Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi Review

"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."

WOW! I'm so stunned by the writing of Tahereh Mafi. I regret not reading Unravel Me earlier. I read the preview of Unravel Me back in February 2013 and instantly was unsatisfied with the beginning. I immediately decided that Unravel Me wasn't worth my time. Juliette's bad behavior and whines annoyed me endlessly in the beginning.

I decided to take a second chance at Unravel Me when my friends bugged the daylights out of me. They said, "It's a good book. You should read it." To amuse and save myself, I pick it up and was ensnared in Tahereh Mafi's trance.

The plot is brilliant! The twist about Adam and his drunk father is clever and ingenious. (Highlight the blanks to see spoilers.) Even better is the twist involving Aaron Warner Anderson and Adam Kent Anderson. They are brothers. I'm so surprised by that middle-of-the-book twist. However, the cliffhanger at the end of Unravel Me is even bigger and badder (in a good way)!

The writing, as always, is beautiful. I love how Tahereh Mafi uses strikes and words to give meaning to the words and to hint Juliette's true feelings. Unravel Me follows the traditions of Shatter Me, the first book in this sequence. 

Characters:

I find Adam Kent not so handsome or amazing anymore. He grows distant from Juliette and is often ignorant towards Juliette's feelings. I believe Adam is sad and angry at everything around him, especially Juliette and his father. He's not as attractive or interesting in Unravel me. I'm very disappointed in Adam Kent. 

Aaron Warner turns out to be a surprising and fascinating character/potential love interest. He is awesome. In Unravel Me, more of Aaron Warner's hidden past and mysterious personality is unraveled. (See what I did there?) Tuck away behind a hard shell is a sweet boy lost in a world of lies, truth, violence, and deception. It's hard not to betray Team Adam and instead, ally with Team Aaron. 

Juliette, the star and narrator of Unravel Me, is a huge whiner in the beginning. Everybody around her "understands, for awhile. Then they want the angry little kid to do something he knows he can't do, move on." -John Blake, The Dark Knight Rises

So, yes, Juliette is the 'angry kid' in the quote. Adam, Castle, and basically everybody at Omega Point wanted her to move on. From the girl at the beginning to the girl at the end, Juliette undergoes the biggest character growth of the Juliette Sequence, yet. To me, the ending is similar to Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, but is still as awesome and heartwarming. 

Rating: Five out of Five