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Thursday, December 8, 2011

Book Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi



Series: Shatter Me, #1
Genre: YA paranormal dystopian
Publication Date: November 15, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 338
Source: Purchased

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. (Goodreads.com)



This book is crazy. Absolutely freaking crazy in the best kind of way. This book has everything you could ask for: poignant writing, overflowing tension, and a stunning romance. I know there is a lot of hype surrounding this book, and while it was not as perfect as everyone says (at least, to me it isn't) it is definitely worth the read.

The writing style took a little while to adjust to. It was written in stream of consciousness, so it's a little frantic. A lack of commas, crazy metaphors. But after I got accustomed to it, the writing made the tension in this book more pronounced. It's unique and allowed me to imagine everything very vividly. Especially the fight scenes.

The plot for this book was pretty original. It's a dystopian, but it has paranormal aspects. Juliette is unable to touch anyone, and it's pretty obvious that her touch is dangerous, but it's sort of a mystery why she ended up in a cell, what she did that was so horrible. Once again, you get the gist, but once you figure out the truth, it's more shocking than you could have ever guessed. This book was incredibly intense. That, in my opinion, was the best part. Mafi did a fabulous job of piling on the Bad Times without making it seem overwhelming. She created a very good rise and fall. The book is full of nail-biting action. I also love that there is more than just one person who is immune to her touch, but I won't tell you who they are!

Juliette was really good. It was almost frustrating. But I liked her. And I pitied her. 3 years without human contact? No thanks! Adam was damn sexy. I loooooved him! And I both love and hate how his motives are questionable throughout the first half of the novel. Then there are the other characters like Kenji, who is hilarious. He added a rough sort of humor to a book where all the words and prose are elegant and beautiful. And finally, Warner. HOLY POO. That dude is messed up in so many ways. He makes an excellent villain, but something tells me he was picked on a lot when he was a wittle bitty child. Dude gave me the chills.

I found certain aspects of the romance a little unconvincing, but it wasn't necessarily instalove. It was just that fact that they knew each other beforehand and that they were already in love...it's sort of weird and kind of comes out of nowhere. Aside from that, though, their romance was very steamy and adorable! And it makes sense that Juliette is filled with so much desire, even at the most ridiculous times. Technically, she has lived almost all of her life without touching another person. People were always afraid of her. Now, she's wanted and desired. I can definitely understand why she would want Adam to be touching her at all times.

I loved the ending! It indicated that there was so much to come in the next book. I can tell that lots of answers will be revealed and lots of action will ensue. I wish it came out yesterday.

This book was superbly awesome! I can't get over all the wonderful action and tense scenes. I'm so glad I have it on my shelf because I'm pretty sure I'm going to go back to it multiple times and re-read it for its awesomeness....and force all of my friends to read it.

And check out the AMAZING trailer. This is what made me REALLLLY want to read it.


2 comments:

  1. Aww I love this book! Great review and look at that trailer!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I absolutely loved this book! I felt like the writing was very poetic. Great review! :)
    sarabara081

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment on my blog! I love to hear from my readers, whether they agree or disagree with my opinion :) I do my best to get back to every commenter, though I am not always successful. Heh...Anyway, I look forward to hearing what you have to say! :D

~ Gabbi