Authors: Tahereh Mafi
Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 01/11/2011
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
RRP: $17.99
RRP: $17.99
Source: For review (thanks to publisher!)
Precautions: Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity
Precautions: Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity
Pages: 348
My Rating:
 |
| Satisfying Read |
Summary:
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.
In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.
My thoughts:
BEAR WITH ME!
At first my rating was a 5, then a 4. Now it's 3.5 and I'll tell you why. Taken at face value, if I go along with the ride, I could just say I really enjoyed Shatter Me. And I did. By the end.
If you're really into adventures that are heavily reliant on a romantic aspect, then you are going to love this. Mafi also tries extremely hard to be poetic and intricately detailed in her writing. Most of the time she succeeded. Other times it was grating and slowed the pacing right down. There will be examples.
These are my personal opinions and that's fine if you don't agree with me. Not everyone will. I liked the premise, but I felt that the execution never completely lived up to it, or the expectations I'd formed for it.
~ Final thoughts ~
Shatter Me is: a whirlwind adventure; an extraordinary battle fought between the good and the bad, the powerful and the weak, the damaged and even more damaged; an intensely written romance that will live up to any supernatural fan's expectations. Tahereh Mafi has written a strong debut novel that blends together action, romance and suspenseful drama that will surprise readers.
