 Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi Paperback, First Edition, 338 pages Published October 2nd 2012 by HarperCollins 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. So What Are My Thoughts? I honestly can say that I don't think that I have read another book quite like Shatter Me by Tahareh Mafi. The books whose sole concept is that the main character cannot be touched isn't new. For instance Rouge from Xman can't touch people or she steals their powers, memories, or physical strength. But I can't say that I have ever read anything like what Mafi created, where if you touched a person's skin, you felt excruciating pain and could die.
Mafi does a terrific job of building up what are some already high stakes for our character Juliet. Juliet's parents put her in an asylum because they didn't know how to fix her. But now, over a year later, she has become what she has always wanted. But, it is not anything like what she hoped for. Juliet longs to feel like she belongs, like someone wants her, and loves her. And Warner wants her. But not quite Juliet. He wants the powers she possesses. He wants to use them to torture those around him to do his bidding. He wants to control her, and the gruesome possibilities her powers hold. And Juliet is determined to fight, to starve herself, to do whatever she can so that Warner can't control her. But then she discovers a friend, a person who can touch her, who does love her and sees the good in her. Adam see's Juliet. That is Shatter Me. Mafi creates believable scenarios and fleshes out each character and their flaws so well. Warner seem's very nazi like to me; obsessed with running tests on his subject, abuse of power, and obsession to a borderline mania for the sake of a cause. While Juliet is clearly dealing with some sort of PTSD/ anxiety disorder due to the hell, she went through as a child. Her lyric, dynamic prose was mesmorizing, and inventive I feel like my writing is 100x subpar to hers. I don't think I can recommend this book enough. It more than earned its 5-star rating. I mean I read the last 150 pages in one day! This is definitely a 5-star book and one of my faves for the year. Find me on the interwebs https://nanowrimo.org/participants/ladykate100/novels/wip-1233502 Twitter @Scripturienting IG: @authorkatelyncostello Facebook: The Scripturient 101 Youtube: The Scripturient 101 www.katelyncostello.weebly.com https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/53086148-katelyn-costello https://campnanowrimo.org/campers/ladykate100
1 Comment
12/4/2018 05:03:50 am
This is the very first time I have heard the name Tahereh Mafi. I did not know that she has published a lot of books already, but I am so proud if she did. As always, I am happy to see a new author making a name for themselves. "Shatter Me" might have a new genre and might not still be familiar for a lot of people. But if the author is eager enough to promote her book, nothing is impossible. She just needs to start from the bottom and she will reach it! Leave a Reply. |
Katelyn CostelloA lover of words, reading and writing. Archives
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