Title: Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2)
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Edition: Paperback
Rating: 4/5
There’s a lot going on in the sequel to ‘Shatter Me’, and once again I couldn’t put it down.
Juliette has found a group of friends to support her. She’s safe, for now, and surrounded by other people with powers like her own. There’s a side to this book that feels like an X-Men story – people with powers struggling to understand the limits of those powers, and how to control them. She has the chance to explore her abilities – killing with a touch of her skin, and the strength to punch through walls – and to discover what triggers her responses, and how to protect the people around her. Her journey from rejection to becoming part of a community continues, and by the end of the book she is stronger – less afraid and more determined to help her friends.
There’s more detail on the dystopian world of the series, and on the collapse of modern society. There’s more background on the person who saved her from the dystopian government in Book 1, and more background on the person who wanted to train her as a weapon. We learn about their families and relationships, and their motivations as the good guy and the bad boy of the story.
And there are some very steamy scenes. When your touch can kill, being close to someone else is a challenge, and Tahereh Mafi takes the opportunity to explore this aspect of Juliette’s life in heart-pounding detail. Her continued use of unusual phrases and metaphors adds to the intensity of these chapters, and the first-person present-tense narration puts the reader inside Juliette’s head, and in her skin. My copy of the paperback states on the back cover that the book ‘contains mature content’. Yes. Yes it does – but this is all appropriate to the story and the characters.
This book gripped me at least as much as ‘Shatter Me’. Juliette’s journey from victim to strong young woman is engaging. The people around her are interesting, and busy with their own problems, even while they support her through hers. The ending is tense and exciting, and once again I closed this book and reached immediately for the sequel. It’s still an easy read, but there’s enough going on to keep me hooked for Book 3. I need to know how this ends!
Have you read the Shatter Me series? What did you think of the books? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts!
Review cross-posted to GoodReads.
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