Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: November 15th, 2012
Source: Purchased

My Rating: 5/5

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.  

This review is going to be hard to write. Why, you may ask? Well, even months

after I read it, my brain is still frazzled from the awesome-ness of it. I decided to pick up Shatter Me after all the buzz it was getting in the book world. The book itself sounded fantastic, and I was really getting excited to read it. I had exams and research essays due at that time so I knew I couldn't read it right away, but I figured I could start it at least. Yeah...it was literally impossible to stop. I would put it down thinking that "Hey, maybe you should, I don't know, actually work on that essay worth 30% of your grade?" but then my arm would just reach out, without an conscious thought of my own, and I would be reading again. It was definitely a midnight read, keeping me up well into the wee hours of the morning. It was worth every minute of it.

I want to start off by gushing about the writing. Tahereh Mafi is so ridiculously talented. The writing in this book was some of the best I've read in any book...ever. Yeah, I'm serious. The words flowed so beautifully, lyrically, it was like the story just lifted off the page. I felt so connected to this book because Mafi's writing made it real. She brought to life these characters, made me completely invested in every aspect of the story, made me feel every emotion the characters felt, and made me unable to do anything else until I read every last word. I wanted to read everything, take in everything, because her writing was just simply amazing. 

Now, Shatter Me itself was reminiscent of X-Men, and I loved it. Juliette was a girl to root for, and one to feel pride in. I found myself just hoping and praying it would all work out, because she didn't deserve what happened to her. I can't wait to see how she progresses in the next installment! I have a feeling she's going to make us all cheer. Then, there's Adam. Oh, Adam. Like, way to write my perfect guy, Tahereh Mafi! If the physical description wasn't enough, he has to go and be such a sweet, yet strong guy! The interaction between Juliette and Adam was heart-wrenching, and uplifting. The two of them are simply fantastic characters.

Everything (the writing, characters, storyline, etc.) comes together to create a fantastic, thrill-ride and an impossible to put down book. You will be swept away into a dark and twisted world, with hope in the form of a broken girl who's determination will have you cheering. Read this book. If you only read one book this year, make it Shatter Me.

- Ciara who is lost at midnight

P.S. I gave my friend Jeannine this book for her birthday as the start of her book collection so, if you're reading this Jeannine I hope you enjoy it!

Find this book: (Amazon | Goodreads | Tahereh Mafi's website)