Shatter Me (Shatter Me, #1)

by Tahereh Mafi

Kate Simses (Narrator)

Ostracized or incarcerated her whole life, seventeen-year-old Juliette is freed on the condition that she use her horrific abilities in support of The Reestablishment, a post-apocalyptic dictatorship, but Adam, the only person ever to show her affection, offers hope of a better future.

• ISBN10: 006211123X
• ISBN13: 9780062111234
• Publish Date: 15 November 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (MP3)
• Duration: 9 hours and 13 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

This is one of those reviews that is really hard to write. Not because I loved it so much I simply can't find the words to describe its awesomeness, and not because I have such a burning hatred for it that my language would become less than ladylike. No, this is one book that while reading I was completely engrossed. I was completely immersed in it that I breathed it in like life itself. And then it ended. And I was left....wanting.


The writing is annoying. The writing is addicting.


Look. You're either going to love the writing, or hate it with the passion of a thousand fiery suns. Just a fact of life. Lucky for me, I loved it! Now that I look back, I think it was the writing that kept me so interested. Don't get me wrong, the story is fascinating, but the writing was beautiful and unique and fitting. Juliette is a broken girl and the writing reflected that. Think Blood Red Road meets Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Although there are broken sentences and the rules of grammar don't exactly apply (a la Blood Red Road), it's beautiful prose (a la Smoke and Bone) makes it addicting. Yes, there are major differences between these books, but if you can handle the writing in both of those, then you can handle this. While perhaps disconcerting at first, after a while it just flows together.


Characters:


I actually liked Juliette. At the beginning. She's such a broken girl and I just wanted to give her a big 'ol hug. But there was a quiet strength to her. A battle within herself that she didn't give up on. But I think the thing I loved most about her is that, even when everyone turned on her, even when everyone wanted to lock her up, she still loved humanity. Part of me hated her for it because she kept blaming herself even though it wasn't her fault. But her continuing faith in people was admirable.


I also liked Adam and I actually liked their relationship. At first. Well, really throughout it was rather sweet. Its sort of insta-love and at the same time it isn't. I can't describe it without spoilers but it is actually incredibly sweet. He's a great guy that truly cares about Juliette and wants to take care of her.


And Warner is....a psychopath. But that's what makes him a good villain! I'm talking really crazy. But, and I know I'm going to get a lot of flack for this, I feel bad for him. Yes, I understand he's got a few loose screws, well, a lot of loose screws, but we get these little glimpses of reasons why he's like that. We don't get much, but you get to learn that maybe his past wasn't that great and made him like that. I actually want to learn why he is like he is. Maybe is the psychology lover in me or just the fact that I obviously watch to much Criminal Minds (Morgan = ♥).


Ah...but here's where the unbelievable part comes in. Juliette has been in prison for almost a year, and all of a sudden she gets out and becomes some kind of sex kitten? Um....no. I don't believe it works like that. While reading I lapped it up! Come on, you gotta admit those shower scenes are pretty steamy ;) but not really believable. So...I kind of have a love hate relationship with it. On one hand, I loved it. Tension is always good XD but I just couldn't understand it.


Another thing that bugged me. A HUGE sense of Deja Vú. This felt like a dead ringer for X-men. Which isn't a bad thing considering the fact that I love X-men (Wolverine anyone?), I just really hope that it veers off that path. I know it says that in the synopsis, but its almost too close. I don't mind the X-men like powers, I just hope it can remain unique in it's plot.


Also, I know those who abhor lack of world-building will have a hard time with this book. It isn't exactly the best as setting up the world, more along the lines of just dropping you into it. For me, I can accept it. Do I like world building and would I like to know how it came to be? Of course. But its also fantasy and therefore, not the most important thing. However, I'll admit that I do wish there was more.


Cover lust Cover hate


I know most of you are going to kill me but....

I hate that cover.

