BOOK REVIEW for "Unwritten" by Tara Gilboy

****(4) out of 5 Stars!

SUMMARY:

Twelve-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Freeman is living a normal life, but she is haunted by the fact that she is actually a character from a story, an unpublished fairy tale she’s never read.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.

REVIEW:

I quite enjoyed this remarkable tale!  The premise really intrigued me, but I wasn't sure if I'd like the actual story.  Often middle grade novels can be a bit on the boring side and are just too predictable.  This book, however, was anything but!  While it was an easy read with language that just flowed and encouraged you to keep going, it actually contained a rather complex plot.  The characters seemed rather superficial at first, especially the main protagonist, Gracie, who sets in motion the events that cause all the trouble that results.  Given that they are supposedly animated personalities who originally starred in a book that even the author considers badly written, all have a remarkable depth of spirit.  Some aspects of the tale within the tale are just heart-wrenching, as are the real-life situations that gave rise to them.  The biggest take-away for me was the idea put forth by the author of the magical tale within the book: No one actually thinks of herself as a villain. We are all the heroes in our own stories.  That Gracie was not only able but also willing to save the life of the woman most considered the villain of the story, but go so far as to consider her feelings, showed just how much this young woman had matured during the short course of the tale.  While there was definitely a huge opening left for at least a sequel (if not more episodes in the series), the ending was at least sufficient to make it feel like a resolution and enjoyable enough to be called a "happily ever after" (or at least "happy for now").

I received a free eBook copy of this title from NetGalley, 

and have willingly provided an honest review.

#Unwritten #NetGalley