Unraveller: The must-read fantasy from Costa-Award winning author Frances Hardinge

Reviews

Hayley Westwood

-'𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. )-Unraveller is a book brimming with magic, mystery, beauty, and hidden dangers. Kellen has the ability to unravel curses that have been laid on people, and he sees this as his life's calling - it's how he met his sidekick and best friend Nettle after all, by unravelling her curse. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨, 𝙞𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.

-'𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛--''𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. -𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤, 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩? Even with smaller characters, who we might only see for a fraction of the story, it feels as though they are continuing to live off the page and outside of the part of their story that we see. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙨𝙝-𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙨, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙩, 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨.

Nettle and Kellen both have their own hidden depths too, and while Kellen can 'see' curses and is able to pick them apart and unravel them, Nettle can see to the heart of who people really are, and hear things that are left unsaid. A treaty exists between the human world and the Wilds, that allows for coexistence and tolerance, though not always harmony.

𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙. Hardinge transports you to the marshlands of the Wilds, and the elaborate world of the Chancery, leaving the reader feeling fully immersed in the settings and environments that she depicts. She depicts her characters with such wonderful detail of 𝘸𝘩𝘰 they are, so you get a feel for them as a person, as well as what they look like. (𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙨, 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙠, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙.

-I adored Unraveller so much that's it hard to even know where to start with my review, so strap in because this is a long one! In this way the macrocosm and microcosm of the story are perfectly balanced.