93 pages 3 hours read

Neal Shusterman

Full Tilt

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2003

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Chapters 5-6

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 5 Summary

Blake, Maggie, and Russ spot a Tilt-a-Whirl and notice that the riders look out-of-focus. When the ride stops, it is empty. A new group of riders fills the seats. Blake is convinced that the carnival is a supernatural place. Blake thinks he sees Quinn in the crowd. Blake becomes dizzy before he can follow and finds Cassandra watching him. She walks toward a nearby carousel, and Blake follows her. The carousel’s wooden animals are unnaturally colored. The ride begins to move as Russ and Maggie enter. The floor of the carousel falls away; Blake and his friends jump onto individual animals. As Blake crawls onto a blue lion, he realizes that the animals are mascots, mostly for colleges. The animals become more realistic as the carousel changes into an open plain.

Blake rides his lion as it runs across the plain in a stampede. Cassandra appears on a dinosaur-like hog, warning Blake not to get off the ride. Blake sees carousel beasts attacking other riders. Cassandra’s animal attacks Blake’s lion, shattering it to splinters. He and Maggie run to safety with Russ behind them. Blake believes that Cassandra has powers to turn their thoughts into carnival rides.

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By Neal Shusterman