Good morning! With the release of Unravel officially less than a week away, it is time to bring on the hype train. Today on the blog we are handing over the reins to author Amelia Loken for a curated playlist and Loken Home Productions book trailer to whet your appetite for this epic YA fantasy!
Unravel Book Trailer & Playlist Presented by Amelia Loken
An Unravel Playlist
I Dare You- Bea Miller
I placed Bea Miller’s I DARE YOU at the top of my playlist, because this is the emotion that Marguerite grows into. The opening lyrics tell us where she is at the beginning of Chapter One:
I can remember
A time when I was so afraid
When even my shadow
Wouldn’t follow me
But, of course, by the end of Chapter One, she’s made decisions that are irreversible. She’s taken a stand and she’s invested in someone else’s safety, which overrides her need for security and secrecy.
The chorus zeros in on a series of scenes at about the 75% mark when Marguerite has fully stood up to her uncle and suffered dire consequences.
Put me in a cage
Lock me in a room
Throw away the key
I dare you
There’s also an important line where she says:
‘Cause I’m worth fighting for.
I think we each must get to that point before we are ready to push back – whether its against bullying, discrimination, demeaning treatment, or abuse. Then, we can evolve into the self who says:
But now I’m standing straight
And know exactly who I am
This is an important part of Marguerite’s transformation. She steps into her three major identities. There’s a point at the ends where she states exactly who she is – and extended version of:
Deaf. Princess. Witch
It gives me chills every time I read it. (And I wrote it!)
Tightrope- The Score
TIGHTROPE by The Score was a lucky find. It’s a perfect match for Tys. There is a pivotal, romantic series of scenes in the middle of the book in which Tys and Marguerite sneak out for what we would call a date. Things don’t go exactly as planned and Tys ends up performing on a tightrope. It’s something he is extremely good at, and Marguerite enjoys the spectacle, until she ends up there with him. It could go all sorts of wrong, but in trusting Tys, Marguerite realizes the depth of her yearning for this boy she cannot, should not pursue.
This song seems like it is straight from Tys:
I can’t be everything that you want me to
Fill my mind up with silly dreams is all I seem to do
And people look like they’re specks of dust when you’re
This high off the ground
I’ll do my best not to let you down
So feet don’t let me down
I’m walking the tightrope
I am walking it for you
I am living on high hopes
Now they’re, now they’re crashing through
So I hold my breath and close my eyes
I grab my heart when I realize
I am walking the tightrope for you
RED- Taylor Swift
I have to include Taylor Swift’s RED in here too, because unfortunately Marguerite and Tys’ love story is not a smooth one. There is a break-up and neither is left happy about it. So, without sharing spoilers, here’s Marguerite’s perspective:
Loving him is like trying to change your mind
Once you’re already flying through free fall
Like the colors in autumn, so bright,
Just before they lose it all
Losing him was blue like I’d never known
Missing him was dark gray, all alone
Forgetting him was like tryin’ to know somebody you never met
But loving him was red.
Stitches- Shawn Mendes
Tys, of course, has his own perspective on this pivotal heartbreak, and I thought the lyrics of STITCHES by Shawn Mendes fit perfectly (especially with Marguerite being a Skeinwitch).
I thought that I’d been hurt before
But no one’s ever left me quite this sore
Your words cut deeper than a knife
Now I need someone to breathe me back to life
. . .
Now that I’m without your kisses
I’ll be needing stitches
. . .
Needle and the thread
Gotta get you out of my head
Needle and the thread
Gonna wind up dead
Ah, poor Tys.
Invisible Thread- Matt Gould & Griffin Matthews
Speaking of thread, I found INVISIBLE THREAD by Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews that had such beautiful imagery, I had to add it to my playlist:
There is a long invisible thread
That wraps around my heart
And wraps around your head
It tightens its grip
When things go unsaid
And I can’t break free
Going Down Fighting- Phlotilla
Another song I chose is GOING DOWN FIGHTING by Phlotilla. Marguerite never does any hand-to-hand fighting in UNRAVEL, but she is struggling against her powerful, abusive uncle in every chapter of this book. Sometimes her version of winning is staying invisible. Sometimes winning means getting better at her craft. Sometimes it means trusting herself. Sometimes it’s trusting Tys. Most of the time, it means planning and waiting, storing up knowledge and energy, for the moment when she can move. This slow-moving song builds from almost silence to a percussive triumph. It made me think of Marguerite’s victory that is won inch by inch over the course of 300 + pages.
If it’s the end of the world, I’m going down fighting
With my finger on the trigger
I know I gave it a shot
If it’s the end of it all
God knows I’m trying
‘Cause this world is all that we got
. . .
If the city is on fire, I’ll stand in the ashes
There’s no turning back
It’s ready or not
So I fall on my knees and pray for the masses
‘Cause this world is all that we got
. . .
I’m going down fighting
I’m going down fighting
With my fist to the wall like a cannon ball
I’m gonna take ‘em all out
. . .
I will run, I will crawl, I will take ‘em all
Going down,
Going down fighting
My wish for every reader is that whatever you’re fighting against, you will have the strength to endure, the patience to wait for your victory, and the hope that you WILL triumph and that you will be queen of the realm you are trying to save. As Bea Miller’s song said at the beginning of the playlist:
[You are] worth fighting for
That is my wish for you.
Unravel releases February 15th. You can request it on NetGalley now!
