Full Tilt

by Neal Shusterman

Book Overview

Sixteen-year-old Blake has always been the responsible one in his dysfunctional family -- the one who drives safely, gets good grades, and looks after his wild younger brother, Quinn. Quinn is his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689803745
• ISBN13: 9780689803741
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Amazing book

I loved this book when I first read it in high school, and I still love it now. The way Neal describes the emotions the character is feeling, its so vivid. He is so great at detailing the scenes and interactions between the characters. This book is just the right amount of spooky and chilling, bringing out your own fears along the way!

The Best Book Ever Written on this Entire Earth! I Wish I Could Give it 10,000 Stars!

Opinion: The title says it all! I've read it 5 times and am reading it for a 6th! It never gets old! Summery: 16 year old Blake finds himself in a new predicament. With the beautiful and intriging Cassandra (She rules!) who owns and created this evioland malignent park that traps people in her prk and forces them to work for her, unless they can ride all 7 rides in about 3 hours! Will Blake be the first ever to beat Cassandra? Or will he find a way to make it a win-wi situation? In the end, he must face an important and hard fact of his life and child hood to save his fearless brother Quinn, his friend Maggie, and her boyfriend (and back-stabber) Russ, and get himself out? It's all up to him, and his memery. See for yourself in this faboulus, exciting, original, fascinating, thrilling, intriging, beutiful, amzing (I could go on forever!), work of art. READ IT OR YOU WILL NEVER EXPERIENCE THE PAGE TURNING THRILLS IT BRINGS! YOU CAN'T GET THIS FEELING EVER AGAIN! IT IS THE BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE THIS BOOK!

'Full Tilt' Review and Remarks

There were many enjoyable parts in Full Tilt, but the most satisfying part of this book was when Blake and Quinn just finished the seventh ride. This element added such a thrill and a feeling of relief; knowing they both lived through such a nightmare. Although I expected this result, I was still content with them escaping the catastrophic ride. During our class discussion about each person's novel, everyone who read Full Tilt seemed to agree that the end of the plot was predictable. (The end of the plot being when Blake completes all seven rides.) Because it was knowable, I wished for something more out of the box and surprising. Even if the end was more on the lines of disappointing, that might be better than predictability. The actual end of the novel was definitely disappointing; and quite a let down. Contentment usually comes when something is relieved; you then feel satisfied. That brings me to the least satisfying part of the book. The end of Full Tilt was very displeasing. Towards the end of the novel, I expected a great ending; however, the end was the opposite of what I was looking forward to. It makes me wonder why the author, Shusterman, didn't close the book with this thrilling and amazing conclusion! Did he intend for the ending to be boring? Maybe he never figured readers would predict the ending; Full Tilt could have possibly been geared towards younger readers. Even so, a pleasing ending that would just be a little better could make me more satisfied. I'm not exactly asking for one of those happy ending scenarios, but the ending definitely needs improvement. Something I would ask for, to better this book, would be for the length to be generally longer. Something that would contribute to a lengthier story would be more chapters describing things you don't know, or simply add things to inform you of other occurrences throughout the novel. There's a major event happening outside of Blake in the park, and Shusterman should have juxtaposed between each scene. There seemed to be too much focus on the amusement park. Someone would wonder: What's happening with Blake's family? How does Cassandra function? Many more questions arise as I read this novel, and they really were left unanswered. A sequel could perhaps update on the plot and enlighten more people. The story was very short and I wanted more to read-the end didn't do it for me. I definitely would recommend this book to others. Despite the lack of satisfaction, (which you aren't always going to get when reading a novel) Full Tilt was such a great adventure story and the details were done in good taste. I think the characters were absolutely believable, and that makes a book so much better. When you can relate to what you're reading, you feel more involved and the story makes more sense. Each chapter brought such exuberance and when the characters were riding the amusement park rides, it made you want to watch and be in the scene. I think anyone from grade 7th and up could re

Ben's Full Tilt Review

Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman is a five star book in my opinion. Everyone would like Full Tilt even if it would have to be read aloud. Full Tilt has 201 pages. The genre of Full Tilt is science fiction. This book is like no other book I have ever read. Full Tilt is a book about three friends (Russ, Maggie, and Blake). The Kids who go to a normal carnival and get an invitation to another carnival at night to daybreak by winning a bear from mysterious person. They go to the carnival to find Blake's little brother Quinn. At the amusement park the rides aren't just normal rides and the person they got the invitation from is more than human. To escape, the kids have to beat her. My favorite part of Full Tilt was the fourth ride Blake went on. This was my favorite part for many reasons. One of the reasons is because it is the scariest part in the book. Another one is that it is the most sci-fi part in the book. I liked this book because it was sort of scary and was exiting. It was also sort of sci-fi also. If you like sci- fi books then you will really like this book.

Very intelligently written children's book

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

Vivid fantasy for older readers

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.