Review: Juniper Unraveling by Keri Lake

Juniper Unraveling

by Keri Lake

Release date: October 31, 2017

About the book:

Papa says everyone has a story that deserves to be told. 

Most begin years ago, after the second bomb hit, unearthing a deadly contagion that divided the population into the pure, the infected, and the Ragers. 

Many recount the moment we rose up from the ashes and started anew.

Others tell of the day we built a wall to keep them out.

For some, they’re nothing more than the vestiges left behind—a simple name carved into the knotty bark of a Juniper tree.

My story begins with a boy. A mute, from the other side of the wall, known only as Six, who touched my heart in ways that words never could, and gave me the courage to face my darkest truth.




My Review:

2.5 stars

**

 This book was not very good for me. This is a dystopian book that takes place sometime in the future after a deadly disease was unleashed on the country, causing those exposed to be turned into zombie-like creatures called Ragers. The story is told in two parts, with the first half of the book in alternating POVs of two teenage girls. We don't know who the hero and heroine of the story are until much later in the book. I can't really give away very much of the story beyond that without spoiling it.

I really struggled to like this book. It took me a long time to get into it. Over half of the book was very slow moving and I considering DNFing multiple times. The first part of the book was slow moving and, because it was told in the POV of teenagers, it felt very YA. The second half was faster paced and more exciting. I wish that it had all been told in the present. The story in the book had potential, but I felt like there were many plot holes. I felt like the book had parts of many different other dystopian novels. There is a man named after a number (Hello Four from Divergent), haves and have-nots (I'm looking at you the Capital in Hunger Games), etc. There were a lot of cliches and cheap gimmicks. I didn't particularly like any of the characters or feel a connection between them. The romance did not grab me at all, especially because one of the characters did not speak for much of the book.  I didn't feel any of the emotions that the characters were feeling. So much of the book was depressing, grizzly and gory. There was no resolution in sight until the very end of the book when everything was wrapped up quickly and a little too nicely. 

Overall, this book was not really what I was expecting and I was disappointed. I am probably in the minority though as other reviewers have enjoyed it. So if you like dystopian books, try this one and decide for yourself!