Unravel Me

I'm sorry, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. Ok, I'm not really sorry. Maybe there's something about the middle book in a rather ridiculous series, but at that point you just realize you've got to let go. Good world building? Pfft who needs it? Realistically behaving characters? Whatever. Just go with it.The characters and their behavior still are so over the top, they behave like cartoon. And that's essentially how I learned to look at it – like it was an anime, with emotional speed lines and everything. Adam is a drama queen, Kenji is the joker, and between everyone else Juliette is actually not that bad, aside from her occasional bouts of self-pity and self-hatred, which I came to understand a little better. They were still somewhat boring, but I could deal.I've always liked Mafi's writing style, even if [b:Shatter Me 10429045 Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1) Tahereh Mafi http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1310649047s/10429045.jpg 15333458] was mind-boggling. [b:Destroy Me 13623150 Destroy Me (Shatter Me, #1.5) Tahereh Mafi http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1340398466s/13623150.jpg 19226840] was beautiful though, so I know that she knows how to write, it's just that some of her experiments miss the mark. I would rather have a writer that's willing to take risks and occasionally falls on their face, rather than someone who sticks with something bland and safe. In any case, she's way more on point here, the more extreme prose is reserved for the more heightened emotional moments, and they're well timed and paced. The dialogue is where it's at though. I think even Mafi is aware of the ridiculous way her characters talk, since she has Kenji occasionally make some snide comments. I came to take it as a part of the heightened reality of the story.Because I do love how Warner talks. He chews scenery better than a lawnmower in a library. And his angst and pain is delicious. I could read about that boy getting his atrophied little heart broken for years. He solidifies for me what this story is supposed to be - a fantasy of a fantasy, a romantic stylized apocalypse. His beauty and physical perfection against his rotten soul and unbridled angst perfectly matches the dystopian landscape, and Juliette's own situation. I'm not going to try to convince anyone that Warner/Juliette is Mafi's endgame, even with the revealing of Book 3's title. I think what it means instead is that Warner is essential to Juliette's progress as a character. This book ends with Juliette coming back from the dead and suddenly deciding on what she needs to do and who she needs to be. She wakes up not only strong, but ferocious. And she does this while lying next to Warner in his childhood bed.I think Warner empowers Juliette. I think when she looks at him she doesn't see someone she can rely on, she sees someone who needs her, someone she has to save from the dragon. When she witnesses how horribly Warner is treated by his father, she flies into a rage, and nearly tortures the man to death. Warner is her damsel, and because she believes she's hurt so many, she jumps at the chance to protect. The two of them have experienced the same kind of pain in their lives, but Warner made all the wrong decisions, and Juliette has the potential to make the right ones. This story hinges on their relationship, whether it's romantic or not. Though, Imma be real, as a pair, the world would freaking tremble before them.Honestly, not a lot happens in this book. Juliette learns more about her abilities, a few very fairly obvious plot points are revealed (I mean, was anyone that surprised about Warner and Adam being brothers?), people talk about their feelings, and there's a whole lot of making out and heavy petting. It's emotion and dialogue heavy, in fact some of the more dramatic action-oriented moments are a bit dull. I've given much better books four stars in the past, but whatever, this isn't amazing on a technical level, but if you invest yourself and don't think too much it's a great ride. I'm hoping in the last book that we step away from the The Resistance and Omega Point. I don't want Juliette or Warner (or Adam, even) to belong to any movement, I want them to be the movement. Juliette is an entity in and of herself and if she embraces that, she'll be unstoppable. I think the same goes for her creator.