Full Tilt (novel)

infobox Book |
name = Full Tilt
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Neal Shusterman
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Adventure novel
publisher = Simon & Schuster
release_date = September 1, 2004
media_type = Print (Paperback), (Hardcover)
pages = 208 pages
isbn = ISBN 9780689803741
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Full Tilt" is a young adult novel by Neal Shusterman, published in September, 2004 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. [cite web |url=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Full-Tilt/Neal-Shusterman/e/9780689873256/?itm=1 |title=Full Tilt - Barnes & Noble.com|publisher=Barnes & Noble |accessdate=2008-03-14 |language=English ] Full Tilt has won numerous awards, including many state book awards. [cite web |url=http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=498280&er=9780689873256 |title=Simon & Schuster.com - Full Tilt / Full Tilt - Simon & Schuster.com |publisher=Simon & Schuster|accessdate=2008-03-14 |language=English ]

Plot

The story is told from the viewpoint of Blake, the main character. It starts with him, his younger brother Quinn Puzzled, he turns back to the person running the stand, only to find that the girl he was talking with earlier had vanished from sight. Blake decides against going to the park, despite being urged by his friends. After dropping off Russ and Maggie, Blake and Quinn go home. As they walk up the porch, they happen to barge into their mother flirting with her "boyfriend of the week". Embarrassed with being caught, she surprises them by announcing her engagement. Quinn stalks off and Blake turns down a gift from his mom's boyfriend, saying he doesn't need to be bought.

Later that evening, Blake and Quinn have a fight before bed over their futures, and where they belong. During the night, Blake is woken up by police sirens, and finds Quinn in a coma-like state. As the medics carry Quinn out, Blake sees the bear on the ground and finds the invitation missing. Looking at Quinn, Blake swears he can see carnival lights in Quinn's eyes. Blake decides to go to the park to confront Quinn, and picks up Maggie and Russ along the way. After nearly colliding into a tree, they arrive at the ravine, and find out from the employee at the ticket booth that his brother had already been there for a while. Despite not having a invitation anymore, they are let in after the employee consults his superior, the latter having expected Blake. Before they are admitted they are given the rules of the park: ride seven rides by dawn or stay at the park forever. Thinking he was joking, they enter without a thought, but soon find out a terrible truth; The worker wasn’t lying and now they are in a race against time. As they go on the rides, they discover that nothing is as it seems. A seemingly benign carousel turns out to be a every one for themselves stampede. A somewhat less so racing ride turns into a demolition derby. To Blake's horror, he discovers that if you "die" on a ride, you are absorbed into it. Having been separated from his friends on the second ride, Blake runs into Cassandra in the recess of the ride, and confronts her on why she was the one who invited him to the park, and why she tried to kill him earlier. He later finds Maggie in his fourth ride, they decide to try and finish it together but is separated at the end. Between rides five and six, he meets another one of his friends, namely Russ. To his dismay, Russ attacks him for his "own good", having made a deal with Cassandra to let him go free if Russ can kill or stop Blake from continuing on. He sees his brother for the first time in his third ride but Quinn runs away. They meet again in Blake's sixth ride and Quinn escapes it with him. They ride Blake's last ride together and survive. Blake's world is crushed when he is informed that the last ride was only his brothers six and time is up. He makes a choice that he will ride an extra ride for a bet: if he wins he leaves with not only his brother but Maggie and Russ as well, who had been trapped in "the works", and if he loses he will stay forever. In the end Blake beats the ride, conquers his fears and saves the people he cares about.

There were seven different rides at the amusement park that people had to rise to survive.

Characters

Blake is the protagonist. He experienced a traumatizing event when he was young, but has no recollection of it until the book's end, when he is able to accept it. He finished high school at 16, and has been sent to college.

Quinn is Blake's 13 year-old brother. Quinn loves thrills and has many facial piercings.

Russ is Blake's best friend. He is strong and is Maggie's boyfriend.

Maggie is Russ's girlfriend and Blake's friend. She constantly is worried about her outward appearance.

Cassandra a mysterious worker at the park. She is deceiving and lures teenagers and children into her supernatural park. She is the park's soul and is the one responsible for all worldly disasters that leave no one alive. Blake eventually is able to defeat her and free the park's prisoners.

References