anh's Reviews > Shatter Me

3 stars

All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.

Shatter Me follows Juliette, a young girl who has never known the warmth of human touch, has always been seen as an outcast. Misunderstood and branded a freak, she is trapped in a dreary asylum, enduring the torment of complete isolation. Her fate shifts dramatically when The Reestablishment recognises her potential and decides to exploit her unique abilities, intending to use her as a formidable weapon.

➸ This book wasn’t half bad! I actually really enjoyed the plot since it kept me engaged from start to finish. The writing style took a bit of getting used to, but I won’t be too harsh about it since it came out in 2011 and definitely feels different from the books I usually read today. I went in with low expectations, knowing that the series is supposed to get better as you read on. The dystopian world was really captivating, though I kind of wished the world-building had a bit more depth to it. Despite that, I found it pretty addictive and couldn’t help but keep turning the pages!

“I spent my life folded between the pages of books. In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters.”

Juliette is an interesting character, even if she can be a bit whiny and annoying sometimes which made it tough for me to connect with her. I think her struggles with insanity were portrayed well especially considering how long she’s been locked up. While I don’t feel a strong connection to her I can definitely see her potential for growth. I really hope she learns to stand up for herself more and I’m excited to see how she develops throughout the series. I think her journey could end up being pretty rewarding!

“I’ve tried so hard to get those blue blue blue eyes out of my head”

Adam- other than the fact he has blue eyes 🙄 was kind of sweet at the start, I guess, but then he became a bit annoying. His personality feels really bland and the whole thing with him and Juliette moved way too fast there was too much insta-love. I know I’m not supposed to like him, but he hasn’t done anything wrong so far that would make me understand why I shouldn’t.

“I know everything about you, love.” He grins. “I’ve wanted you for a very long time. I’ve waited forever for you to be ready. I’m not going to let you go so easily.”

Warner is a big mystery. He is quite literally a psycho and has this weird unsettling obsession with Juliette even though she shows absolutely no interest in him. He comes across as pretty awful in this book. I know there’s more to his character so I’ll go read Destroy Me, which might give me a different perspective on him. Right now though, I really can’t stand him and I’m curious to see if my feelings will change as I learn more about him, but for now, he is not my favourite.

My biggest issue was the writing I feel like Tahereh Mafi tends to overcomplicate her language and tries too hard to be poetic which can come off as a bit cringeworthy at times. Some of the dialogue was hard to follow, and the frequent use of metaphors and strikethroughs often distracted me from the main point. While not all the metaphors were bad—some were quite decent—but there were moments when I found myself rereading sentences and still not grasping their meaning. A few of the metaphors felt nonsensical leaving me puzzled instead of engaged.

I feel like I might be a bit too generous giving this 3 stars but I have a good feeling that the series will improve. That said, I do think this book accomplishes what it sets out to do.

Shatter Me Series
#1 Shatter Me 3 stars
#1.5 Destroy Me 3 stars

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Everyone has been telling me that I should read this series and I fear that if I don’t start it now I never will