Review: Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2)

Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publication date: February 5th 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins 
Hardcover, 465 pages

This book made my heart explode...

In Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi’s writing was a thing that stood on beautiful, but wobbly legs. It was mesmerizing in its beauty but not well-balanced at all. As a writer, Mafi was still learning how to walk, still trying to find solid ground, and it’s quite obvious that she was working hard at it because, by the time she sat down to write Unravel Me, she was a fully-formed writer – a bit eccentric for sure, but sensational nonetheless.

Unravel Me is something entirely different. She took all the best parts from Shatter Me, left the awkward and exaggerated behind, added a few details (all of them good), and created a sequel that outshines its predecessor in almost every way. For someone like me, someone who lives of words and for words and who teaches other people how to use their words properly, it’s almost impossible not to fall madly in love with Mafi’s voice.

Unravel me was a shock to my system and dear God, it felt fantastic to be shocked out of my stupor, out of reading a million plainly written stories one right after the other. It is the type of story that will make some people angry, some sad, some even desperate, but not a single person will remain indifferent.

I’m checking my pockets for spare words and sentences but I’m finding none, not an adverb, not a preposition or even a dangling participle because there doesn’t exist a single response to such an outlandish request.

Only in terms of plot is Unravel Me somewhat inferior to Shatter Me. It is much slower, far more focused on Juliette’s inability to fit in and connect with others. It explores the psychological consequences of years spent in imprisonment and solitude and the difficulties of living with people after spending so much time away from them. Of course, just because Castle - the leader, and Kenji, accepted Juliette easily, doesn’t mean that others aren’t afraid of her. And while Juliette is struggling with finding her place and figuring out what, or rather who, she wants to be, news of Warner’s relentless search for her are constantly coming in.

Love triangles, starcrossed lovers, heroines that make unreasonable choices – those are all things that normally make me cringe, but in Unravel Me, Mafi made them all work. My heart was broken so many times, and I think I went through five stages of grief and a whole lot of (sugar-free) ice cream, and I still barely survived this book. If I could somehow quantify the emotional impact all my favorite books had on me, Unravel Me would certainly be at the very top.

Oh my God what am I saying I don’t even know where I’m finding these words, where they’re coming from or which tree I’ve plucked them from. They just keep growing in my mouth and sometimes I bite down too hard on an adverb or a pronoun and sometimes the words are bitter, sometimes they’re sweet, but right now everything tastes like romance and regret and liar liar pants on fire all the way down my throat.

A million thank yous and a huge hug to the lovely Jasprit for lending me her copy.