Review: Shatter Me

Title: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Series: Shatter Me #1

Release Date: November 15^th, 2011

Number of Pages: 346

Publisher: Harper

Source: Bought

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.

I was a little scared to read this book, as I had heard so many amazing readers sharing their love for this book and praising its amazingness. I was a little terrified that all the hype would give me higher expectations and will result in this book letting me down. The first few pages left me unsure if I would like it, simply because of the format. I’m not a big fan of this. After two or three chapters, I didn’t realize that she used that anymore.

Tahereh Mafi took a big risk with this book, but it was well executed. Juliette was an amazing character. She was strong and believable. She grows as a character and her evolution is believable. She doesn’t change within a day, but it happens slowly as she learns more about the reality of the world she’s in. I liked how her relation with Adam grows. Nothing feels too rush between both of them. Of course, I can’t forget about the amazing Adam. Wow. I absolutely adore him. I wasn’t always sure what he was thinking through the first chapters of the book, but the more we learn about him, the more amazing we discover he is.

Shatter Me is a dystopian novel, but I have to say that I wouldn’t be that comfortable describing the world the story is set precisely. That’s probably the only thing that I felt was missing. I just wish we could have learn more about what was really going on outside the direct environment of Juliette, but it will probably be presented in the next book, as Juliette will learn more about what is really happening in the world. She, after all, had been locked up for a while.

Tahereh Mafi’s writing was different, but I really enjoyed it. She’s taking some risks and it ‘s paying in my opinion. It may annoy the readers that are a little more purist about the format a novel should be in, but those ready to open their mind to something different will be nicely pleased.  I’m really happy to have finally had time to read this book, one I have devoured in only a couple of hours. A book I would highly recommend.