Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Posted 14 January, 2012 by Nikki Wang in 2011, Book Review, Favorites, Series Start / 4 Comments

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Shatter Me by Tahereh MafiShatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Series: Shatter Me #1
Published by HarperCollins on November 15, 2011
Genres: Dystopian, Love & Romance, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 368

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.
This story, called the “New Hunger Games”, is absolutely amazing. Never once has a heroine been so deadly without meaning. Juliette, a scared, vulnerable, yet deadly girl who has been dragged from her family without her consent at the will of her parents, of all people. What she did was hard on her too. And yet she’s thrown into a prison for something she regrets doing every day. She vehemently refuses to touch anyone for fear of doing what she did so long ago. I loved her.Ms. Mafi writes in a way that makes you aching for more addicted to the story, she also lets you actually feel Juliette’s conflict in herself. Like writing a journal, the book has some words crossed out to add more of a…pull you could say. It made me shake my head thinking “She’s trying to ignore all this.” But I could see why she would feel that way. She’s scared. She’s not exactly weak, just scared. Scared of hurting someone she loves. Scared of hurting anyone, really. So when she finds out that there’s one person she can touch without hurting, she’s wary. Why can she touch that person and no one else? I’m sure that question ran through many readers’ heads when they found out.For a while, the action got a bit slow, but what happened next made up for it. Who would’ve guessed the ending? I’m sure some people have, but I was expecting something completely different. Not that it matters *hastily waves you off* Anyways, this has to be one of the most depressing and wonderful dystoian romances ever! Next to Delirium, Across the Universe, and Wither of course. *winks* I honestly think that this will turn into a Bestseller if you just give it some time. It certainly has the potential, and when the sequel comes out, people are bound to notice it! And then there’ll be me, the little helper to push it along.

This should have been in the beginning of this rather short review, but I’ll just put it here: This story is about a girl who faces impossiblilities, who suffers under guilt and fear. It has romance, but it certainly doesn’t revolve around the blossoming love like some. It’s about standing up to be who she wants, not being called a monster, facing the world when all odds are against her.

 

4.5 Stars

Nikki Wang

4 Responses to “Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi”

  1. Shatter Me is one of my all time favorite books. Ever. And it makes me so happy when other people love it, too! Thanks for a great review!

    Reply
  2. I’ve been hearing seeing a lot of reviews about this book for a while now, but I’ve never read one until now. It sounds really interesting, I’m definitely going to have to read it!
    Great review!
    New follower!(:

    Reply

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