Shatter Me: A Journey of Strength and Rebellion Against a Dictatorship Paperback – January 9, 2018

I finally did it, I finally read Shatter Me.This book has been on my radar for a long, long time, but I've never had the chance to read it, until now. I'd seen the cover of the books and I was intrigued, but I never actually read the description of the book before reading it, so I was going into it completely blind. I didn't know what to expect, not from the story or the writing style or anything, beyond what I had heard, which wasn't that much.“I have a curse.I HAVE A GIFT.I'm a monster.I'M MORE THAN HUMAN.My touch is lethal.MY TOUCH IS POWER.I am their weapon.I WILL FIGHT BACK.”Shatter Me is the first book in the series by Tahereh Mafi, which welcomes you to a destroyed world governed by those who call themselves The Reestablishment, who've taken everything from the people, who want to control everything and everyone and submit them to their rules. In this dystopian story we found ourselves in a world where hope is almost entirely gone, where people live in fear, with nothing but what they're given, which isn't much. Juliette is one of those who've lost everything, but not because of them, The Reestablishment. She lost everything the moment her parents gave her away, locked her into an insane asylum and forgot all about her. Their reasons? She's a monster, an abomination. She killed someone. With her bare skin. Now, after spending 264 days locked away, completely alone, she's forced to share her room with a boy. Not any boy, but one she remembers from her childhood. One she's dreamt of all her life. Should she trust him? Should she be scared of him? Does he remember her? Now Juliette has to make some decisions. Follow him and see where he takes her, risk her life and his too, or stay where she is, and be the weapon agains the remaining hope some expect her to be.“Raindrops are my only reminder that clouds have a heartbeat. That I have one, too.”Now, here I am, writing my review. This book is something entirely different from what I've read before, not because of the story itself, but because of the writing style. I have to admit, it felt a little weird at first, because it was so different from the way authors usually write, but the more I read, the more comfortable I got around it. I started feeling like I was reading somebody's, Juliette's, diary, like I was reading her deepest thoughts and secrets, and I realized that's how someone's words would normally sound when they're describing something. With pauses. With metaphors. With questions, doubts. And let's not leave the story on the side. Everything was incredibly, wonderfully amazing.“All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.”Now, let's talk about the characters. Juliette, what an amazing girl you are. I love how good she is, even after being feared and hated for the people she's always known. Being inside of her head is definitely an unique journey, because it feels like you're part of it, the way she thinks is completely natural and easy to relate. She's scared all the time, and it can get a bit difficult to deal with from time to time, but her circumstances make it impossible for her not to be afraid, so you need to learn (and you do, at least I did) to understand her. She's strong and capable of amazing things, and not just because of her horrible gift. She has a lot to offer to the world.Then we have beautiful, and patient, and gorgeous blue eyed Adam. From the moment he showed up, he's been giving me butterflies. His goodness and sweetness is so remarkable. I love him so, so, oh-so much. He's the kind of guy that deserves all kinds of happiness. The way he feels towards Juliette, his love is pure pure pure and beautiful.And then, we have Warner. Warner who's all kinds of bad. Warner who's a monster, a murderer. Warner who's obsessed with Juliette. Or is he in love? Warner who's intriguing and frustrating and maddening. Warner. You need to read this to understand who he is and what he can be to you.This story includes a bunch of secondary characters that are as important as the main characters. Kenji, Castle, James. I love stories that make it so that without the secondary characters, the story wouldn't be the same. I just can't wait to get more of these characters and I can't wait to learn more about their stories.

