Review: Shatter Me

Title - Shatter Me

Author - Tahereh Mafi

Series - Shatter Me #1 

Genre - YA Dystopia 

Format - Kindle 

Published - November 15 2011

(Goodreads)(Amazon)

Synopsis

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.

Review

Juliette has been locked up three years after she accidently killed a little boy with her touch. She had had no idea her touch was deadly until that fateful day that changed everything. She’s been locked inside a cement box by herself for almost a year having no one to talk to before that she was locked inside the asylum where she’s been tested. When out of the blue she’s joined by a stranger the first human she’s seen in so long. After what happened with the boy she attempts to stay far away from the stranger.

While she’s been locked up the world around her is falling apart. Animals are dying as well as people, food is short and the rebels are lurking outside the gates. Juliette’s cellmate is determined to learn more about her and she can’t deny she’s curious to learn more about him. When the leader of the zone a young man offers her freedom she learns that he’s really a guard in the military but that’s not why he’s really there. Adam has been in love with Juliette since they were little and when she was taken he set out to find her. Juliette can't deny she loved Adam because he was the only who treated her like a human. The pair will risks their lives to escape the hands of the man in charge who wants to turn her into a weapon. What they find outside may not be any better and the pair will be pushed to the limits.

When I landed on B.O. Railroad in Monopoly I was nervous since my partner in crime picked this one out for me. I love the cover and the synopsis is captivating but that’s not enough. If not reading for a challenge I would have DNF this book long before making it past the second chapter. The first 40% was a struggle the main character drove me nuts. She has this internal monologue that drove me insane. As much as I wanted to connect with her I just wasn’t able to. I liked Adam after I learned he was there for Juliette he’s an honest goo guy. How could I not like him I think every girl would want an Adam. After the first 50% or so the internal monologue started to drop away and I was able to really start to connect with Juliette. Shatter Me is a tough read but if you can get past more than half of the book it’s becomes hard to put down. I stayed up late reading just to see how it would end. I honestly didn’t think after reading the first half I would like the book but the last half redeemed the book. I would warn anyone reading Shatter Me to not give up and stick with the story it’s worth it in the end. I’m not sure if I want to continue the series but I’m curious to see what will happen to Juliette and Adam.   

3 out of 5 stars