Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2)

UNRAVEL ME (Shatter Me, #2)

Author: Tahereh Mafi
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Genre: YA Dystopia/Paranormal
Format: EBook, Print
Publisher: Harper Collins
On Sale Date: February 5, 2013
Recommended Reading: 15+

****THERE ARE NO SPOILERS****

THE GIST: Unravel Me is a strong second piece in the Shatter Me series. It’s the pay-off for the angst built into Mafi’s novella Destroy Me (Shatter Me, #1.5), while delivering heart-breaking new degrees of devastation, realizations, twists, and yes, even more angst. There’s a third book coming so we know it can’t be relieved in book two, right?

SYNOPSIS: 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.

BREAKDOWN: I should start by saying “anticipation” doesn’t quite cover how much I looked forward to this book’s release! Shatter Me rocked my world. It’s one of only a couple books I’ve ever read twice. Actually I read it two and a half times, I just never had time to finish reading it the third time. It was also the first book I read almost entirely in one day.

So, yeah, I was pretty stoked about this sequel! And now that I’ve finished, I can’t wait for book three!

If you saw my reviews of Shatter Me and Destroy Me, you know I thought very highly of both Unravel Me predecessors. How did this installment stack up? Quite nicely. You know an author is doing something right when she makes your heart-break (and race) for the bad guy. Even better, when you root for him. I often found myself just as conflicted as the heroine, Juliette.

Without compromising the style that made Mafi’s first book so compelling and unique, she delivered a highly emotional and visceral look into Juliette’s greatest dilemma thus far. Juliette made choices that took an incredible amount of resolve, and she grew because of them. And yes, one decision in particular brought me to tears. I like who she is becoming, and I’m excited to see how the new Juliette polishes off the war taking place in her world.

Which reminds me…Can you say cliffhanger? Said war is still raging with no resolution in sight. How do I feel about this? Not sure, perhaps a little slighted, but Mafi did her job of making me ready for the next book, as she always does. That’s not to say the book was unfulfilling, just that it took place in a very brief three-week time span, and most of the book’s central conflict was directly related to Juliette and the characters that are closest to her, while focusing less on the external story taking place in the background. I feel this book’s purpose was to set the stage for something huge in the final installment, and I certainly hope it pays off. For now, I get to (im)patiently wait for the 2014 release of the untitled finale.

(Review originally posted on GliteraryGirl.com)

If you thought Shatter Me was something special, wait till you read Unravel Me. Tahareh's writing style just amazes me. How she merges poetry with prose. It's just so beautiful. If, by any chance you still haven't read Unravel Me, or dare I say Shatter Me, please, do because there is no way you won't like what this woman has to say. It's an emotional bomb. Ovaries were exploding every time Warner showed up.

Unravel Me starts of with Juliette and Adam discovering he isn't immune to Juliette's touch. So they try to stay away from one another which only brings out almost 200 pages of relationship drama. Don't get me wrong, I was enjoying it because it was all working out the way I hoped it would. In the middle of this drama Warner appears and we see the amazing dog scene from Destroy Me in Juliette's POV. She can't get Warner out of her head because he seemed so different from the cruel and heartless guy she met in the first book.

Warner! How much I love him! He was the villain which I don't actually see as one. He's just got a lot of daddy issues like pretty much anyone in this book. I was a huge Warner fan since Shatter Me, he made me fall in love with him in Destroy Me and I was totally crazy after I got to know him even more in Unravel Me. He is smart, good-looking well trained soldier. He loves to read and whenever he speaks he does seem better than others, in spite of his flaws. And yet, there are so many things we don't know about him. Tahereh is a smart lady. She's not going to reveal all her card till the final round.

Chapter 62 deserves to be mentioned too for I feel there hasn't been a chapter this emotional and hot, well, since forever. It gave me so much joy and yet I wanted more. Since I have both hardback and the audiobook of Unravel Me I had to listen so I can experience it in another, totally different way. And let me tell you, the way that Kate Simses narrates is just unbelievable. You can feel the longing and restraint.

