REVIEW: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: November 15, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer
Buy it at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary (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 come by, 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.

This book started off a little rocky for me. I had a little bit of trouble getting past Tahereh Mafi’s style of writing. Once I adjusted though, this book was amazing. I mean it really just rocked my world with how awesome it is. There are so many factors that make this book great and the biggest one, which was what I hated in the beginning, is the strike through writing. I feel like it makes Juliette such a raw character, getting to know her in the most honest way possible: knowing every single thought she has.

And I definitely think that is the first noticeable thing about the book. the writing style is so different from any other book out there that it kind of draws you in, even if you're a little unaccepting in the beginning, like I was.

The main character Juliette, is such a great character to flow with. Seeing how she changes from beginning to end is so great to watch. From being skiddish and scared to finally embracing herself and her gifts… It’s definitely an empowering experience. I do have to admit though, she seems a bit off at first. You can tell right away that she’s had a lot of bad things happen to her and she hasn't been treated very well in her life at all, but her thoughts kind of lead me to believe that some serious therapy is needed to really get her over and moved on with every obstacle that she has encountered in her life. I have to give it to her though. She has made so much progress in such a short time and I think we owe a lot of that to Adam…and Warner.

No matter what horrible things we say about Warner (and we know they’re all TRUE) he was the spark that started the fire. Without his particular interest in Juliette, she never would have gotten out of that cell and into a glimpse of the real world. His interest in her gave Juliette her life back. She resisted every proposal he offered, but being back in the real world, being wanted, gave her the spark she needed. That being said, he is still the antagonist in this story and no matter what anyone says I believe there will never be anything good about him. He has way too much charm and influence for his own good!

And Adam…OHMAGAW can you say swooooon … I mean I'm literally gushing here…HE.IS.EVERYTHING! The fact that he did, technically, lie to Juliette when he first met her means absolutely NOTHING to me…Every decision he made was for her. I LOVE him and adore that he loves her so much. He even risked his life to be with her and protect her…gotta love a guy like that right!?

So, let’s just say that I'm thrilled that I read this book so late, because now I don’t have to wait a year for the next book in the series, Unravel Me. Can you say SQUEEEEEEE?!?!??!