Friday, January 10, 2020

REVIEW: Unwritten by Tara Gilboy




UnwrittenTwelve-year-old Gracie Freeman is living a normal life, but she is haunted by the fact that she is actually a character from a story, an unpublished fairy tale she’s never read. When she was a baby, her parents learned that she was supposed to die in the story, and with the help of a magic book, took her out of the story, and into the outside world, where she could be safe.

But Gracie longs to know what the story says about her. Despite her mother’s warnings, Gracie seeks out the story’s author, setting in motion a chain of events that draws herself, her mother, and other former storybook characters back into the forgotten tale. 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.

MY THOUGHTS
I am always interested in reading books about books, so when this one came to my attention, I immediately wanted to read it!

For most of her life, Gracie has known that she was originally a character from a book. She was originally supposed to die, but, along with a few other characters, her mother pulled her out of the story. Gracie's mother always seems to avoid the topic of the story and what Gracie's role in it was. Gracie always gets glimpses of her story, but all she can see is a fire and a dark queen . When Gracie discovers that the author is coming to town for a signing, she goes in hopes that the author will answer her questions. But this act brings all the storybook characters back to the land that they have avoided. Going into the story may give Gracie the answers that she was wanting, but it will be nothing like what she would have hoped for.

The concept of this book is really intriguing. I love the idea of a character, or multiple characters, escaping their story and living in our world. This is especially interesting because Gracie's story was never published. I liked how the book discusses the idea of books being their own dimensions, even ones that were never published (even though the idea of my some of my unfinished book getting its own universe makes me a little wary). I loved seeing the story's world and the limits of the world.

The book also discusses how an individual can change their own destiny. Gracie's character is not a very good person and she worries in the story if she will become that person and if she will do terrible things. She tries hard to make sure that she will not, but she has a hard time fighting the urges. I could understand why she wanted to know more about her past. Her curiosity puts the adventure in motion, but it came from the fact that no one wanted to tell her the truth of her story so she had to seek it herself. She is a strong character in that she goes out to do what she intends on doing, but she isn't always likable. She does not always think of others in her quest. But, her character grows throughout the book and she comes into terms with what was written about her and the kinds of choices she can make.

IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the story within a story and seeing Gracie fight against what was written for her. I do want to continue the series and I look forward to the next book!

I hereby give this book
3.5 Stars
Meaning: I liked it, but it wasn't quite amazing.

1 comment :

  1. What a cool idea- the characters escaping from a story into our world. Love that idea!

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