Enthralling and ultra fast-paced, Shatter Me features a unique writing style and a narrator that held my attention throughout the entire novel. These impressive qualities are accentuated by exquisite world-building that gracefully led me into a setting riddled with tension, corruption, and totalitarian leadership. The plot heightened with every page turn, though some of its events certainly disappointed me.When it comes to YA dystopian novels, it is almost pedestrian for the world-building to be lacking. Either it is incomplete, confusing or simply too unbelievable. Fortunately, Mafi did not leave me in dismay. Her world-building is exemplary as it is very easy to understand. Readers are not overwhelmed with foreign ideas or terminology. Instead, Mafi utilizes our familiarity with today's Earth and juxtaposes it with the new, miserable world. This is primarily done via Juliette's memories of the world before and after The Reestablishment - the elite authority that has deteriorated the world under its dictatorship. Furthermore, the world of Shatter Me is quite realistic, especially when considering its militaristic aspects.There are three central characters in the book; however, I found myself quite impressed by Juliette, the lead character who has been in confinement for nearly a year. Put into an asylum because of her fatal touch and dubbed a threat to all of humanity (sounds a lot like Rogue), Juliette's mind is obscured by solitude. This is evident in her eerie journal entries and nonexistent social skills. Throughout the novel, she loathes herself for being a 'monster' for her curse, yet I was never overwhelmed by her self-hatred. She has been a pariah of society all her life, so it is believable that she disgusts her condition. Mafi ensured that Juliette never forgot why society shunned her. This is definitely a sad truth, but it is realistic. I felt so bad for the disgraced protagonist especially when considering that she is such a kind being.What I really admired about Juliette was her initial independence. After being seized by Warner, the son of the leader of The Reestablishment, to be a weapon, Juliette is so determined to avoid becoming a ploy for a merciless organization. As desperate as she is for food, clothes, etc., she refuses to appear vulnerable to the malignant Warner. However, this resilience vaporizes quickly as a romance with Warner's go-to soldier, Adam develops. This seems to be the common trend in YA books: A broken girl subsides her independence only to be "rescued" by a charming male. With this occurring Juliette's character became more naive and reliant. I was gravely disappointed.Warner's devilish character though selfish and controlling, is interesting. Though a villain, sometimes a streak of kindness appeared in him. His "polarizing personalities" really made me question what his true motivation was. To me, his surface motivation, to use Juliette as a super weapon, was not far-fetched; however, I was doubtful that was his only incentive. There are instances where I saw a romantic spark between Warner and Juliette - a Christian Grey kind without the kinky sex. It was very queer to see that Juliette would even have a slight attraction to the person imprisoning her.Sadly, that romance was not the most agitating one present in Shatter Me. The Adam-Juliette one was. Juliette's attachment to Adam is very bothersome. For someone who has not seen a flower for nearly a year, and who has had no human interaction, Juliette latched onto Adam very quickly. I cannot comment much on this without revealing spoilers. Let me just say here that Shatter Me eventually manifests itself into a paranormal romance in a dystopia.Ornate with metaphors, repetition, strikethroughs, poetic flourishes, and lyrical prose, the writing style of Mafi really hooked me. I have seen much negative criticism about Mafi's writing, especially her nonsensical metaphors. Fortunately, I found Mafi's unorthodox writing to be more than purple prose. I found it refreshing and beneficial. For instance, readers get to learn so much about Juliette through stream of consciousness. This popular method of narration is given an amplifying twist with the use of strikethroughs. These simple typographical embellishments enable readers to know exactly what Juliette is really thinking, even if she says something else.Even the absence of commas is helpful as it accelerates Juliette's stream of consciousness, and made me easily absorbed. This exemplary, unique stream of consciousness is vital, as it allows leaders to attach to the protagonist within the first book of the series.The metaphors in Shatter Me are ever-present and powerful. They underscore how disconnected Juliette is with the world. She lives in a figurative world because she does not have freedom in her own. Even though Mafi may have made metaphors of the simplest things, most of them were captivating and did not overwhelm me. It excited me to see these metaphors dominate Shatter Me , especially since they conveyed beautiful imagery and developed Juliette. This of course, may deter other readers who find it completely unnecessary.Saturated with alliterations, metaphors, personification, run-ons, and even questionable sentence structure, the writing in Shatter Me exuded poetic beauty. Though the characters began to disappoint me as romance seized the novel, and some plot events emulated a popular mutant comic book series, Shatter Me devoured me, despite my reluctance.