Well, at least the model. The title and background are absolutely perfect and applicable to the story, but the model! Ugh....normally I'm a sucker for the cover model books, but this one is just a no. First off, what's with that look? She's trying to look all tough and "I'm so cool with my power of death!" but comes across as vaguely confused and constipated. And that dress? All that peplum is in the wrong place! And there is way to much! The top of the dress is simple and elegant but then it's like BAM! Chiffon explosion! NOT GOOD!


Overall:


While reading this book, I loved it. I devoured it. But after reading I felt....odd. I looked back and found a lot of things wrong with it. While I liked the characters, the whole prisoner turned Miss Desirable wasn't believable though definitely steamy. Also, while the plot was interesting, I also had a huge sense of Deja Vú. But the writing is just so beautiful.

All the best ♥
Mackenzie @ Oh, For the Love of Books!

[clementine]

So, I went back and forth between giving this book three and four stars. In reality I'd give it 3.5 stars, but there were just too many issues for me to round up.

One of the things everyone is talking about is the flowery prose, so I'll touch on that first. I thought some of the metaphorical language was really clever, and actually worked. But a lot of it (like, the majority of it) really DIDN'T work, and it seemed like we went from chunks of time where it was just straightforward narration to a few pages of figurative language, which was just weird. Aside from that, I didn't mind the narrative style. It is pretty gimmicky, but I thought it worked for the situation.

The characters... ah, the characters. Juliette didn't really bother me, although I didn't particularly LIKE her either. It was annoying how she's ~*~omg so beautiful~*~ like YA dystopian heroines usually are. Would it kill people to have bland or ugly main characters? We're in a polluted world with a shortage of food, pretty sure most people aren't going to be looking that great. That goes for Adam, too, and yes, it was really annoying how she couldn't stop talking about his fucking eyes. I've seen a lot of blue eyes in my life, and while they are pretty, none of them have been "blue and bottomless like the deepest part of the ocean" or "a shade of blue in a midnight sky". I'm sorry, but NO. STOP.

While we're on the topic of romance, I'm just getting increasingly frustrated with this aspect of YA dystopian. We. don't. need. romance. If the story itself is good, there's just no need for romance. The circumstances surrounded Juliette and Adam's relationship were just really far-fetched to begin with, and then there's the fact that I seriously do not give a shit about their relationship. I want to know what's going to happen with Juliette's powers, Warner, the Reestablishment, the colony (I forgot its name already, lol). That stuff is interesting! Winston and Kenji were interesting! James was interesting! Juliette's parents were beyond interesting! Adam and Juliette's stupid romance was not interesting.

In the end, I read this book really fast and did get sucked into it. It's fast-paced and something a little new, if only because of the mildly gimmicky narration. It kept me entertained, which is always good. But there were a lot of things that bugged me about it which kept me from fully enjoying it.

[sstaley]

Shatter me lives up to the hype out there. The writing style of Juliette's internal dialogue, that she writes down and then crosses out, is captivating.She is always saying something different than what she is thinking. Definitely a touch of realism there. No love triangle here, but the romance between Juliette and Adam is hot and real. Love the plot and love the writing. I really want more...now!!

[kimbacaffeinate]

Shatter Me, has been on my wish list since I began reading the reviews of fellow readers and bloggers. A group I belong to on Goodreads chose it as their January Book of the Month. (sorry guys I couldn’t wait) So I bought it with B&N gift cards I received for Christmas. This is the last book I read for 2011 and boy did I go out with a bang. I absolutely loved, flipped out over ,loved, couldn't get enough of, loved loved this novel. I was immediately captured by Mafi’s lyrical writing style and her use of metaphors. This novel was beautifully written and I found the story line engaging. Shatter Me is so refreshing and the word building so unique that each line is poetry. When I finished reading I was spent and wanted more...

Protagonist Juliette is seventeen years old and has been imprisoned in an asylum since she was fourteen. She has been told she is a freak, a monster, and murderer. She hasn’t touched another human being in years. She keeps a secret journal and watches from her cell window for a white bird. Despite all that has happened to her, she cares, she loves and she hopes. I love that she isn't a whiner, that she is fearless and hasn't lost her humanity.