Juliette and Warner are going to end up together in the final book because there is no way Tahereh wrote all that in Unravel Me and say 'Oh, that wasn't anything special. Juliette and Adam are endgame.' I refuse to believe there is even a small chance it won't go my way. I mean, after so many of my teams lost, I at least deserve to get this one! I deserve to be happy and so do these characters. Even Tahereh's mum is on Team Warner. :D

I don't care much about Adam. He can be unhappy for the rest of his life. LOL I did like him in Shatter Me and yet there was Warner. Warner steals every scene. Adam, the stoic guy who walks in thigh shirts just seems unrealistic. There's just something that rubs me the wrong way whenever he's there. And even Juliette doesn't think he can handle her deepest secrets but she can confide in Warner. A & J just aren't compatible enough.

There was one character I need to mention. He saved our Juliette from being a big mess after she faces every small obstacle. It's Kenji! He is an epithet for what it means to be a friend, even though he was just doing his job. He was Juliette's rock, while Adam was out sulking and dealing with his problems. Kenji, the guy who always makes us laugh with his roguish charm has some secrets of his own. He doesn't share a lot of his true feeling but it was obvious he cares about a lot of people. I'm sure Tahereh will write a novella in his POV so we'll finally understand why he is the way he is.

And last but not least, Juliette. She went through a transformation. She still cries, pities herself and apologizes to everyone for every single thing people don't approve about her. After she talked with Warner I believe he gave her some insight how to overcome those things and by the end she was fierce. That last page was shocking, at least to me it was. She is done playing nice and I wanted to scream because I can't wait to see what is her next move. Will she join Warner to help take down his father, will she be on her own, or will she go back to save her friends? Where is the third book? I want it now!

Ah! I Need the 3rd one now!

I was arguing with myself nearly the whole time I was reading. I really wanted to see Juliette's side of things, but I just couldn't get down with her woe is me attitude and self-loathing. In Shatter Me she had the crappy life going for her, but I just couldn't grant her that pass in Unravel Me. She was with people like herself -- some of whom had similarly crappy lives -- and she had at least a few people caring for her and wanting to be her friend.

Just so you know, before I get into the relationship stuff, I'm a Warner fan through and through. That Adam guy can just go sit in the corner.

I can see Juliette's side of the whole thing: she still loves Adam but doesn't want to cause him pain. On the flip side: no. Adam begs her over and over for a chance to be together and try to work through it, but does she listen? No, instead she repeatedly "forgets herself" and finds some way to have intimate contact with him only to push him away and get all wishy-washy, further stringing along and confusing both guys.

And my poor, poor Warner. Okay, I totally understand Juliette's complete confusion when it comes to her feelings for him. He's a pretty confusing guy and most of what she's seen from him is pretty bad. But he opens his heart up to her multiple times only to have her hold it in her hands a moment before carelessly tossing it on the floor and walking away. And she continues to tell him she thinks he can change, but isn't exactly helping him by treating him like the same person.

I'm glad to have seen growth in Juliette by the end even if she spent the better part of the book being generally annoying. I like that she noticed herself feeling more confident after her time away from Adam.

The Nutshell: I enjoyed Unravel Me more than it's predecessor, but Juliette's attitude bogged down the story for me. I wanted a little (or a lot) more Warner, a little more action, and a lot less angst. I appreciated Juliette's growth away from Adam and her few super badass moments, but her pity parties got in the way of all that. In the end, it was a pretty solid story and I'm looking forward to the final one.

Hit

After my excitement for this series had been rekindled by Destroy Me, I was really looking forward to Unravel Me. I was sure my dislike of Shatter Me was a situational thing; I must have disliked it because of the headspace I was in when I read it! And then I realized it wasn’t Unravel Me per se that I disliked, but it’s heroine; it’s pathetically whiney, dependent and frail heroine who showed no little growth since Shatter Me.

