May 21, 2013

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi

Publisher: HarperTEEN

Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Overall: 5/5

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

My Review:

*WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!*

I was speechless the moment I finished reading ShatterMe. I truly enjoyed everything about this novel. Juliette was so broken; however, she had this beautiful poetry, running within the first few pages. I know that wasn’t the objective of the novel, but I feel like it’s worth mentioning because the beginning was absolutely haunting. I loved Juliette’s growth throughout Shatter Me. I know it’s the first installment in the series, but from start to finish, she grew as a person and came out stronger for it. I never felt that she faltered; she was constantly pushing herself to move forward, and always reminding herself of who she was. She never forgot. I loved that Juliette was aware that Warner was trying to buy her off with nice things; and she made sure that he knew it wouldn’t work.

Adam was another character that I really loved. Although I felt betrayed by him, as Juliette did, I felt like he did his best of trying to take care of her. He got her away from that terrible place, which is good because it was killing her. I was so gratified when it turned out that Adam was on her side. That, in turn, leads me to Warner. Oh Warner, what am I going to do with you?! I loved his blunt sense of honesty. I know that he was the villain in this novel; however, I feel like we haven’t seen Warner’s true depths just yet. We’ve seen the crazy, stalker guy and the power hungry man, but we definitely haven’t learned why he is the way he is. I’m dying to know what Warner’s childhood trauma is which should be revealed within the novella, Destroy Me. I believe that he could end up being the most redeemable character because he has the farthest to go. In the end, I was very glad that Juliette that chose to stay true to herself, although I do feel like this new place isn’t as great as it’s making out be. Past dystopian fiction has taught me that nothing is ever as it seems, and that no place is Utopia. I can’t wait to move on to read the next installment in the series, Unravel Me!