Ignite me

In this dystopian trilogy, Juliette (Shatter Me; Unravel Me) navigates her competing loyalties to Warner and Adam, on different sides of a rebellion, in order to destroy The Reestablishment. Juliette's transformation, from a helpless victim of her own supernatural powers to an invincible leader, provides a strong story line, but it's undercut by her dependence on male companions for support, love, and insight. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Fighting an oppressive regime is an afterthought in this conclusion to Mafi's romantic trilogy. Unravel Me (2013) left the resistance thoroughly trounced. Juliette's barely escaped death at the hands of Warner's father, and she's rescued and hidden by Warner on the base. In a refrain familiar to the series' readers, Juliette again vows to fight back, for real this time, and to destroy the Reestablishment. But first, she must romance Warner and find out what's become of her Omega Point friends. Romancing Warner is easy: Warner's early, frequent, lengthy monologues explain how Juliette misinterpreted nearly every villainous thing Warner has ever done. It's even easier after Juliette reunites with the Omega Point survivors, finds Adam and gets a taste of his new, jerk personality. Broad strokesWarner: good, Adam: baddestroy any complexity, mystery or tension in the love triangle. Many of the most interesting and difficult moments, such as a conversation between Adam and Warner about their parentage, are glossed over in favor of the repetitive sharing of emotions. A high page count gives the novel physical if not psychological weight and includes such padding as Juliette's lengthy musings on a bar of soap. After all this, the end is all too easy, for characters anyway. Well, most people are probably reading these books for Warner anyway. (Science fiction. 12 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.