Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Pages: 340
Publisher: Harper Collins
Rating: 4 out of 5
From Goodreads:
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.
------------
“I am unwanted for good reason. My
hands can kill people. My hands can destroy everything.”
I've been shying away from the dystopian YA genre for a while now. I just have not been able to get into any of them, nothing seems to hold my attention and I end up being let down. Shatter Me definitely changed that. I dove into this book, and while I was nervous about entering a dystopian land of disappointment, I kept an optimistic mind. What I found was definitely not a disappointment.
“All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.”
The writing style can be considered either poetic or annoying, depending on the reader. I was completely open to the strikethroughs and 2 3 4 sentences that were always repeating repeating repeating. For me, the perfect punctuation and sentence structure isn't as important as the story. Don't get me wrong, when a sentence makes no sense it takes away from the experience, but that's not the case for this book. Tahereh Mafi took a risk, and I think it paid off.
Juliette has been locked up for 264 days. This makes her a little bit of an unstable character. I formed a tight bond with her from the beginning. She's been neglected, unloved, and alone her entire life. She was told from a very early age that she's a monster, and after a terrible accident she begins to believe it's true. She sees herself as a monster, with a curse. Her progression through the book is great.
“It's not what you think.”
At first I wasn't feeling Adam. I wasn't sure what his angle was, but as his plan become more evident I fell for him. His dedication and love for Juliette made me forever Team Adam[no matter how likable Warner becomes].
“Possessive is not a strong enough word for Warner.”
Warner... He's a golden haired, green eyed murderer who is completely obsessed with Juliette. Your circumstances are not to blame for your actions, I just can't see it that way. [See my Destroy Me review below for more about Warner]
“Because we're not the same. I want to be better.” - Juliette's thoughts on being the same as Warner.
Another great thing about this book is the slight twist. I was completely surprised because nothing leading up to the revelation even hinted to it. I love when someone can surprise me. This book, as a whole, surprised me. I was apprehensive about reading Shatter Me, even after meeting Tahereh Mafi[did I not brag about this yet!?], but I am so happy I did.
--------------------------------------
Title: Destroy Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Pages:103
Publisher: Harper Collins
Rating: 3 out of 5
From Goodreads:
In Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of. . .
Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.
---------
I've been shying away from the dystopian YA genre for a while now. I just have not been able to get into any of them, nothing seems to hold my attention and I end up being let down. Shatter Me definitely changed that. I dove into this book, and while I was nervous about entering a dystopian land of disappointment, I kept an optimistic mind. What I found was definitely not a disappointment.
“All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.”
The writing style can be considered either poetic or annoying, depending on the reader. I was completely open to the strikethroughs and 2 3 4 sentences that were always repeating repeating repeating. For me, the perfect punctuation and sentence structure isn't as important as the story. Don't get me wrong, when a sentence makes no sense it takes away from the experience, but that's not the case for this book. Tahereh Mafi took a risk, and I think it paid off.
Juliette has been locked up for 264 days. This makes her a little bit of an unstable character. I formed a tight bond with her from the beginning. She's been neglected, unloved, and alone her entire life. She was told from a very early age that she's a monster, and after a terrible accident she begins to believe it's true. She sees herself as a monster, with a curse. Her progression through the book is great.
“It's not what you think.”
At first I wasn't feeling Adam. I wasn't sure what his angle was, but as his plan become more evident I fell for him. His dedication and love for Juliette made me forever Team Adam[no matter how likable Warner becomes].
“Possessive is not a strong enough word for Warner.”
Warner... He's a golden haired, green eyed murderer who is completely obsessed with Juliette. Your circumstances are not to blame for your actions, I just can't see it that way. [See my Destroy Me review below for more about Warner]
“Because we're not the same. I want to be better.” - Juliette's thoughts on being the same as Warner.
Another great thing about this book is the slight twist. I was completely surprised because nothing leading up to the revelation even hinted to it. I love when someone can surprise me. This book, as a whole, surprised me. I was apprehensive about reading Shatter Me, even after meeting Tahereh Mafi[did I not brag about this yet!?], but I am so happy I did.
--------------------------------------
Title: Destroy Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Pages:103
Publisher: Harper Collins
Rating: 3 out of 5
From Goodreads:
In Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of. . .
Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.
---------
No
amount of making things sound better will make me love Warner. I'm
sorry, I just can't.
So things might not have been what we thought they in Shatter Me, I figured that was coming. Was I softened a teeny bit? Yes. Who wouldn't be? But definitely not enough to make me jump on Team Warner and hope that Juliette will leave Adam. I feel sorry for Warner, sure, but I can't excuse his horrid behavior. Let's be honest, no amount of playing with puppies is going to make Warner a good person.
Some rise about their situations, like Juliette, and stay true and good. Some feed off of it and become something not so good, like Warner. His father's abuse has forever fucked up his head, and his singular love for Juliette is not going to cure him.
Overall, I enjoyed this novella. I enjoyed getting to know Warner better. I found him very interesting, despite my aversion to him.
And just because I can, check out that handwriting!
So things might not have been what we thought they in Shatter Me, I figured that was coming. Was I softened a teeny bit? Yes. Who wouldn't be? But definitely not enough to make me jump on Team Warner and hope that Juliette will leave Adam. I feel sorry for Warner, sure, but I can't excuse his horrid behavior. Let's be honest, no amount of playing with puppies is going to make Warner a good person.
Some rise about their situations, like Juliette, and stay true and good. Some feed off of it and become something not so good, like Warner. His father's abuse has forever fucked up his head, and his singular love for Juliette is not going to cure him.
Overall, I enjoyed this novella. I enjoyed getting to know Warner better. I found him very interesting, despite my aversion to him.
And just because I can, check out that handwriting!
-Kait
I hate you for having those books signed. So. Freaking. Much.
ReplyDeleteJust finished Shatter Me yesterday. Loved it. I liked the first half better than the second half though.
I started out Team Warner, but he got really creepy. I'm not Team Adam either, so I'm a bit lost. I'll be reading Destroy Me this weekend, so maybe I'll find some clarity.
The writing style confused me during the beginning, but I eventually warmed up to it. But I didn't like the scratched out words and the repetitive words. I never warmed up to those.
I already knew to expect with the writing, I think that's why it didn't bother me. I just thought of it as a journal[and my personal journal makes little sense sometimes]. You will definitely find clarity after DM. I'm thinking it has and will turn a lot of people over to Team Warner.
Delete-Kait
Shatter Me is my first read in 2012 and it really was a great book to start that year. And I'm Team Warner ever since. Can't wait to start Unravel Me! I'm soo jealous you got your copies signed. Tahereh is actually coming here in our country for a book signing this March and I so don't want to miss it. But I might *cryyiiiing* ;(
ReplyDeleteNew follower, by the way. From Goodreads. Follow me back?
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