Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Series: Shatter Me, #1
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: November 15th, 2011
Edition: Hardcover
Rating:
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.
In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.
My Review:
Shatter Me isn’t your typical dystopian. Sure, you’ve got a screwed up world where everything has gone to shite. But it doesn’t end there. This dystopian breaks out of the typical mold, because we learn something very cool and special about this world and some of the people in it at the end of the book. Of course, you’ll have to read it to know what I’m talking about though.
But what I can tell you is that this is one book that’s tough to put down. I really enjoyed it and I really loved where the storyline ended up. It’s fast-paced once you get about halfway through the book. Before that, it’s pretty interesting still. There were times where I wasn’t sure where the plot was going, if anywhere, but once that halfway point hit, those questions were out the door.
As for the characters, I liked both Juliette and Adam. I feel like we didn’t get to know either of them that well though. Juliette has somewhat of a shallow background that doesn’t give much room for diving into. But what I did like about her was the way she held herself and how she showed us more about who she is through her actions. She’s what you could call a pretty gorgeous girl, yet she’s one of those people that doesn’t realize it either. So she’s not shallow by any means, and she’s loyal to those who are loyal to her. Now Adam I found to be extremely yummy. BUT, I want to know more about him! We hardly really get to know more about the real Adam and his past. Hopefully that will change in the future books, but that was one thing I didn’t like.
One thing I did really like about this book (other than the ending of course) is the sexual tension between Adam and Juliette. In most young adult books, you really don’t get it as heavy you do in Shatter Me, but I like that! That’s a big part of being human (and a teen to boot). Especially being a teen in a world where you’re deprived of physical connection. It worked for the story and the world, and it was fun to read!
Overall, this was a great book. It did have some points where it was falling a little short. But they’re easy to look past given the story, and how it ended. That was where I really really started liking this book. I know that sounds dumb, but it’s true. While the rest of the book was good, where the author took it was a place I did not expect at all, and for that reason I’m super excited for the future books!
Teen X-men say what!
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