Before I get into all of the reasons why Juliette has ruined this series for me, I would like to comment on the one thing things I did enjoy in Unravel Me. With its stream of consciousness narration, Unravel Me manages to succeed at being incredibly fast-paced, even though almost nothing is happening during its 400+ pages. I will admit to skimming over most of Juliette’s angsty monologues about feeling inadequate, which means I probably skimmed over most of Unravel Me, but thanks to almost nonexistent punctuation in between Juliettes’ thoughts, Unravel Me reads surprisingly quickly for its lengthier size. Mafi’s prose, while definitely of the purple nature, is also quite pretty even though it rarely makes sense.

"It’s the kind of kiss that makes you realize oxygen is overrated."

This is where I almost put the book down. I should have known then, but I was promised a world of delights if I read through until Chapter 62, so I persevered.

As for Juliette, I’m going to quote from my review of Shatter Me, since it seems appropriate here:

"For the vast majority of the book, she spends her time crying/trembling/gasping/blushing, all while adamantly refusing to understand how anyone, but especially Adam, could care for her. This type of behaviour I could have forgiven, had she shown any growth. But it wasn’t until the last few chapters that she went from being a weak, ridiculously melodramatic and frustratingly insecure protagonist into one with the glimmer of something resembling strength."

It’s surprising that I could have written that without referencing my Shatter Me review, and you wouldn’t have known it had come from a review of a different book! Juliette has seen absolutely no growth since Shatter Me; the description I posted above is equally as fitting in Unravel Me. You know how I know Juliette is supposed to have grown? Because she tells me so!

"I’ve come to realize that being away from him has forced me to rely on myself. To allow myself to be scared and to find my own way through it. I’ve had to train without him, fight without him, face Warner and Anderson and the chaos of my mind all without him by my side. And I feel different now. I feel stronger since putting space between us.

And I don’t know what that means.

All I know is that it’ll never be safe for me to rely on someone else again, to need constant reassurance of who I am and who I might someday be. I can love him, but I can’t depend on him to be my backbone. I can’t be my own person if I constantly require someone else to hold me together."

But guess what she was doing ten pages previous to this enlightenment? Sobbing on her knees, trembling in fright, and relying on someone else to pick her up.

I understand that Juliette had a tough childhood. I understand that she was tortured at a young age and that there will be psychological repercussions because of it. I understand that this might lead to moments of confusion/angst/self-pity/etc. But understanding and believing are two different things. I didn’t believe that Juliette was acting out of some deep psychological torment when she played mind games with both Adam and Warner. I didn’t believe that Juliette thought herself a monster, and that was the reason she was so afraid to learn how to control her abilities. And I didn’t believe in her inner strength because every time she was pushed, she fell to the ground, crying.

As for chapter 62, I was too distracted by Juliette’s complete and utter betrayal to enjoy any of it.

This is one of the very few times I liked the second book better than the first in a trilogy.

Shatter Me I found okay. The story was original, but the characters did not really get to me. Juliette had not much of a voice and cried too much. Adam I found a flat character, he had no character development at all and it seemed Juliette only liked him because he was not affected by her letal touch. Warner was just your typical villain, no development there either. Ergo, I was not really captivated by this book. But nevertheless I tried the second book, thank God!

