Review - The Unquiet

by Jeannine Garsee
publisher: Bloomsbury USA
date of publication: July 17, 2012
format: digital review copy
pages: 388
source: Netgalley
rating: 4.5 out of 5

From Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Rinn Jacobs has secrets: One, she’s bipolar. Two, she killed her grandmother.

After a suicide attempt, and now her parents' separation, Rinn and her mom move from California to the rural Ohio town where her mother grew up. Back on her medications and hoping to stay well, Rinn settles into her new home, undaunted by the fact that the previous owner hanged herself in Rinn's bedroom. At school, her classmates believe the school pool is haunted by Annaliese, a girl who drowned there. But when a reckless séance goes awry, and terrible things start happening to her new friends—yet not to her—Rinn is determined to find out why she can’t be "touched" by Annaliese...or if Annaliese even exists.

With the help of Nate Brenner, the hunky “farmer boy” she’s rapidly falling for, Rinn devises a dangerous plan to uncover the truth. Soon reality and fantasy meld into one, till Rinn finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference. When a malevolent force threatens the lives of everyone she cares about--not to mention her own--she can't help wondering: who should she really be afraid of?

Annaliese? Or herself?

The Unquiet is one of those books that comes out of nowhere and takes you completely by surprise.  I hadn't heard much by way of buzz about this book, but the premise looked promising.  Little did I know I would quickly become immersed in the book past the point of reason.  What was only supposed to be a perusal of the first chapter in order to select my reads for the month turned into an 18-hour read fest that left me glued to my computer screen.  I didn't even want to stop long enough to load it onto my ereader!  I hate reading on my computer screen, so that is a pretty strong recommendation in its own right.

The cast of characters took me by surprise, as well.  Rinn Jacobs is the type of character you don't come across every day.  Her struggle with bipolar disorder and the ramifications of a tragic accident have left her on shaky ground, simply trying to maintain her footing.  When she moves to her mother's tiny hometown in Ohio, Rinn has the chance for a fresh beginning.  As more and more of her background and personality are revealed, she becomes even more captivating as a character.  She's socially naive due in part to her illness that had run rampant for so long, but she's also witty, sarcastic, and empathetic.  All of this makes her a fantastic main character that I enjoyed very much.  Nate, her neighbor and love interest, isn't an especially deep character, but his sweetness and stability are great for keeping Rinn grounded.  I just wish he had more of a spark on his own, not just when he was flirting and verbally sparring with Rinn.  A little more character development would have made it easier to see exactly why Rinn developed feelings for him aside from his appearance.  As for Rinn's friends, I just don't get it.  Two of them (Tasha and Meg) seem like nice girls on their own, but the third, Lacy, is nothing short of horrible.  I couldn't understand why any of the girls, let alone Rinn, would continue to be friends with her.  She became over-the-top and distracting in a detrimental way.  It was a little too much to believe and became a proverbial bucket of cold water that jarred me out of the reading experience more than once.

The premise for The Unquiet is nothing short of eye-catching.  I'm always in the mood for a good ghost story.  The Unquiet definitely delivers with a frightening ghost, Annaliese, and a spooky lair for her to hide in.  To say that Annaliese is vengeful is a vast understatement.  If she doesn't manage to make your spine tingle at least once, I'll be surprised.  The settings that are visited throughout the story are varied in their details.  The school and Rinn's house are vividly portrayed with clean, descriptive writing.  However, I wanted to know a bit more about the town, itself.  It felt as though it was glossed over more than it was given its share of descriptions.

The Unquiet turned out to be awesomely creepy, suspenseful, jarring, intense, and attention-grabbing.  The story has a wonderfully developed main character in Rinn and a truly intimidating adversary in the form of Annaliese.  With its theme of reality questioned, The Unquiet leaves you thoroughly considering whether everything is in Rinn's head or actually occurring.  It made for an even more intriguing book that held my attention for hours upon hours.  If you're a fan of horror fiction revolving around ghosts, this one should not be missed.  The Unquiet is now on my to-buy list, as I'm sure I will want to revisit this story in the future.

Buy The Unquiet at the Following Locations:

Amazon /  IndieBound  /  B&N  /  The Book Depository 

Obligatory legal statement: This digital review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via Netgalley. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.