Thursday, February 28, 2013

Review: Unravel Me

Unravel Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Published: February 5, 2013
461 pages
4 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

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.


Shatter Me intrigued me in a way most books never have. The writing style is completely unique and from the first page on, I was so far inside Juliette's mind, that I didn't know how to get out, nor did I want to. Her troubles and feelings were captured the way a normal person would think and it brought a delightful. Unravel Me wasn't far off. It released us from her mind a little, not so much of this to distract us from the real story. Don't get me wrong, I like the crossed out text, but only in small amounts. 

Unravel Me picks up not far from where we left off. Juliette and Adam are now living in Omega Point, an underground place for people with gifts. They are preparing for war and Juliette is trying to train so she'll be able to control her power. But trying to spend time with Adam and learning to control what she can do with her hands, leaves her feeling overwhelmed and scared. She's still not sure what she's capable of and her moments alone with Adam show a discovery she's not ready for. Trying hard to fit in with others while staying safe isn't something Juliette is ready to conquer. But she may not have another choice.

The first half of this book grabbed me and wouldn't let go. The tension between Juliette and Adam begged for my attention and I just wanted them to kiss every second of every page. Kenji was hilarious as always and the events that transpired in Omega Point made me never want to put the book down. But a quarter of the way through, I felt like it was ready for the book to end but there was still 150 pages. Juliette's voice turned to whining and all of a sudden a love triangle that I was really hoping would never happen, takes focal point over everything else. Without any real events taking place, we witness Juliette make some choices I'd rather have skipped. I got to the point where I just wanted the book to end because I hated what was happening. I long for books that don't need a love triangle in order to be good. I like that there were reasons as to why her and Adam may not be able to be together, but that doesn't mean running into the arms of another man. It doesn't really teach the right thing to the teens this book is meant for. I think when love is worth fighting for, that's the only thing you should worry about. Yes, the war is more important, but there's no need for what's happening between her and another character. I can't say too much because most everything after the first 50 pages are spoilers. 

Even if I wasn't a fan of the love triangle, everything else about this book is too beautiful to deny. The writing flows so well that before you know it, you've read 100 pages. Mafi has a way with prose that makes you forget who you are and fall deep into the world she's built around you. Her writing is one of the reasons I still like this series and that sets it apart from the rest. I'm eager to see what else she has in store for us with the final book.

“Hope. It's like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in the springtime. It's a fresh rain, a whispered promise, a cloudless sky, the perfect punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. And it's the only thing in the world keeping me afloat.” 

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