WARNING: If you haven't read Shatter Me the following review is going to be spoilery.
Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2) by Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: February 5, 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 461
Genre: YA, Dystopian, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Source: Bought It
Goodreads Description:
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.
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Review:
After the action packed ending of Shatter Me where Juliette, her love Adam and the hilariously awesome Kenji make it to the rebel resistance base Omega Point; while leaving the devious Warner injured and humiliated in his attempts to recapture Juliette. With Juliette among other gifted people like herself, and finally able to have physical human contact with someone she loves, you'd think she'd be in absolute bliss! But it's not all sunshine and roses deep in an underground bunker where there are constant whispers about the girl who kills with a touch of her skin, a boyfriend who's harbouring a dangerous secret and a new player in Sector 45 that's hellbent on finding Juliette...
Firstly, I hate cover changes in the middle of a series; but for these ones I'll make an except because they're ridiculously gorgeous and eye catching (sorry I couldn't resist).
Juliette is having major problems adjusting and in typical teenager fashion she just wants to be completely absorbed in her beau. For a good portion of the first half of the book she was completely self depreciating, whiny and generally a downer. I really thought I was going to snap and throttle the book in frustration because I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep going, but then Juliette does this complete 180 when she taps into her powers with purpose. She becomes methodical, ruthless and a comment I made while reading was "Juliette Hulk SMASH!" because...WOW what a change. Mafi creates this incredible divide in Juliette filled with obstacles and internal struggles - at the end of the book it's almost like a rebirth and Juliette's finally chosen what kind of person she's going to be.
What makes Juliette's depression in the first half of the book bearable was characters like the leader of Omega Point Castle and his right hand man Kenji who call Juliette out on all her excuses and force her to move out of her isolation no matter how much she resists.
Kenji -who I LOVE to bits is honestly the best character ever. We got a glimpse into his personality nearing the end of Shatter Me but there just wasn't enough Kenji to go around. I'm so glad that Mafi has given him a much more prominent role in Unravel Me and we get a good look into his equally tragic past. He's the down to earth guy that you just have to love, you can see why he inspires so much confidence and leads people so effectively. He knows when to joke to ease the tension, and when to break out the master plans.
I think that we all knew that there'd be a serious love triangle between Adam, Juliette and Warner at some point. Unravel Me is equal parts heartache and passion. A secret creates a chasm between Adam and Juliette. This turns Adam into a really weird desperado that spends all this time being moody and angry - it was a radical change from the Adam we know and love in Shatter Me. It's a completely legitimate reason, but I got tired of his mopiness halfway through - I'm just hoping he can pull himself together in the next installment. But this leaves it wide open for Warner! Juliette and the readers discover that behind that hard slightly psychotic soldier exterior Warner can be an actual caring person - mind you he's still a bit unstable but I think I'm totally on team Warner now. Also that fabled chapter 62? Ahem...yea WOW, it was totally worth it to get to but in true YA fashion someone always ends up with a serious case of blue ....you know.
Mafi's continues with her signature languid and richly descriptive writing as it pulls the reader into the mindsets and voices of of the characters. In Unravel Me Mafi gives us a taste of intense action, steamy romance and one of the HUGEST TWISTS EVER. I didn't see it coming at all - Mafi buried it perfectly in the action!
Overall: 4/5 Hot Cups of Tea!
Mafi gives a great recap of Shatter Me for those who might have forgotten the exact details. She also gets into the special gifts of people a bit more, there's a lot more character development and backstory and she introduces a new villain that is worse than Warner - who knew that was possible? So if you haven't read Shatter Me yet and you love dystopians and X-Men/Avengers/Comic Book heroes in general definitely go check it out!
