Unravel Me is the second book in the Shatter Me series, the story of how a former tortured girl rises to become her own hero.
Unr 3.5 stars rounded up
Unravel Me is the second book in the Shatter Me series, the story of how a former tortured girl rises to become her own hero.
Unravel Me picks up exactly where its predecessor finishes. Juliette is in hiding and learning to use her powers while navigating this new reality and her relationship with Adam.
So I definitely liked this book better than the first one, although overall it was still pretty mediocre. I rounded up to 4 stars because I do not believe Shatter me deserved less than 3, but I also wanted to give Unravel Me more.
Let's start talking about the plot: there was very little of it. By the end, I was surprised by how little actually happened in this book. I am finishing the third installment in this series and I have read books that easily put the entire plot of the first three books of Shatter Me into one well-written novel. But I guess there is a good chunk of introspection happening in the Shatter Me series, a thing that I actually really appreciate, especially in YA. I really enjoyed witnessing Juliette's struggle with her inability of reaching the goals she was expected to reach. It felt very true and visceral and relatable. I think the skills of Tahereh Mafi shine in her character's inner monologues rather than in the plot itself.
I wanted to see Juliette struggle and fail and ultimately succeed. I was very taken by her character arc. But a lot of it was marred by the love story. I could not care less about the romantic relationships she is developing left and right. I do not care about cardboard cut-out Adam or sad-backstory Aaron. I found the struggle of "I cannot stay with you because I love you" so uninspired and unnecessary. It could have been solved fast and easy and we could have moved on and focused on Juliette instead. It felt so juvenile. At the very least, Warner seems to be a much more interesting possible love interest for Juliette. At the moment he's still not someone I would cheer for (I'm very much still team " Fuck those boys, Juliette, get some therapy first"), and his obsession with the main character is more on the pathetic side.
Overall, this book is very compelling if you are looking for an introspective heroine struggling to achieve, but it's marred by uninteresting love intrigue.
Did I go crazy for this book? Definitely not. Did I have a decent time? Yeah, and I will most likely read the next book in the series.
Starting with thDid I go crazy for this book? Definitely not. Did I have a decent time? Yeah, and I will most likely read the next book in the series.
Starting with the basics, this is the story of Juliette, a young girl with a terrifying power. After almost a year is solitary confinement in a psych ward, she finally gets a “cellmate”, someone who she can talk to, someone she remembers from before. Before the Reestablishment took over and society crumbled. But not everything is as it seems. Is he here to kill her or is he a victim like she is?
Starting with the good, I like the world, it has a very basic world building, but the world is familiar enough not to need anything complex. But it does end up feeling kind of bland.
Differently from a lot of people, I didn't mind the writing style. It was a bit unsubtle in parts, but then again, subtlety is not what I was expecting or looking for. It is very flowery and the crossing-off of lines is okay. I do think it does add to the charm of the book, but I also see how many people do not enjoy.
The main character is very bland, her only character trait is that she truly and wholeheartedly does not want to hurt people, no matter her “gift”. I found her position to be a truly heartbreaking one, even if it was not necessarily conveyed completely via the written word, I was able to feel myself in her and emphasise with the character. I think this ability to make you feel is actually one of the strengths of this book. I could not pinpoint exactly what or how, but I was definitely invested in the story and in the pain of the main character (with the glaring exclusion of the romance).
Let’s get into it then. I hated the romance, too insta-love, very juvenile, but then again I am not the direct age range for this book being in my mid twenties. Adam, the love interest, is very one-dimensional. His only two traits are being very handsome and in love with the main character. The reason? He saw her being nice. And without ever talking to her he’s ready to endanger his life and the lives of those he loves. At least in the first book we never get any deep reason why he would want to rebel, beside the fact the everyone is in a shit position under the Reestablishment.
Warner, the main villain in a way, is even worse. Or better, he’s better characterised and an overall interesting character a lot of interesting development could be built on. However, it is even a bigger crime the way he was used. Once again, our main character is everything he cares about. He is obsessed with her before the story even starts and spirals into confessing his “love” before the end. I think the idea of him could have been great, but was severely misused. I would have been A LOT more interested if the book had gone the way of our main character being slowly manipulated and gaslit into not only believing the Reestablishment but maybe feel for Warner, all very much NOT framed as romantic if possible. But she had found her forever lover before the second chapter. Also being in a position of power at 19? That completely took me out of the world immersion. But I guess that comes from having to teach to 19 years old.
