Review: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Publisher: HarperCollins

Page Count: 469 pages, Paperback

Date Published: February 5th 2013

Find it on Goodreads: Unravel Me

Source: Purchased

 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.

 Warning: There are SPOILERS in the review below for those who have not read Shatter Me.
.
.
.
.
.
Tahereh Mafi.....

 WHY????????


Ahem.... I'll try and write this in the most orderly fashion that I am capable of...

After finishing Unravel Me I sat on my bed with my chin rested on my knees, staring at nothing for a good 5-7 minutes. Thinking. Just thinking. Because, well.... Tahereh Mafi is a freaking artist.

I loved Shatter Me. Loved it, loved it, loved it. It was one of my favourite books I read last year. I loved the story, the protagonist, the love interest, and everything else. Adam and Juliette were on my top 5 OTP list (How do you like that oxymoron?) and I loved Juliette's mind and Tahereh's writing and it was beautiful. So waiting for Unravel Me was PAINFUL. It came out while I was in Ottawa and so when we stopped in the airport in Edmonton I looked in every place they had books and when I finally found it at Indigo I FREAKED OUT... My friend was actually kind of scared, I think. Anyways, I finally found it and waited until I got home to read it so that I could enjoy it, and boy did I enjoy it!

Tahereh Mafi's style of writing may not be for everyone, but I personally think it's beautiful. She's a poet.... An artist. The way Mafi write Juliette's thought process is magnificent and it connected me to Juliette in a way that I don't experience often. There are more than a few ways that I relate to Juliette, (no I can't kill people with my touch :P) and she is one of my favourite protagonists/heroines. Yes she does things that irritate me, but she also does things that I admire and appreciate. She's like a good friend, in a way. Juliette grows a lot in Unravel Me, learning about her powers and gaining confidence in who she is and what she can do and how she can do it.

Then there's the secondary characters. We get to see a lot more of Kenji (YAY!) and he's becoming a favourite of mine! He really pushes Juliette to see the bigger picture and teaches her to become stronger and helps her with her growth. He opens her eyes to a lot. We learn more about his background and his importance at Omega Point, but I want to know MORE! We learn a tiny bit more about James, but don't see a ton from him which is kind of sad, but what we do is a delight, because well, it's James. And then..... Adam. And Warner.

 

 I. Hate. Warner. That's what I have to keep telling myself, because this stupid beautiful book possibly made me love hate Warner. LOVE HATE him. The  character that I absolutely despised with every fiber in my bone in Shatter Me has won his way into my heart somehow... GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I'm so conflicted..........
.
..
...
In Shatter Me I LOVED Adam. He was one of my all time favourite heroes/love interests. And I hated Warner. He was one of the best villains I'd ever read, because I literally just HATED him. He was so.... Awful! And then, the brilliant Tahereh Mafi has to go and MESS UP MY EMOTIONS.

We learn so much more about Warner and his past and his family and what he's capable of and ughhhhhh I hate the fact that I can sympathize with him because he's supposed to be an awful, despicable human being, right? But no. NO. He isn't. He's a mega-hot, mega-hurt 19 year old kid who seems to be in love with a girl who is in love with a guy he hates. I DON'T KNOW. I'M SORRY BUT CAPSLOCK IS NECESSARY. I CANNOT EVEN FIGURE OUT MY EMOTIONS THAT INVOLVE WARNER. BAH.

And then there's Adam. Oh, Adam. Of course, because it's a second book in a dystopian trilogy, there's some force keeping Adam and Juliette from being happy together and everything well in the world. THIS CAUSED ME MAJOR SADNESS. Because this conflict just messed up everything. And Juliette was upset  and Adam was upset and she was crying and he was passionately fighting for her and she was trying to protect him and ya-da-ya-da-ya-da you get the story.

So Juliette has Warner who has confessed his love to her and is actually reaching in and showing human emotions but is still that person who made her do terrible things and then there's Adam who is still totally in love with her but obviously there's another force that is keeping them from being together. No wonder she's freaking out.


I'm sorry for this very informal, very crazily written review, for those of you who prefer straight-forward reviews. I just couldn't give this book a normal review. While  Unravel Me stressed out my emotions, I loved it to bits. Tahereh Mafi, once again, you are a beautiful, talented, amazing artist who has now written two books that make me think about things that I have always been scared about thinking of. I truly appreciate that. I love Tahereh's style of writing... She paints her words on the paper that is her canvas and I am living in Juliette's world for a long time after I close the book. There is so much more to this story than a crazy love-triangle, and I adore every aspect of it. Spectacular follow-up.

Have a great day/night everyone!
~Kristy