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.
Tahereh Mafi has two short novellas that go in between the first and second, and then the second and third, books in this trilogy. When I reviewed Shatter Me (link here) I also reviewed the novella that came after it, Destroy Me. So after this review of Unravel Me I will also be reviewing Fracture Me.
4.5 STARS
I am pleasantly surprised with how much I really enjoyed my experience reading the sequel to Shatter Me! Although I've read the trilogy before, ,I remember very little about the events. I enjoyed the first one, but not as much as I enjoyed it's sequel.
I like that the characters are fleshed out and they are all very distinct in their personalities. I really loved Juliette's perspective. She can sometimes be a bit over dramatic at times, but for someone who has gone through what she has I don't feel bad for giving her some slack. Kenji is still one of my favorite (if not my favorite) character in this trilogy. He's hilarious but he's not only the comic relief class clown character. He has moments of seriousness in this book that I really loved because it made him more of a realistic person. Adam kind of drives me insane. It's not that I hate him, I just find him a bit annoying. I don't like how he thinks he has this weird possession over Juliette and his anger issues can be a bit much. Warner is such a complex character and although in my Shatter Me review I said I wasn't sure if he'd ever warm up to me, he is definitely warming up to me. I would like to see more of the other characters, and get to know more about them. Characters like Castle, Sara, Sonya, James, etc.
The action in this book comes and goes throughout. Some areas were slow but I was never bored with the story. I really liked all the character development and new information that is discovered in this sequel. I think a lot of YA sequels in trilogies can be weaker than the first book but I think Unravel Me is stronger than Shatter Me. Although it's sometimes slow, the fast action packed scenes gave me a bit of whiplash. I was genuinely shocked in moments. There is one scene with Juliette, Anderson, and Warner that I audibly gasped at because things happen really quickly. Tahereh Mafi is obviously really talented at writing action scenes, but then also slowing down the story and letting the reader get to know the characters. Which I appreciated. I think Mafi's writing style is super unique and poetic. She writes amazing dialogue between the characters, the romance scenes are always gripping, and the narrative is so engaging.
Overall, I really recommend this second book. If you read Shatter Me and liked it (or even if you were iffy or meh about it) I recommend picking up Unravel Me. I think the story and writing improves. I definitely plan on reading Ignite Me as soon as possible because I want to be prepared for the release of the new book, Restore Me!
Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi
As Omega Point prepares to launch an all-out assault on The Reestablishment soldiers stationed in Sector 45, Adam's focus couldn't be further from the upcoming battle. He's reeling from his breakup with Juliette, scared for his best friend's life, and as concerned as ever for his brother James's safety. And just as Adam begins to wonder if this life is really for him, the alarms sound. It's time for war.
On the battlefield, it seems like the odds are in their favor—but taking down Warner, Adam's newly discovered half brother, won't be that easy. The Reestablishment can't tolerate a rebellion, and they'll do anything to crush the resistance . . . including killing everyone Adam has ever cared about.
3 STARS
For me, novellas are so hard to review because there doesn't seem like there's enough to really have a full review, so I'll probably keep this short.
Fracture Me is all in Adam's point of view in some of the events that happen at the last half of Unravel Me. I have to say up front Adam's perspective got kind of annoying because he drives me insane. I think his he-man sexist kind of thoughts can get to be a bit annoying and his actions and motivations are all over the place. I don't think this is anything to do with writing and everything to do with Adam's personality. He's just a hypocrite and a bit of an idiot. I can't go into many details without giving away spoilers, but there's a part where he feels like he has to choose between Juliette and his brother James. When he doesn't, at all, and he's over dramatizing this to make it more over the top. He also calls Kenji his best friend, which is so weird to me because he is so mean to Kenji. And not in a playful way but in a literal I'll kill you way.
The thing I do like about this novella is that we get to Kenji's reaction to some of the events that happen. Because Juliette isn't with Kenji during these moments we don't get to see how he would have reacted in Unravel Me when we are in her POV. I have mentioned this above in the Unravel Me review but he is one of my favorite characters and I don't think we get enough of him, so it is nice to get more of his perspective on the events happening in the story.
The writing, as it has been throughout the whole series up to this point, is great. I love the dialogue and how great Mafi is at writing great characters. I also really appreciate that sometimes it's really poetic and beautiful.
Overall I think that this is worth picking up if you're reading (or have read) the trilogy. The novellas are pretty short and easy to whiz through. I think it gives more character depth and helps the reader get a better understanding of what is happening and what's to come.
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