The world she lives in is controlled by the Reestablishment. They control the food and water supply and are ruthless; killing anyone who opposes them. We aren’t told a whole lot about how this change occurred. Often the first book of a new series is bogged down with back history and details. Mafi slowly feeds us these details and truths. The seasons have changed, birds no longer fly in the sky and animals have sicken and died. People have committed suicide over hunger. Only parts of the earth are inhabitable and towns and cities are abandoned; as survivors move to sanctioned areas.

Juilette has not spoken to anyone in three years and is told she will have a cellmate. In walks Adam. Gorgeous blue eyed Adam. I have never declared myself team anything…but I am a new member of team Adam. The way, in which Mafi describes his emotions through facial gestures and actions makes you fall in love him. The chemistry between Juliette and Adam is almost overpowering, bittersweet and eternal. The connection and back story of their meeting is touching. You immediately want these two to be together, to escape and somehow find a happily ever-after in this godforsaken world they live in.

Warren is the son of the Reestablishment leader. He has been placed in control of his own sector. He has been raised in a twisted way and the mention of his mother unhinges him. He seeks power, control and most of all Juliette. I detest Warren. He makes my skin crawl. He is feared by his soldiers and is ruthless in obtaining what he wants. He demands total allegiance. I don’t think he will ever stop pursuing Juliette…unless he is dead.

The ending sets us up perfectly for book two; which is yet untitled. The expected publication is November 2012 with a third book set to be released in 2013. I will be checking netGalley and B&N like an insane fan waiting to get my hands on it patiently waiting for the release of book two. Mafi has earned a spot on my list of must read authors. I highly recommend Shatter Me to fans of dystopias, fantasies and romances.

[Amanda]

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2012/01/02/review-shatter-me-by-tahereh-mafi/

Reading Shatter Me was like experiencing the same tumultuous emotions that The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer stirs up, though unlike Mara, you know what is going on. The prose is so utterly fascinating that at times it crosses the line between prose and poetry. I flagged 14 different passages while I was reading and I normally never feel motivated to flag passages. Tahereh Mafi does not write, she manipulates words into fantastical imagery.

“My eyes are 2 professional pick-pockets, stealing everything to store away in my mind.”

“The sky is raining bricks right into my skull.”

“His voice hugs the letters in my name so softly I die 5 times in that second. His face is a forest of emotions.”

“Realization is a pendulum the size of the moon. It won’t stop slamming into me.”

“I’m too poor to afford the luxury of hysteria right now.”

It is vague and precise at the same time. Numbers are a reoccurring theme throughout the entire book, something that begins as a way of tracking time and continues in a subtle reminder of everything Juliette has left behind. The narration style is a tumble of words, but one that makes sense and feels like you jumped into Juliette’s brain to experience everything she is, the exact way she experiences it. It took a few chapters to really settle into the book and find your own bearing, but once you do, the book takes off and soars.

We learn so much; we learn so little. The world building feels minimal, but in one sense, it reflects the Reestablishment and their total control over everything. We get glimpses along the way, and only at the end are our glimpses blown apart and everything we know suddenly shifts, leaving me wanting to pick up the next book immediately even though it won’t be out until the fall. It is both frustrating and fascinating.

The more I think about Juliette, the more I like the way that her character changes and comes out of her shell as the story progresses. She hasn’t had much of a life, so she has been isolated and sheltered, and the way she views the world — even one that is damaged and a fraction of what it once was — is breathtaking. And Adam is… I’m not sure that I have the words for Adam without giving anything away. He will make you melt. And the secondary characters are just as interesting/terrifying/intriguing.

Shatter Me is an incredibly unique experience. It certainly will not work for everyone, but it is enchanting and captivating, and a whole slew of other adjectives for amazing and perhaps-you-should-read-it-too.