---- Book Review: Unravel Me (Tahereh Mafi) ----

Author: Tahereh Mafi
Genre: YA, Dystopian, Romance
Publisher: Harper Collins
Page count: 461
Synopsis: 
tick, tick, tick, tick, tick
it's almost
time for war.
Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance. 

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch. 
Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

Overview (No Spoilers)

To sum up, I loved Unravel Me.

I'll start off by recapping my feelings about the first book in the series - Shatter Me, which was just about a four star book for me. I thought it was enjoyable, captivating and found myself relating to the characters and their situations (not that people die when I touch them, I just thought they were written very realistically)

However, my main issue with Shatter Me was the writing. At times it was deep and meaningful, other times it came across as a babble of shit nonsense. I think perhaps Tahereh tried to be just a bit too deep, to the point where the words didn't really make any sense. And she got a lot of backlash about it. Exhibit A:

“All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.”

 ...beautiful quote!

"His eyes are two buckets of rainwater"

...erm, wut?!

I believe that she took the negativity into account when writing Unravel Me. The writing is so much better in this book; it was touching, at times emotional and provided quotes that were relatable and perceptive, whilst also giving me a unique perspective on the world Juliette lives in. There were still times when I felt like rolling my eyes and skipping a few paragraphs, but to a much lesser extent than in Shatter Me.

Contrary to popular opinion, I actually really loved Juliette in the first book - she was surprisingly sassy (which always entertains me) and taking her past into consideration, she's a pretty damn strong chick. For the most part I continued to like Juliette throughout Unravel me, although at times she was annoyingly over emotional. 

Then there's the other characters. By the end of the first chapter book, my love for Adam had pretty much disappeared. It's not that he's a bad guy, there's just a lot that happens around Juliette that makes me firmly believe he shouldn't be her future. That maybe someone else needs her more. Cough *Warner*. 

The newer characters were a good addition to the story - I particularly liked the healing sisters and Kenji.

Overall I'd say Shatter Me pales in comparison to this book. It was full of romance (steamy, at times!) action and suspense, along with a few plot twists that I never expected and moments that had me physically gasping. Yes, it's a little bit more focused on love rather than action, but hey, it's a great read nonetheless and I couldn't put it down even if I tried.

(4.5 stars)

Discussion (Spoilers!!!)

(Warner in my fangirl head... mmm)

Okay I'll admit it, I'M TEAM WARNER. I fell in love with him during this book (and also in the 'Destroy Me' novella - highly recommend!)

That moment in her room was way more explicit that I'd expected, and I'm okay with that - usually YA writers are afraid to mention words like 'inner thigh' and 'underwear' but Tahereh Mafi went there. Good on you, girl! 

It's undeniable that Warner and me Juliette have serious sexual chemistry, so I say they should just follow their instincts and GET TOGETHER. It's clear Warner wanted to, but Juliette needs to stop trailing after Adam like a lost puppy and be with the guy who is better for her.

And now we know that Juliette is physically weakening Adam by touching him! Warner on the other hand literally gains strength from it. It's a clear sign from the Universe that they are meant to have babies be together. She relies on Adam far too much and it drags them both down.

All the crying and screaming from Juliette was just irritating, and I kept getting these weird mental images of her hyperventilating on the floor. Yes, her inner dialogue improved and she wasn't as whiny, but she 'fell to the floor, screaming' at least three times in this book. Man up, Juliette. You can kill anyone if you want to, just own it.

Warner and Adam are brothers!? Biggest WTF moment in the book - but it makes so much sense. I thought it was a bit 'convenient' that they could both touch her but it makes a lot more sense considering they share the same DNA. James's power was brought up and forgotten pretty abruptly but I'm sure it'll be significant in the next book.

I hate to say it, but James is an awful example of a 10 year old. I have a ten year old brother and he certainly doesn't act anything like how James does. Yes, I get that he would've had a traumatizing childhood, but surely that would only make him stronger, make him more aware of the situations around him and how he should behave. 

At times he speaks like a six year old, other times a teenager - I just didn't sense much consistency with his character.

This quote for example:

"He blinked several times before pushing through the crowd to clamber onto Kenji's bed. Burrowed into his side and promptly fell sleep."

Wait, so, he's a dog now? Or a baby?

What ten year old acts that way?

Think of it this way - when the Harry Potter books started Harry was eleven. Can you imagine him acting that way? No, Harry fights monsters and saves lives and acts like an intelligent, brave young adult. 

James's however speaks and acts like there's nothing going on inside that brain of his, and it annoys the hell out of me. 

Not to end on a negative note, the last thing I'll say is that the confrontations with Anderson were epic. The first time, she shoots him (my inner thoughts were something like that: YES JULIETTE, SHOOT HIM IN THE HEAD THE EVIL-)

The second time, he shoots her! In the chest!

I knew she wasn't going to die but it was still a massive shock. I like that Warner helped save her life and that he saw her 'dying', because hopefully it'll make him realize how valuable Juliette is to him and he'll do anything now to keep her safe.

I hope Brendan and Winston are found safely, I hope they find Anderson and put a bullet through his head, and most of all I hope Juliette realizes how goddamn perfect she is with Warner.

Jularner? Warniette? Why, Tahereh, must you provide such unshippable names?

That'll be all :)

- emssily