FULL TILT By Neal Shusterman

Dani Young 

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FULL TILT By Neal ShustermanFull Tilt by Neal Shusterman
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on 2/21/12
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Magic, Horror & Ghost Stories, Paranormal, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 209
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon
two-stars

Sixteen-year-old Blake and his younger brother, Quinn, are exact opposites. Blake is the responsible member of the family. He constantly has to keep an eye on the fearless Quinn, whose thrill-seeking sometimes goes too far. But the stakes get higher when Blake has to chase Quinn into a bizarre phantom carnival that traps its customers forever.
In order to escape, Blake must survive seven deadly rides by dawn, each of which represents a deep, personal fear--from a carousel of stampeding animals to a hall of mirrors that changes people into their deformed reflections. Blake ultimately has to face up to a horrible secret from his own past to save himself and his brother--that is, if the carnival doesn't claim their souls first!

Short and Sweet Review

Blake and his younger brother Quinn are opposites. Blake is responsible and Quinn is more carefree. After Quinn takes Blakes mysterious invitation to a phantom carnival, Blake has to go save him. Blake needs to ride seven rides before the sun comes up or he’ll be stuck at the carnival forever.

Full Tilt was a book on the shorter side and when you read the synopsis about it taking place in an amusement park you get excited or at least I did. Blake is our main character and he hates rollercoasters so when he has to ride the seven rides he’s reluctant but he does it to save his brother. We learn that when Blake was younger he was in an accident and ended up being the only survivor, he suffers from PTSD from that event. What really kicks off our story is when Blake gets an invitation and Quinn goes instead. This carnival that their at is hard to describe but I want to say its almost like its in a different dimension. The rides that Blake has to ride are meant to be scary but I don’t think the details really managed to make the reader feel like Blake would be in danger. I do think the length of the book was a hindrance, we don’t really get to know the characters on a deeper level and the idea of the carnival and the rides isn’t as fleshed out as I think it could have been.

Overall, this is an okay read but it wasn’t my favorite book. This book could have benefitted from another 50-100 pages just so everything could have been explained a bit more and didn’t feel rushed. I would say skip this book and if you’re into reading about books that take place in amusement parks I do have a few other books I reviewed that have this setting in them.

two-stars

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