Unravel Me - Tahereh Mafi

*HYSTERICAL KEYBOARD-BANGING GOES HERE*

THERE'S A PARTY IN MY BODY BUT YOU'RE NOT INVITED
'CAUSE THAT'S WEIRD.

Okay. OKAY. Serious face. Must find the serious face and slap it on because I need to be 98% coherent to possibly review this impossibly awesome book.

It almost makes me mad how late to the bandwagon I am. I'm like, DUDE WHY. WHY DID YOU WAIT? But the other part of me is like, BRO. YOU KNOW WHY. And I do. I do know why.

I couldn't stomach going into the next part of this series without some assurance that I would be satisfied. So I waited. I bided my time, circling the buzz like a vulture considering it's next early morning course. And then got pissed as other vultures swooped in and had a big heaping helping after which they proceeded through their day with a smug little grin. Now vulture mad.

Wow.

That was a terrible analogy. Or a hysterical one. I'm not sure yet.

But I hated how happy people were after reading the next book. And then all
I
kept
seeing
was
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO. SIXTY-TWO. OMAFDFKPL SIXTY-TWO.

And DAMMIT. This made me EVEN MORE MAD.

But, oh-ho, I so get it now. In fact, I'm going to piss you people off who haven't read it.

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO, MOTHATUCKHERINTOBED.

But, LEGIT THO I loved all the other bits of this second sequel. It gave me Juliette's transition, or lack thereof, after we left her in Shatter Me. How's homegirl doing, I wondered. Is she a superhero now? Are there tights?

Of course I had forgotten there were already tights involved. But I'm down.

I loved that Juliette was still scared and silent and unsure of where she belonged. And even as she became more and more aware of her need to FIGHT the bad people, she didn't lose that insecurity all together. Instead, she began accepting it as part of her and learning to control it. Because we're human and we got flaws and shit and Juliette knows this.

Even more importantly? I got to know Kenji. Like, seriously got to know him, and I GET IT. I get people's obsession with him. Hell, I get MY obsession with him. Can I be invited to his birthday party now?

AND I MEAN IT. I LOVE HIM TOO, BOO-BOO.

And doubly important? WARNER. Peanut butter Juliette and Warner time.

Man, I can't *places hand on forehead*. I simply cannot. You know, it was fun when it was just hormones and sappy feelings between Adam and Juliette. But all this deep stuff between Warner and Juliette? I'm not equipped for the level-spike in my emotions.

"This blond boy has my secrets in his mouth."

And I loved that he did. I love that it was HIM who understood her, how deep her hate and fears and darkness went and how he loved her for her light but he never wanted her to forget that she was more than a sweet, timid girl. I loved how he pushed her and expected her to take it.

If I could GIVE YOU all of the amazing quotes that are in Unravel Me I'd either be sued or burned at the stake. So I'd rather you read it and tell me I'm wrong.

Tell me you don't feel adoration for this kind monster-girl. The one everybody hates. The one everybody fears. The one meant for so much more than she realizes. And the boys that touch her soul and other parts hahaha. And the thoughts she doesn't want us to know but we see anyway. The friends she makes and the power she wields beside them.

I CAN'T.

I unregretfully stare at my alarm clock because though it says 4:00am, I don't care. It is worth every single second of pain that I feel in waking later on until soy-vanilla-chai-frappy goodness hits my system.

It's just plain worth everything you've got. Anything you have to give to read it.

rating: 4 stars