Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi

Publisher: HarperCollins

Source: Borrowed

Page Count: 340

Rating: 4/5

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.

Shatter Me turned into one of those rare reads that I devour in one sitting and then panic because it’s over. This is also one of those reads where despite its issues and flaws I still really enjoyed it, which in itself is kind of rare for me as well. I’m also in a weird place with this one because I know I may not ever be able to read it again. As I was reading it I realized that most of the love was coming from a ‘first introduction’ kind of reaction and I know that if I read it again it won’t hold that same power over me.

The book didn’t really go the way I pictured it would because of the blurb and the hype, I was expecting something  a bit more ‘in your face’ and gritty. Instead I was treated to the exact opposite, but thanks to Mafi’s beautiful writing it turned out to be a one of kind experience. I have a hard time thinking of another YA author that uses such lyrical writing in their books and while it does take away from the grit of the world she created it kind of adds a unique voice to Juliette. She’s good with numbers and tends to repeat things, and while in a normal book I’d probably hate her for this I found that it fit the character perfectly. My issue with her lays in the fact that I didn’t feel as if I knew her, despite having learned her history and being privy to her thoughts.  Then of course we are introduced to Adam and Warner…and boy are these two on the opposite ends of the spectrum from each other. I wasn’t really all that fond of Adam, I liked that he was loyal, brave, and sweet but he was a bit boring for me. He had a touch of promise that I’m hoping to see expanded in the next book but I wasn’t overwhelmed by him. Warner however practically demands attention, you either love him or hate him and I love him. He’s so despicable and crazy that it’s hard not to hate him, but I found myself loving the scenes that featured him and I definitely want more Warner in the future. I had the same problems with these two, I knew them as much as the book allowed but it didn’t feel like it.

The plot is where I have most of my issues because it’s very small, or at least it felt that way. The world building is there and Mafi paints a troubled world, but at the same time there isn’t enough of the history involved in the story. I kept needing to know why and I wasn’t always getting an answer. The development of knowledge about her ability was one that really held my interest though and by the end I was dying to know what exactly was behind it all, and what she was truly capable of. I also loved the mental aspect of the plot, which is a very big part of this due to the first person point of view.

I do feel odd for rating the book a 4 when I have clear issues with it, and I can understand some hesitance in taking my review as a helpful one. I think the main reason it is rated so high is because despite the amount of issues I have with the book I still really enjoyed it and found myself truly absorbed in it.

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