Full Tilt

Neal Shusterman

Feb 2012 · Simon and Schuster

About this eBook

Full of roller-coaster twists and turns, Neal Shusterman's page-turner is an Orpheus-like adventure into one boy's psyche.

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!

Ratings and reviews

Blake has to chase his brother, Quinn, into a bizarre phantom carnival that traps its customers forever. Once inside, he has to survive seven deadly rides by dawn, each of which represents a deep, personal fear. My read time was 3 hours and 19 minutes, so a fairly simple read. I thought Blakes character progression was pretty decent, not really becoming magically unafraid of everything as soon as the conflict began like some other books. His fear coated almost every word in this book and there were quite a few times I became afraid that he would lose himself in the rides like everyone else did. Ultimately, it's just another great story from Mr. Shusterman!

I read this in my early teens and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a Gothic horror of a teen finding themselves meets haunted theme park that shapes to your childhood and fears. Great writing and you are never left bored.

I borrowed this book from school and haven't returned it because its just too good to give back. I say it has a good combination of exitment, romance and imagination! I would love to see this in a movie theater!!

About the author

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including the Unwind dystology, the Skinjacker trilogy, Downsiders, and Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award. Scythe, the first book in his series Arc of a Scythe is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. He also writes screenplays for motion pictures and television shows. Neal is the father of four, all of whom are talented writers and artists themselves. Visit Neal at StoryMan.com and Facebook.com/NealShusterman.