Imagine Me (Shatter Me, #6)

by Tahereh Mafi

[ladygrey]

Super fast read. Possibly because there’s basically no story for the first 150 pages. Granted things happen in Kenji’s pov, but it doesn’t feel like much because we’re just waiting for Juliette to wake up, knowing the story revolves around her. And one thing in 150 pages happens with her. One.

Also, the jump when she finally comes into the story feels like cheats. Anderson has been gutted, is lying on the ground by Warner who has just revealed himself as a ruthless and efficient killer who will protect Juliette at ALL costs has gone after his soldiers. And yet we’re supposed to believe Anderson somehow, got up, over powered all the other people with super powers, his soldiers found Juliette and didn’t get killed by Warner, and got away with her back to Oceania? With zero explanation. No, no I don’t believe that. I think Tahereh Mafi that you’re cheating because it’s convenient to the plot you want to force happen but I don’t buy it. Even after you explain it, I still call bullshift.

Also the thing with Anderson after Juliette loses her memory AGAIN is icky. Logical and oddly makes him not as horrible of a guy as I expect but still unsettling. Also if Once Upon a Time taught us anything it’s that characters losing their memory again and again gets old the second time. Once, once is how many times you can pull that trick in any story. Otherwise it’s a lameass ploy to force your plot and I’m over it. That being said, Juliette isn’t whiny and self-doubting and insecure or overly ‘I’m unstoppable’ in this one. Suppressing her personality makes her tolerable.

I do still like Warner though. I like him when he’s a jerk and when he’s a badass and that he held onto Juliette for hours to save her from herself. Kenji is cool to and he’s the thread that keeps the story going but Warner is my favorite.

Unfortunately Juliette and Warner are barely together, barely four scenes together in the whole book. . It actually works though, because Kenji can carry the story in a way Juliette never could. Things happen in his pov, choices are made and the plot unfolds. Juliette’s pov is all emotion and sensation and thoughts. Which is fun when she’s with Warner or Kenji but a lot of the time makes the story feel like there’s isn’t really any story. So even though we miss out on Juliette and Warner in this one err get Kenji and Warner and it works.

That ending though. Totally lame. Yes they’re actually going to get married. And things aren’t ready but everyone survived for what wet can assume is happy ending all around. But we never get to find or how Kenji was going to fix the debacle of their ending. It ends with a stray dog... which had no symbolism or thread of the story or anything. Not a kiss, not a wedding or Kenji making a joke or anything. A stray dog makes her laugh and Warner is happy. I mean, at least he’s happy. He could do better than her though.