Full Tilt

Last year I read a book titled Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman. The book would be classified by many as a thriller, proven by the very first line in the book: "It began the night we died on the Kamikaze." (p.1) The star of the book is 16-year-old Blake, searching for his brother Quinn, who is lost in a diabolical carnival full of evil (sounds cheesy but it basically sums it up.) Throughout the book Blake (searching for Quinn with his two friends) encountered many rides (which were a sort of test) that changed into something dangerous, and was also under a time limit to save Quinn for a outwardly appearing beautiful woman, but internally a monster. Some examples of rides were a mirrored maze that showed anyone in it as horribly disfigured, preying on the weaknesses of the individual, and a bumper car ride that became a gigantic gun fight in a huge city. Besides the dangers of the rides many things occurred that challenged Blake's priorities such as one of his friends disappearing, his other friend becoming corrupted and attempting to hurt him, and a past that haunts him daily. Overall, it's a very interesting book that has become one of my favorites.