Full Tilt

Rating:
Summary: Carnival of Souls
Review: Blake is an over-cautious teen. His younger brother Quinn is the opposite. Blake was in a bus accident when he was very young and was the only survivor. Although he has no memory of how he managed to survive the event has drastically shaped his personality.

At a carnival Blake is approached by a beautiful woman and given a pass to a special carnival. But Quinn steals the pass and winds up in serious trouble as the other carnival is no mere collection of amusements. There you must survive the rides or become part of the carnival.

With Quinn stuck in the carnival, Blake and a couple of friends set out to rescue the young daredevil. The journey leads to a lot of soul searching on Blake's part and he finds himself confronting the devils of the carnival as well as those inside him.

A very interesting read that really takes you into he mind of the main character. How events, past and present, are woven together shows Shusterman's true skills as a writer. A very entertaining and thoughtful read.

Rating:
Summary: Fill Tilt
Review: Full Tilt is one of the most impressive "children's" books I've read in years. I used quotes because the writing was terrific and intelligent, the characters (especially the main character - which is common when a story is told in first person) refreshingly real and alive, the author made frequent use of strong, powerful metaphors and similes that resonated throughout the entire work, and he did this while creating remarkable tension that would drive any reader from the first page to the last. In short, this was a children's book written on the level of an "adult" book.

When finishing this, I thought to myself: I really wish that I was writing a book report instead of a review, because the ending is so powerful and meaningful that I want to discuss, dissect, and analyze it for whoever reads what I write about this. It's a powerful, moving, intelligent, evocative ending that was cleverly written and plotted, with the groundwork for it laid out with grace and care through the entire book.

There are already plot descriptions on this page from School Library Journal, so I'll skip that, as I think they did a better job than I could have. Instead, I'll comment on why I found this book so impressive.

Literature (yes, I'm using that big word in a review of a children's book) is about character. If you don't have solid characters with real feelings, real experiences, real *souls*, you can't have a truly good book. You might get a bestseller - let's face it, lots of best sellers are filled with empty sacks that pass for characters - but you won't have a good book.

The most important thing about characters is that they have to grow, even if it's not in a positive direction. He/she needs to pass through experiences, those experiences need to evoke emotion, and they need to add up to growth (or change - just in case someone wants to get semantic on me and say that negative growth isn't real growth).

The growth of the main character, Blake, was the most remarkable element of this book. The author plotted his development in a 199-page book as carefully as I've seen authors of adult fiction do it in 900 pages. As he faces the various fears that other plot descriptions mention, he grows from each one of them - and they all lead neatly into the climax.

I mentioned that this book was written intelligently. As the main character was somewhat of a brainiac (he was graduating high school one year early and was slated to attend Columbia University in New York), we could expect some insightful introspection - and we got it.

During one of his challenges, he is in a house of mirrors. To quote from the book:

"I did my best to keep from looking in any more mirrors, but it was harder than you might think. Once you started looking into those mirrors, it was next to impossible to look away. I guess we all can't help peeking at our own imperfections, just like we can't help scratching a scab that keeps itching. When those imperfections are pasted across your face like that, exaggerated and magnified, it's hard to find all those good thoughts you have about yourself. If you believe those distorted reflections too deeply, you'll get out of the maze."

During another challenge, when one of Blake's friends attacks him in order to escape the terrors of the carnival and he survives his friends attack, he comments:

"They say you never know who's the real hero and who's the real coward until you're looking death in the face. I've always been afraid of plenty of things, but fear isn't what makes you a coward. It's how depraved your heart becomes when fear gets pumped through it. I would never climb over the backs of my friends to save myself."

Insights such as these are peppered throughout the book, and make the exciting tension of Blake's challenges that much more interesting, because during and after each challenge he learns something more about himself - all of which he needs to overcome the final challenge.

Please ignore the one star review given by another reviewer. This is exceptional literature.


Rating:
Summary: Amazing...
Review: I picked up this book at my local book fair this week. Most books there were never meant to be written, and some books have been above average. Neal Shusterman's "Full Tilt" blew past nearly every book I've read and becomes an original as well as artistic entry into my collection.

The characters are wonderfully crafted, and they blend together perfectly. The main character of this story is Blake, an average teenager who is attending college early and thus sees the end of his controlled, predictable life. His brother, Quinn, is his exact opposite: a thrill-seeking, reckless, and semi-gothic kid that often stirs up trouble in his older brother Blake's life. Then there's Maggie, who secretly has a crush on Blake but is halted by her unbalanced boyfriend Russ.

One night when the four are together at a local carnival, Blake meets the mysterious Cassandra, who personally invites him to an unknown theme park. Blake refuses to go, but after an argument with Quinn, he is forced to enlist the help of Maggie and Russ and chase after his younger brother who has entered the park. Thus begins their adventure inside Cassandra's park, full of wild animals and humans, color-changing skies and rides that become fully realistic worlds. Blake discovers that he must complete seven rides by dawn at 6:00 A.M. or he gets trapped inside the park along with the souls of all the other riders.

Shusterman takes the original concept of a boy's fears embodied into amusement park rides and makes it into an interesting character study. In each of the seven rides, we learn how Blake, Maggie, Russ, and Quinn view themselves and how Blake views them. Ultimately, though, Blake will have to face his deepest fear of the past and overcome Cassandra. An intricate character development as well as an action-packed suspense ride, Shusterman has crafted a terrific book that has earned its place on the list of top literature.

Rating:
Summary: Vivid fantasy for older readers
Review: Neal Shusterman's Full Tilt deserves ongoing attention and recommendation for its vivid fantasy for older readers. Blake has always been the responsible one in his dysfunctional family, but his limits are tested when he and his brother enter a bizarre phantom carnival where their souls are the price of admission. He must take seven impossible rides in order to escape a dark carnival nobody has ever emerged from in this engrossing fantasy.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: This book has such a great, unique story with a suspenseful and exciting twist that won't let you put the book down.

Rating:
Summary: Full Tilt
Review: This book was awesome. It got my attention from the beginning and held it strong until the end. It was very creative and i enjoyed reading it very much. I couldn't put it down, even during class.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: This book was awesome. It got my attention from the beginning and held it strong until the end. It was very creative and i enjoyed reading it very much. I couldn't put it down, even during class.

Rating:
Summary: Full Tilt
Review: Well, after all those reviews one would think this book was great...

but...

it wasnt