Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi | Rating: ★★★★★

"Sticks and stones keep breaking my bones but these words, these words will kill me."

Tahereh Mafi’s prose is magic. Oh, I could say so much more to start off my damn review but that is the first thing that comes to mind whilst looking back on how it felt to read Unravel Me. Shatter Me is a series that has progressed quickly, with a loyal and deserving fan base and the thing about the sequel is that it’s even better than the first. This time around we get to learn more about the world we caught only glimpses of in the first installment and it’s delightful. Action packed, intelligent and sexy–Unravel Me pushes the envelope in young adult literature and proves that sometimes it’s unwise to under estimate the genre.

After breaking free of her chains–twice–Juliette Ferrars is now able to say she has escaped the Reestablishment, free from her prison as a so-called-crazy person, free from Warner’s plans to use her as a weapon. At the end of Shatter Me we saw Juliette escape to Omega Point with Adam Kent, her flame, and Kenji Kishimoto. If you thought Shatter Me was full of action and suspense, then you are in for a treat with Unravel Me.


Just as high paced, if not moreso, the second installment takes readers on an unforgettable ride of power, romance and war. Mafi extends her writing chops with unique world building and deliciously woven words that aspiring writers dream of. There’s something in her tone that is unlike any other authors in her genre and it needs to be acknowledged more. She is one of the greats from the newer generation of young adult writers and doesn’t get nearly enough credit for it. I’m obsessed.

Let me explain. Unravel Me is even better than Shatter Me because of the way she develops everything. Every last thing. There’s such a thriller and quick pace to her work that readers will devour it as quickly as possible and be forced to tab/highlight nearly the whole book. God, it’s breathtaking. I loved seeing Juliette grow and find herself bit by bit. She grows so much this time around and while she has help in doing so by her past, by her new home, by motivation from a new friend, it’s all up to her at the end of the day and it was amazing seeing this realization cross her mind as she kept on trying.

I loved seeing her explore her powers and see how dangerous she can be but also see how valuable she is as a person. I enjoyed watching her explore these new things and to also break free from her past bit by bit. Juliette has a long way to go but she is smart and determined and everything we could want from a narrator because she isn’t perfect and continues to grow as the story progresses. I also enjoyed the introduction of more powers and people from Omega Point and seeing as Juliette struggles to accept her power and their friendships (or dislike of her) and it’s all just so fascinating seeing them work as a community.

I had a lot of favorites in Unravel Me, because again it became one of my favorites. It’s impossible to choose just one and I think readers will agree. But there were a lot of things that sparked my interest or caused my heart to nearly thud out of my chest as I flipped through the chapters. Including: Adam and Juliette’s shaky relationship, Adam’s powers, Warner’s reappearance and powers, the connection she has with both boys, Kenji being developed more and the bromance he has going on with, well, everyone.

(A moment of silence for all of us when we look back to all the, ahem, steamy scenes between Juliette/Adam and Juliette/Warner.)

We also have some SERIOUSLY solid villains in this one and you’ll be surprised by the road that Warner takes in this installment. He still isn’t my favorite but he sure is fascinating to read about–talk about dark.

Seriously, these characters are so damn strong and charming that it’s impossible to not love them. If you want a story that is driven by excellent characters, excellent prose and… okay, just excellence as a general thing, Unravel Me is for you. I daresay that even those of you who didn’t like Shatter Me, will love this one. Perfect for fans of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and The Darkest Minds, this is one can’t miss novel–one can’t miss series–and will leave you tumbled over your own feet to grab a copy of the final book.