATE OF PUBLICATION: 16 October 2018

ISBN-13 (paperback): 978-1-63163-178-8

ISBN-13 (ebook): 978-1-63163-178-8
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Unwritten is a beautifully written portal-fantasy/adventure novel written for middle-graders but that is also interesting enough for adults to read. The novel also has an attractive and eye-catching front cover.

The reader follows twelve-year-old Gracie, who is not a normal child. She is actually a character from an unpublished novel that she has never read. She only knows that she was supposed to die in the story. That's why her parents took her (and some other people) out of the story, into this world, to save her. She longs to know more about the story but her mother refuses to talk about it. All that this secret-keeping does is foster Gracie's curiousity about herself and the story she came from. Then the author of Gracie's unpublished story comes to town and things get interesting... and messy.

The main characters are believable (even if I did want to stuff Gracie in a broomcloset for continually ignoring sound parental requests), and the conflicts dealt with are complex. however, the other characters (Walter, Cassandra and Jacob) could all have used a bit more "flesh". The plot line is interesting and slightly twisty, with the setting skipping between our world and the story-world.

There are many themes in this book - keeping secrets, being honest, the detrimental effects of being too stubborn, family - but the main theme is about figuring out who you are in a world that may try to turn you into something else; realizing that your story is not written for you and you can determine your own path.

Being geared for the 8-14 years olds, this novel is rather short and fairly easy to understand, but it is a fantastic story about magic and self-determination that is enjoyable to read.… (mehr)

*A special thanks to NetGalley and Jolly Fish Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

Introduction:

You know when a book cover grabs your attention, then the blurb just compels you to read the book and the story just amazes you? That’s exactly what happened for me with Unwritten by Tara Gilboy. As soon as I saw it on NetGalley, I knew I had to request it. Fortunately (to me, at least, haha), my request was granted.

Thanks a lot, NetGalley and Jolly Fish Press!

The Positive Sides:

The best positive side has to be how this story tells of an identity quest. It asks important questions while never being boring and it gives the reader the sentiment/feeling of being in control of one’s destiny and actions, to choose who we want to be. Perfect and extremely moving!

As for the writing itself, it is sweet but honest with an emphasis (rightfully so) on Gracie’s turmoil of emotions. What a ride! Speaking of Gracie, I extend my thought to the characters because they felt alive to me. Gertrude did feel off sometimes and sounded trite in her dialogue, but Walter (Gracie’s friend), her mother, Cassandra, and the rest popped out of the story to me (see what I did here?).

Now, I can’t reveal spoilers (goddammit, how I hate those pesky nuisances!), BUT I can tell you two things:

1- The plot twist with Gracie halfway down the road is PER.FECT.ION!

2- The very last sentence gave me so many feels I had tears in my eyes! It sums up the story pretty well and it’s quite a nice touch there.

Moreover, the theme of Unwritten is fundamental and wonderful at the same time. Fear not, it is NOT force-fed to us, no. It flows with the rhythm of the story and it’s just so precious. It focuses on choosing who you want to be and staying true to that person. Amazing! And so vital.

Oh, and I wasn’t bored even ONCE! It captured my attention from cover to end, never failing. It held my interest all the while. There were enough action scenes (yes, where Gracie has to make quick and hard decisions) and emotional insights to her. I loved her relationships with the different characters and her own nature. She was fun and strong in her own right, looking for her true identity with admirable determination.

In the end, this is the story I was personally looking for as a child and teenager! Unfortunately, there was nothing like it at the time and I felt so alone. I believe this book can help others like me who are too different and have so many doubts about themselves and who they should be versus who they are. Needless to say that’s a huge point to me.

The Negative Sides:

What about them?

Where are they?

Honestly, I don’t know. I was waiting for a negative side to show up but it never did. In my opinion, it’s a flawless middle-grade book.

In Conclusion:

I have so many excellent things to say about this book, but since numbers help too, here you are: I give it a rating of 5 out of 5 no less. And trust me, if I could, I would give it way more! But alas, rating has to be contained to a specific number… I can’t rate 10 out of 5, even though I genuinely want to with Unwritten by Tara Gilboy.

To me, it’s such a good MG story, it goes with the likes of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter. If that’s not grand, I don’t know what is. But don’t take my word for it: try it for yourself. You’ll see, it’s pretty darn great!… (mehr)