Mundie Moms

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Book Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi


Published by: Harper Teen
To Be Released on: November 15th, 2011
Source: ARC from publisher to review
5 stars- An Incredibly Addicting Debut
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

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. -quoted from Goodreads

This is an incredible, breathtaking debut set in a dystopian world and given a fabulous paranormal twist. Tahereh's story telling is utterly intoxicating, and if I wasn't a paranormal/dystopian fan before reading this I would have fallen head over heals in love with it after reading it. Tahereh lured me into her story with each descriptive, beautiful word that she uses to bring Juliette's story to life. Her writing is spellbinding, and completely captivating as each word she uses brings so much life, beauty and emotion to a story who's world is often times void of all that. I was completely addicted to the story and I wanted more of it!

Juliette is a powerful girl who sees beauty among a world of darkness. She's the spark that ignites hope, as she learns to embrace who she is, and what she can do. She's also someone who's completely on edge, and really I can't blame her for that. She's spent years dealing with the guilt that her ability killed someone, has grown up unable to touch anyone or have anyone touch her and the last 264 days isolation. Her resilience and defiant stubborn streak is what's kept her going. She's strong, yet broken, and so easy to connect with. I felt like I understood her, as I felt her fears, confusion, hurt, triumph, happiness and resolution. I admired and felt like I was there with her through everything she experienced.

The romance in this story is so well drawn out and I LOVED the way Adam and Juliette connected with each other, or re-connected I should say. I was so caught up in what was going on with them and around them, that at times I was confused as Juliette was on what Adam's true intentions were, but when she finally learns what they are, the sparks fly and boy do they have an electrifying chemistry! I really feel in love with Adam's character. He has made my list of fabulous fictional characters everyone needs to meet. I can't even begin to list the things I love about him without giving away spoilers. Together Juliette and Adam are a source of hope, strength and give each other a purpose to carry on. I swear I was so caught up in everything that was going on, that I couldn't help reading their scenes without a huge smile on my face.

Shatter Me's world is fascinating. It's set in the future and so dark and bleak, and is ruled by fear. The section the Juliette is in is run by Warner, a power hungry, broken boy who's completely caught up in his agenda and desires that he misses the bigger picture. He rules with fear, and doesn't think twice before using deadly force, which is one of the reasons why Juliette is the object of his unwanted desire. He's written in such a great way that I at times couldn't help but be sympathetic towards him. I understood his need to want Juliette to embrace a different side of herself. The ironic thing is Juliette is the one that's deemed on edge, but clearly when you meet Warner you see how unstable and on edge he is. He's one fabulously written bad boy.

One of the things I enjoyed about Shatter Me was the surprises and the constant little plot twists that kept me so engaged with the story. Just as I thought I knew what was going to happen next, Tahereh throws in a new exciting surprises. This is an exciting, thrilling read with romance, action and a writing style that's truly mesmerizing. I can not wait to dive back into this world when Shatter Me's sequel is released, and I'm so excited that film rights have already been optioned by 20th Century Fox! This is one debut I highly recommend picking up!


Visit Tahereh's site to read the 1st chapter HERE

11 comments:

  1. Oh glad you liked it! I also liked how Juliette was written. Unstable and unsure of anything. Fab review! :)

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

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  2. I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! Her writing is sooooo pretty. Great review.

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  3. I'm a little bit obsessed with this book at this point. I am just so impressed by what I've read about it, that I've become a physical manifestation of the hype. The 15th, why must you be so EFFING far away?

    - Asher (from Paranormal Indulgence)

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  4. Giselle- Thank you so much! Juliette is such a unique character. I loved how strong she is and yet she's unstable at the same time. She's a fascinating character.

    Melina- I do too!! The writing is absolutely amazing! I'm so glad you loved it too!

    A. Knight- I can relate! I was totally obsessed with it. It lives up to all the hype!

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  5. This one is on our way to us and we couldn't be more excited!

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  6. We Heart YA- I'm excited for you guys to read it! I think you'll really enjoy it.

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  7. So glad you liked it so much. I just bought it and am waiting for it to be delivered.

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  8. Natalie- I can't wait to hear what you think about it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

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  9. Sounds like you absolutely loved this one! I'm so glad! I've been looking forward to reading this one since I first heard about it!

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  10. Natalie- It is such an amazing read. I was not excepting to get so caught up in the story, the way I did. I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it. I hope you enjoy it!

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  11. I'm so glad you enjoyed this! I loved it more than I can say. Awesome review :)

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