Review: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)

Reviewer: Kristen

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Pages: 340

Format: Paperback

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Summary (This Christmas, I am thankful for 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.

My Thoughts: This is my second time reading this. I read it a long time ago, before there was any sequels and I forgot about it. I didn't realize that there were any sequels to the series until I walked into the book store and saw the beautiful new covers. And then, I saw them on BookOutlet, and that was my sign. I bought all of them, and dove right into the series. Apparently, I had forgotten everything that had happened. That's good though, it's almost like a clean slate. 

The writing took me a little while to get used to. It was different, but it was actually crucial to the story because it added so much to Juliette's character and it gave the reader such an insight into her life. Her mental state came through, we saw some of her deepest darkest secrets and fears, and had it not been written in the way it was, the story wouldn't have been nearly as powerful as it was. 

The story follows Juliette as she tries to navigate a world that has literally thrown her into a mental hospital for being born with powers that pose a threat to the new and remarkably corrupt government. I know, I know, it sounds like your typical young adult dystopian novel, but trust me. It is nothing like I have ever read. 

I binge read the crap out of this series, so I'm going to stop this review here. This was my least favourite book in the series, and yet I still really enjoyed it. 

Final Thoughts: Read it, internet friends!