The beginning of the book was quite the same as Shatter Me. Juliette had escaped her imprisonment by Warner with help of Adam and Kenji. The three of them were taken to the rebel base. The book starts with Juliette whining and Adam being distant and not very nice. Luckily there was Kenji, who brought humor and talked the occasional sense into Juliette which she really needed.
Then the big chance happened that made me love the book: Warner was captured and brought to base. And he appeared to be so different from the villain in book 1. He had read Juliette's notes from the asylum and it had changed him. He really loved her now and he was not afraid to show it. His father had now become the ultimate villain and Warner had defied him. It seemed too good to be true. Juliette started growing towards him, which I found quite weird, since she hated him in book 1... But she did and Adam moved more and more to the background.
In the middle of the book they found out Adam and Warner are actually brothers, but this was quickly forgotten and not really mentioned again (also weird).
The rest of the book was about Juliette and Warner growing close. Warner discovered he had a gift too and Juliette realised more and more she and Warner are actually the same. Warner turns out to be more of a misunderstood than a bad guy. They are both hated by everyone (although this is not actually the case for Juliette, she just thinks that) and share the same interests. But of course when Warner asked her to run away with him she chooses Adam. Why she does that I do not know, since she and Adam almost never talk and have even broken up. Then the 'big' attack by Warner's father begins (this took about 3 pages and was made seem unimportant) and Juliette is captured. At the end Warner saves Juliette from his father and it seems everything is well.
What struck me about this book was the beautiful style of writing. The crossed out words gave an edge to the book and some lines were really poetic and beautiful.

Okay, I know this review seems a little negative about the book, but I really did love it. I still found Juliette a bit irritating and Adam was even worse than in the first book and developed into a whiny guy who could not let go of his ex. The thing that made this book great was Warner. His character changed so much since book 1. He went from villain to misunderstood, likeable guy. I know he is still not nice to anyone but Juliette, but I truly believe she has changed him. We also get a sort of explaination for his bad behaviour. First, we meet his dad, who is the worst dad ever. Then, we discover his ability: sensing people's emotions. If you your whole life sensed people hated you, would you not become a little irritated with them?

I would definitely recommend Unravel Me to everyone.
I cannot wait for the next book!

http://www.evelinesbooks.blogspot.nl

I don't know how I made it out of this book alive. I swear, half of the time I was an emotional wreck, and the other half I just yelled at the characters and had so many questions. I excitedly waited for the arrival of this book, and was not disappointed.

Unravel me should really be called Character Develop Me. I'm not complaining, I really enjoyed seeing a different side to Adam and Warner. Even Kenji, and the other characters got more air-time then they normally would have in series. I really enjoyed reading this book, but as a warning, there are some scenes not advised for the younger YA crowd, and the book doesn't have as much action as you would expect from a 450 page novel. But, I think I liked it better than the first.

Just in case you aren't sure if we have the same opinions I like: yelling at my books, getting so into a novel that I forget to eat, having my emotions run crazy, and constantly asking myself questions. And I enjoyed this book, because a good book makes you think.

How can I begin to tell how much I love this book? To be honest, even though I've read a lot of good feedbacks about this book, I still worried about it. We are not new to the usual trend that happens with the second books, like it's jinxed that it would only be a big filler between the first and the last books. But after I read this particular second book, I was blown away. Tahereh Mafi, you are one helluvah genius.

In the first book, I sympathized with Juliette. In this book, she managed to annoy me at the first few parts. Omega Point reminded me of X-men's Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. If I were Juliette, I would surely feel elated to know that I am not alone. But no, she still felt lost and out of place. She chose to be with herself and Adam instead of getting to know the people living in Omega Point. And it's not only about that. She also had her moments of self-pity, too much wallowing and self-sacrificing shit that I was seriously considering the option of going inside the book and smacking her head just to knock some sense in her.

Adam was also an accessory to this crime. I know this should make us see their vulnerable part, but with Adam's current situation because of his ability, all they do is cry, feel sorry for themselves and their relationship and feel like there's nothing worth living and fighting for. Maybe it was more Juliette since Adam was willing to find some options for them to work things out. I never really got the chance to get to know him more as what I've planned to do before reading this book because it focused more on the impending war against The Reestablishment.

And of course, who can forget about the infamous 62nd chapter. To those who haven't read this, I'm pretty sure you're looking forward to this. Get yourselves ready, people because Tahereh blew my mind and my heart. The way it was written, the way the scene was written was awesomeballs. It was filled with so much emotions, you cannot avoid it whether you're rooting for the other guy.