Overall the book is definitely a quick and gripping read but it is far from being good literature. It is the typical cookie-cutter dystopian YA that checks all the boxes of fans of that genre. It is a very average book that does not truly deserve to be flamed, but at the same time should not be ailed between the best. I still recommend this book to fans of YA sweeping-style romances and want to vicariously enjoy some time with hot fictional boys....more
Iron Widow is the debut novel of Xiran Jay Zhao. And what a debut! I found this books to be incredibly easy to enjoy. The plot and “moral” are not theIron Widow is the debut novel of Xiran Jay Zhao. And what a debut! I found this books to be incredibly easy to enjoy. The plot and “moral” are not the most innovative, but they work very well when blended with this new futuristic world.
Starting from the plot, our main character Zetian is a young woman living in the outskirts of human civilisation, close to Chrysalises territory. Chrysalises are creatures that invaded the planet and decimated the human population. Humanity was able to combat them via huge mecha, fighting robots, piloted by a man and a concubine able to channel their chi into the machine. Concubines rarely survive the battle and their energy is consumed by the male pilot. Zetian’s sister has been recently murdered by one of these Pilot, one of the strongest ones out there. Her family doesn’t mourn the loss of a sold woman, but Zetian has a plan. One that involves selling herself directly in the service of the Pilot who murdered her sister. One that includes a cut throat in the dark of night. But things don’t go according to plan and Zetian is thrust into battle before she can prepare. Good thing she has no intention of being just another victim of the system.
The world Xiran describes is so different and yet so relatable at the same time. She strongly focuses on issues like the place of women in a misogynistic society that both needs them and sees them as replaceable objects. It does come off heavy-handed at times, but it also does a great job on focusing on the small everyday details. I was particularly shaken by the vivid description of feet binding. The world is inspired by China and its traditional values and practices. I always enjoy reading fantasy/sci-fi that not only takes influence from cultures I am not a part of/do not get the see as much in books, but also is written by an author that viscerally understands them like only someone that has lived and toiled in them can do.
The main character is head-strong and stubborn, but is clearly just desperate to survive and make a change in the world. I loved how vicious and power-hungry she is. She was truly a breath of fresh air as protagonist: she is allowed to be mean and ambitious without being villanized for it in the narrative, as so often happens in male-centered stories. The real punch comes from the fact that although the readers are not lead to think badly of her, the whole “in-book” world does. It successfully leads you into seeing prejudice from an outsider prospective. The biggest issue with her I believe is that she is so starkly different in the way she thinks and acts with respect to the rest of the world. I understand the struggle to have a modern-thinking main character driving the plot in a “backwards-thinking” world, but she very much feels out of place with the rest of the people. The supporting cast is not the most complex, but the two male leads are good foils for Zetian both story- and personality-wise.
The final plot-twist is not major, but it gives more than enough to make you interested in how the story is going to continue. I am definitely picking up the second books as soon as it comes out.
The book does have a love story, a polyamorous one, but it is definitely not the focal point of the story. I enjoyed and it is always nice to have some lowkey representation.
Let it be known, this book and its story is nothing ground-breaking and is very explicit and in case simplistic in its tackling of social issues. There are no grey areas. There are people that are right in wanting to help Zetian and people that are wrong in wanting to stop her and squash her down. Zetian does have a minor character-arc, which tempers a bit her vitrol for men and those participating in the practices she believes to be sexist, but she never does discover that societal indoctrination does not make people inherently evil. There are no consideration of how social and economical standing impact sexism. Women are either directly and actively fighting against the systems or are as much perpetrators as they are victims of it. There is no finesse in the moral.
However, tackling and god-forbit “solving” misogyny is NOT what this book is about . This is NOT a though-out analysis of real sexism. This is an escapist fantasy. This is an idealised dream of having a chance to make it simple and fighting against it. Just as much as any “bad boy” action flick is a male hero fantasy. Sometimes as a woman living in a world that is constantly sexist, you want to dream of the possibility of making it easy, to take a gigantic robot and squashing the people responsible with a stomp. This is why I really enjoyed this book and its protagonist. Zetian is not someone we actively want to emulate, she is the unhinged side of us that is useless in the real world but that keeps us buckling against the system. And we just want to see her win.
Overall the Iron Widow is a wonderfully unhinged story of a young ruthless girl fighting against the place her society is trying to force her in and coming into an ambitious and idealistic woman ready to take over the world....more
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