Review: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Read from January to 2012

Book: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Publication Date: November 15, 2011

Publisher: HarperCollins

Number of Pages: 338

Genre/s: Young Adult, Dystopia

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. 

Excerpt: "I tried so hard to fix what I'd ruined. I tried every single day to be what they wanted. I tried all the time to be better but I never really knew how. 


I only know now that the scientists are wrong. 


The world is flat. 


I know because I was tossed right off the edge and I've been trying to hold on for 17 years. I've been trying to climb back up for 17 years but it's nearly impossible to beat gravity when no one is willing to give you a hand. 


When no one wants to risk touching you."

I know it's no use writing a review after reading this fantastic book. I'm still reeling with mixed emotions that I have finished it and will have no more pages to flipped. But I'm going to try my best to at least touched (no pun intended) some of the parts that had me loved this book so much. 

The setting

The setting was tight. Shatter Me used only few places for the plot to unfold. And it's really commendable how everything fit perfectly with each other. The cell alone could sell the book for me. 

The pacing

Incredible. Fast-paced. Intense. This is exactly why I love reading dystopian. While other dystopian novels seems to bore a lot on information and details on its first parts, Shatter Me did not shy away from picking up the pace earlier in the book. And it worked splendidly to keep readers gripped from the time they opened the book and started reading it.

The writing

Different. Amazing. Mafi's an incredibly talented writer. It somehow reminded me of Lisa McMann's Wake Trilogy. They both write in their own style and it really made their book stand out from the rest. The description of Mafi's, and being inside Juliette's head is one incredible treat. 

The characters

Incredible. Interesting. Incredible. I love seeing Juliette grow. She was insecure, sad, alone, rejected and she has all the reason to rebel against those that ridiculed her but she didn't. She's a kind, compassionate person despite what people think of her. She's strong, loyal and loving. 

Adam. (fangirl mode) OMG. Adam was incredibly sumptuous. From the moment I heard of his deep blue eyes, I know I have a new literature crush. He is one hot man. (fan girl mode over) I feel for what he went through. He is a good brother and his devotion for Juliette was really touching and believable. 

Warner. A pyscho-villain. He creeps me out. His undeniable attraction to Juliette is unnerving and entirely foul. He's obsessed with her and I think we all know how obsessed persons deal with their objects of intense interest. I said it already. OBJECTS.

James. Kenji. They deserved a special mention. I'll be okay with a whole lot of swooning but the laughs they got out of me was unexpected and totally welcomed.

The love story

The swoon-factor of this book is outrageous. This book is extremely addictive and by that I mean you can't drop the book down and wait for a downtime to be able to read it. I read at class, at a thesis conference, at lunch. And you know what? The silly grin creeping up across my face uncontrollably and the squeals turned into a not-so successful cough and snorts is enough evidence that Juliette + Adam is unstoppable. 

Their chemistry and hunger for each other is palpable. It's like I'm standing in front of them, watching the exact same thing. It would be awkward, if I'm not so mesmerized by it.  

***

Will you please help me out? I'm running out of adjectives to describe how awesome this book is. Saying incredible again and again does not even give Shatter Me the justice it rightfully deserves. 

This book is my first dystopian read this year and I am so happy I picked this up. This is one of the few books I begged to have because I heard positive things about it. So expectations were high and thankfully, it was reached if not exceeded. I find myself stalling on the last few chapters because I don't want it to end.

Tahereh Mafi is as of now sitting at my best author lists and is enjoying a cup of coffee amongst my other beloved authors. So do yourself a favor and grab a copy now. If there's one thing I regret is I only picked Shatter Me now when I should have done it months ago. And shoot me now because the next installment has no estimated release-day yet.

Cupid's Verdict:

5 Cupids