All the characters in this book, all the discoveries and twists in plot, all the revelations blew my mind. This book made me laugh, made me want to tear my hair off, annoyed me and managed to break my heart. I cannot wait for the next book. With Juliette, super ready to bring down The Reestablishment, I'm pretty sure we're on for some action. I'm also curious and excited about the novella. We'll have another glimpse inside another character's mind and I wonder who will it be.

Let the waiting commence...

First I just have to say that I love the cover for this book. It is absolutely stunning! I have been looking forward to this book ever since I finished reading the first in the series Shatter Me. It was well worth the wait and did not disappoint.

I fell in love with Tahereh Mafi's writing style in Shatter Me and it was no different in Unravel Me. Her writing is so beautiful. It keeps you glued to the book page after page. The writing is so descriptive you can't help but feel like you are Juliette. I felt like I was in her head feeling what she felt and going through what she went through.

I have to say in the first book I really did not like Warner one bit. Then I read Warner's story (Destroy Me) and I thought eh he isn't so bad but still wasn't a huge fan. This book has changed my mind about Warner. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I am team Warner or team Adam for that matter. But I can tolerate Warner much more than in the first book.

Unravel Me had me feeling so many different emotions. I was happy, sad, angry frustrated and so many more. I felt for Juliette and the decisions that she has to make.

The characters are so well written. I loved learning about them and what makes them tick. You get to see a different side to some which was a nice surprise.

I need the next book now!! While there is a bit of a cliffhanger at the end of the book. I have to say that the last two lines are amazing.

I have left this review pretty vague except for my love for the book and the characters I don't want to spoil this amazing book for anyone with a play by play of what takes place. You will not be disappointed So pick it up today and get to reading.

Review originally posted on my blog: http://www.ramblingsofabooknerd.com/2013/02/review-unravel-me-by-tahereh-mafi.html

It was a highly anticipated book after the tome 1 - Shatter Me. And I really appreciated!
The writing Tahareh Mafi was, as usual, amazing. Her imagination, the plot and the way she writes, is the promise of a great time in these pages.

The first tome ended with the arrival of Juliette, Adam and James in Omega Point, where stay the resistance and people "like" Juliette. I like the "power" side of story. It reminds me Heroes!
Juliette tries to evolve with his power. By learning about it, she learns about herself, she discovers her personality in society, in the Omega Point. The evolution of the heroine is what I like the most in trilogies. Doubts, questions, choices.
As we learnt in Shatter Me, Point Omega welcomes people with power, as Kenji, which I enjoyed - even if he is always where he souldn't.
We see those people with power learn to be more or less collaborative in the use of their power together, and then I totally want the imagination of Tahereh Mafi. Damn, how can she build such an original story, moving!

I realized that the end of Destroy Me - Warner pov - was a part of this book - Juliette pov. And FINALLY, I understood the end of Destroy Me. And as my opinion about Warner really changed, Juliette's opinion too. And, yes, it makes me happy.
Yes.
But it means that Warner was in a huge part of the book... And no, it does not please me. I don't mean that it ruined the story. On the contrary! Suspense, interrogation, emotion ... What i mean is: WARNER-JULIETTE-ADAM!!

Soo, except for the father of Warner, I don't really hate many people.
I wonder about some characters, like Castle. I really want to know what he has in mind.
James and Adam are two characters laid aside. I would like to know more. I missed their trio with Juliette. However, I enjoyed the trio Adam - Juliette - Kenji.

The "love triangle" disappointed me. But the book is still awesome. And those fascinating words of Tahereh Mafi....
Finally, even if the book doesn't end with a real cliffhanger, I wonder what choices made Juliette in the last chapter. I really want to know what happened CONCRETELY in her head in that moment. Bring on the third book!