Unravel Me
- Tahereh Mafi
- Melbourne, VIC
- November 18, 2022
GOODREADS BOOK BLURB:
It should have taken Juliette a single touch to kill Warner. But his mysterious immunity to her deadly power has left her shaken, wondering why her ultimate defense mechanism failed against the person she most needs protection from.
She and Adam were able to escape Warner’s clutches and join up with a group of rebels, many of whom have powers of their own. Juliette will finally be able to actively fight against The Reestablishment and try to fix her broken world. And perhaps these new allies can help her shed light on the secret behind Adam’s—and Warner’s—immunity to her killer skin.
She and Adam were able to escape Warner’s clutches and join up with a group of rebels, many of whom have powers of their own. Juliette will finally be able to actively fight against The Reestablishment and try to fix her broken world. And perhaps these new allies can help her shed light on the secret behind Adam’s—and Warner’s—immunity to her killer skin.
SERIES / GENRES:
FIRST WORDS:
The world might be sunny-side up today.
The big ball of yellow might be spilling into the clouds, runny and yolky and blurring into the bluest sky, bright with cold hope and false promises about fond memories, real families, hearty breakfasts, stacks of pancakes drizzled in maple syrup sitting on a plate in a world that doesn’t exist anymore.
Or maybe not.
Maybe it’s dark and wet today, whistling wind so sharp it stings the skin off the knuckles of grown men. Maybe it’s snowing, maybe it’s raining, I don’t know maybe it’s freezing it’s hailing it’s a hurricane slip slipping into a tornado and the earth is quaking apart to make room for our mistakes.
I wouldn’t have any idea.
I don’t have a window anymore. I don’t have a view. It’s a million degrees below zero in my blood and I’m buried 50 feet underground in a training room that’s become my second home lately. Every day I stare at these 4 walls and remind myself I’m not a prisoner I’m not a prisoner I’m not a prisoner but sometimes the old fears streak across my skin and I can’t seem to break free of the claustrophobia clutching at my throat.
The big ball of yellow might be spilling into the clouds, runny and yolky and blurring into the bluest sky, bright with cold hope and false promises about fond memories, real families, hearty breakfasts, stacks of pancakes drizzled in maple syrup sitting on a plate in a world that doesn’t exist anymore.
Or maybe not.
Maybe it’s dark and wet today, whistling wind so sharp it stings the skin off the knuckles of grown men. Maybe it’s snowing, maybe it’s raining, I don’t know maybe it’s freezing it’s hailing it’s a hurricane slip slipping into a tornado and the earth is quaking apart to make room for our mistakes.
I wouldn’t have any idea.
I don’t have a window anymore. I don’t have a view. It’s a million degrees below zero in my blood and I’m buried 50 feet underground in a training room that’s become my second home lately. Every day I stare at these 4 walls and remind myself I’m not a prisoner I’m not a prisoner I’m not a prisoner but sometimes the old fears streak across my skin and I can’t seem to break free of the claustrophobia clutching at my throat.
MY REVIEW:
solid, good read:
☆☆☆☆☆ 4/5
Unravel Me is much better than Shatter Me.
I’m so relieved there’s some forced space between Juliette and Adam. I could not have handled an entire book of their interactions. We get it; you’re in love. I’m totally on Kenji’s side here – can you be a little less obnoxious about it? They seem entirely oblivious to the world around them and have the most embarrassing public displays. Have a little self-respect, people.
There are two things about Juliette’s personality that bother me. She is incapable of making up her mind about something and feels the need to keep secrets for no reason. The most consistent theme in Unravel Me is that Juliette will resolve to be or act a certain way and then flip-flop within pages. ‘I will stop feeling sorry for myself and try to become a productive member of this society’ – two pages later, she has to have a conversation with Adam and immediately falls apart again. ‘My heart is broken, but I’ve learned a lot about myself and how strong I can be on my own’ – one page later ‘we can find a way to be together, and everything will be good again’. I wish she had a little more strength of character, a little more resolve, to make a decision and stick to it even a little longer. And seemingly contradictory, once she decides something should be secret, she never gives it up – even when it makes so much more sense for her to reveal the secret. The reasons she has to keep these secrets are so flimsy and do not hold up to close inspection. If she actually cared about the things she claims to, the moment these secrets cause more harm by remaining secret, she should be spreading them far and wide.
Kenji and Warner have the most character development and are the most interesting in Unravel Me. There are a lot of people in this world, so I’m okay that only a few are being focused on at a time; it just seems strange that Adam remains so one-dimensional. Alternating between heartbreak and pain, he seems incapable of having a normal conversation or acting in a way that would make him a more appealing character. There should be more depth here that we haven’t gotten yet. And James is the best, obviously. But that’s been clear since Shatter Me. He better not become a sacrificial lamb – I will be so. angry.
I’m so relieved there’s some forced space between Juliette and Adam. I could not have handled an entire book of their interactions. We get it; you’re in love. I’m totally on Kenji’s side here – can you be a little less obnoxious about it? They seem entirely oblivious to the world around them and have the most embarrassing public displays. Have a little self-respect, people.
There are two things about Juliette’s personality that bother me. She is incapable of making up her mind about something and feels the need to keep secrets for no reason. The most consistent theme in Unravel Me is that Juliette will resolve to be or act a certain way and then flip-flop within pages. ‘I will stop feeling sorry for myself and try to become a productive member of this society’ – two pages later, she has to have a conversation with Adam and immediately falls apart again. ‘My heart is broken, but I’ve learned a lot about myself and how strong I can be on my own’ – one page later ‘we can find a way to be together, and everything will be good again’. I wish she had a little more strength of character, a little more resolve, to make a decision and stick to it even a little longer. And seemingly contradictory, once she decides something should be secret, she never gives it up – even when it makes so much more sense for her to reveal the secret. The reasons she has to keep these secrets are so flimsy and do not hold up to close inspection. If she actually cared about the things she claims to, the moment these secrets cause more harm by remaining secret, she should be spreading them far and wide.
Kenji and Warner have the most character development and are the most interesting in Unravel Me. There are a lot of people in this world, so I’m okay that only a few are being focused on at a time; it just seems strange that Adam remains so one-dimensional. Alternating between heartbreak and pain, he seems incapable of having a normal conversation or acting in a way that would make him a more appealing character. There should be more depth here that we haven’t gotten yet. And James is the best, obviously. But that’s been clear since Shatter Me. He better not become a sacrificial lamb – I will be so. angry.
I can see what’s in their eyes because I’m beginning to remember what it feels like.
Hope.
It’s like a drop of honey, a field of tulips blooming in the springtime. It’s 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.
The good news is this series gets a little better with each book. I’m impressed that it has managed to hold off too many stereotypical events and keeps the narrative a little less predictable. Things move quickly but not too quickly to become unbelievable. The danger feels real, the stakes are high, and I’m excited to see what happens next.
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