Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi Book Review

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: November 15, 2011
338 pages, Shatter Me #1
Rating: 4 stars
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“I spent my life folded between the pages of books.
In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.” 
― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me

Synopsis
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)

My Thoughts
Wow! Shatter Me was a steamy read! I have to say that for a girl that isn't supposed to be touching anyone, she is touched and touches others a lot in this book. But I'm not complaining. It wasn't overdone or anything, and I really enjoyed the romantic aspect of this book, which is a strong part of it. Actually, it is pretty much all romance.

I feel the crossing out of words in the beginning really worked to convey Juliette's scattered mind. She must be messed up after such a traumatic life and imprisonment. The crossed out words didn't distract me, and I like how all of the hurtful thoughts, the ones that cause her pain to think about, are the ones crossed out. And also the crossed out words decrease as the book continues and she is finally allowed to live a life. I feel her thought process was well-written and very poetic. I loved the imagery Mafi used, and how Juliette's dream of the bird flying away represented her desire for freedom.

I loved the premise because I feel like living sustainably is a big concern of the present. We all worry that our future could turn out grim, even if it doesn't turn out exactly like this. It was an interesting perspective and convincing. It wasn't too over the top.

I really liked Adam and Juliette. I actually had a lot of respect for the heroine. She was a strong character and while she was beautiful, she wasn't vain. In fact, she didn't even realize she was beautiful. Adam and her were really good together, and I like how they brought out the best in each other. Adam was very sweet and such a good guy, and Juliette has morals, but she does what she needs to do in certain situations. She can be a fighter and fierce when necessary.

There wasn't a lot of action in this book. Most of the beginning was spent in the army headquarters. While it wasn't boring, not much happened outside of the kindling romance and Warner's spiraling insanity. I think I would have liked more description of the compounds and maybe a larger view of the world. A lot of the book was closed off in locked rooms and hideaways. Maybe I'll get a larger perspective of the world in the next book.

I kind of felt sorry for Warner. Okay, yeah he's got a screw loose. I was intrigued by Juliette's attraction to him. But there's no competition between Adam and Warner. Adam all the way. Warner's just a little too much of a wannabe Hitler.

I will definitely read the next book because I loved this one. I could not put it down and enjoyed every page. I can't wait!

Happy reading,

Courtney