"Shatter Me" Review

Series: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Format: Paperback

Publisher: HarperCollins (October 2, 2012)

Page Count: 368

My Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis: I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

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.

      At first, I didn't want to read this book. But then Whitney from Whitty Novels raves about the "Shatter Me" series all the time so I decided, why not give it a go. Oh my gosh, so worth it. This book is fantastic. Tahereh Mafi creates an realistic and very believable dystopian society. A key theme throughout the book is the act of everything "shattering" and the world feeling like ice. Tahereh beautifully crafts these elements into the story in a way that really grasps your attention. Not only is the story building on point, but the writing style is beautiful. She uses similes and metaphors to beautifully convey everything. My one little problem is that she doesn't write out her numbers, but I guess that is my inner AP Language student freaking out. Man has basically messed up the Earth so much that this group called The Reestablishment is trying to fix it. Well they find this girl, Juliette who's been locked up in an asylum for awhile and who's touch can kill and they want to use her. Juliet is a character I feel really connected to. She's shy and loves to read just like me, however, when the going gets rough, she becomes a tough badass. While her love for Adam is great, I just a little hard to believe they have both loved each other so much since they were little. Then we have Warner... I have conflicted feelings about Warner. I enjoy his character and the sexy evilness he brings to the story, but goddamn he is one crazy mofo. Seriously, his obsession with Juliet is out of this world. I absolutely loved James, and Winston and Kinji. They are funny and refreshing comedic relief. Omega Point seems like it is going to be an interesting new setting.
SPOILERS   
      So when Adam first came into the picture, I thought he was a huge douchebag the way he treated Juliet, though we later learn he did that on purpose, which I can forgive him for. And when I found him and Juliet could touch I was mindblown and so happy. When I found out Juliet and Warner could touch, I was scared for her, yet excited. My feelings for those two are complicated. When they kissed, I was happy yet at the same time I was disgusted... I don't know who to ship.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
"Raindrops are the only reminder that clouds have a heartbeat. That I have one, too."

     Overall, I enjoyed this book so much, it is definitely one of my favorites from this year, and I can't wait to continue reading this series.