Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2)

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.

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!

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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.