Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi
Genre: YA Dystopian
Blurb (on back of book):
I have a curse
I have a gift
I am a monster
I'm more than human
My touch is lethal
My touch is power
I am their weapon
I will fight back
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.
OLD REVIEW
UPDATED REVIEW
MY OPINION: ***
Okay, first, wow! I did not remember getting 83 comments on my first review of this book. A lot of people seemed to like this book, and I'm sorry to disappoint this time around :\
This is my second time reading this book and I have to say, I was quite disappointed this time around. My rating is significantly lower than the original five-star-favorite review I gave it back in 2017. I am going to continue the series because I want to know what happens, especially since I never read the newer books the first time around.
The first time I read this, I was apparently "in love". This was the summer between seventh and eighth grade, I believe, back when I was kind of "in love" with every book I read. I don't know what I say in this book, to be quite honest. Maybe I was building in to the hype, or maybe I just genuinely adored it.
My friends still love these books so I'm praying it gets better.
That being said, a three-star rating isn't bad, per say, it's just not the best.
In honor of my first review, I will be making a new and updated PROS and CONS list for this book.
PROS
-Romance. This has not changed. I loved the relationship between Juliette and Adam SPOILER even though I know she's going to end up with Warner END SPOILER. Although there were quite a bit of red flags, especially as I'm reading
Destroy Me now (Warner's novella), I liked the way that they acted around each other.
-The strikethrough concept. I loved how she crossed out what she was actually thinking in place of what she's actually saying. This was a unique idea that I had forgotten about and was pleasantly surprised by.
-James and Kenji. They added the touch of innocence and humor that we all need in a dystopian novel, and I adored James. I don't remember what happens to him but I'm praying that all goes well for him. Apparently I hated Kenji the first time around, though I cannot remember why because this time, I loved him.
-Warner. I loved his character, though I didn't ship Juliette with him just yet. He came off as a bit creepy towards her, to be quite honest. However, I liked that he had many layers and secrets that we just know we're going to uncover in the next couple of books. I can already sense his redemption coming.
CONS
-I strongly disliked the writing style. I think that's what threw me off the most in this book. I hated the metaphors. This book seemed to be 70% flimsy, confusing metaphors that felt really random and not strategically placed. I do love a good metaphor, but this book was metaphor after metaphor about everything possible. I also strongly disliked the run-on sentence structure and the lack of commas and punctuation as Juliette got more emotional. I would have liked to have seen more of a conventional writing style, if only to not tick off my grammar-queen side.
-Juliette. I'm sorry, but she was one of the most annoying characters you can get. All she does is WHINE about everything possible. I was hoping for the strong, determined female protagonist but instead we got a whiny, annoying, weak little girl who seemed to rely on the men around her to survive, especially Adam. Where is the independence??
-The characters in general did not have very unique structures, personality, weaknesses and strengths, and flaws. I would have liked to have seen more depth than what we were given. They all seemed to be similar, and very cut-and-dry and one-dimensional.
-The setting. I would have liked to have known more about how the world itself had collapsed before we got to the dictatorial-fascist-like regime that we have now. Usually, YA dystopians explain a LOT about the setting (e.g.
The Hunger Games) but this one was quite vague. I don't recall if we get more explanation in the next books, so I'll just have to find out.
-I found it really convenient that both Warner and Adam were immune to Juliette. This was slightly unrealistic but then again, if it helps to build the romance, then I'll take it.
I wish I had loved this as much as I did the first time around. I really tried. However, I will continue reading in the hopes that it gets better. I would recommend this book to people looking for a unique YA dystopian that is more fueled by romance than action.
Main Character: Juliette
Sidekick(s): Adam, James, Kenji, etc
Villain(s): Warner, etc
Dystopian Elements: This book is set in a made-up future version of our world.
Comments
Post a Comment