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.
Blurb from Goodreads.......
Review:
Tahereh Mafi’s debut novel is one that will thrill readers, pulling them into a world and journey that just gets better with the turn of each page! Shatter Me’s riveting tale and incredible heroine will have you on the edge of your seat; eager for more and desperate for it to never end!
Personally, I’m only just beginning to get into dystopian novels. They seem to be the craze lately and going into this book I’d heard so much about it and yet I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was so excited to get and ARC from Allen and Unwin. The premise sounded so good, but I wondered if it could live up to that.....and boy did it ever! This book blew me away. Simple as that.
The writing and the story itself caught me from the very first page and as I continued to read, Juliette and her journey and all the other characters cemented this book as one of the best I’ve read for a long, long time.
The writing itself is different from a lot of books out there and yet it fits the book so beautifully. You can really feel Juliette’s fear and confusion and uncertainly with each word and it comes straight through the pages. You’re completely in her head and know her every feeling and emotion. Shatter Me is well written and descriptive; painting a perfect picture of the world and institute Juliette lives in. The book has a wonderful pace; each moment flows so well to the next and even when it seemed slow at times, there were plenty of things happening to keep you interested. It’s well thought out and I never once felt bored. In fact the whole time I was reading I didn’t want to put the book down!
Juliette was incredible, simply incredible. She has to be one of the most tormented, somewhat broken characters I’ve read about in YA for a long time and yet she’s oh, so strong. She’s been through so much and is in an impossible situation. She hates herself and what she is and what she has no control over, but there’s such a strong inner strength to her. She’s afraid of what she might accidently do and what she doesn’t want to happen. Even when she was betrayed and it seemed like things couldn’t get any worse, she never gave up or gave in, nor did she stop fighting or go against her morals. Even though she herself was treated so inhumanly, Juliette never one wavered in her own kindness and managed to keep hold of herself even when she was faced with cruelty and pain. Her goodness shone through more than anything and this coupled with her bravery in the face of danger made her a joy to read about. She has such a great heart and I love this gal!
I thought Adam was a really great character too. He’s such a well crafted male lead. He has it all; he’s good looking, tough, brave, sensitive, funny, sexy....and totally in love with Juliette. He’s the perfect package and was great to read about. It’s so wonderful to read about a guy with such a good heart himself. He cares about Juliette so deeply and is willing to do so much for her; including risk his own life to help her. What girl doesn’t want a guy like that?!? Oh, and he and is little brother....so freakin’ adorable. Boy, he could make me swoon at times and he and Juliette together were so electric.
While I could see some people thinking that the relationship between Juliette and Adam moves fast, it really doesn’t. The history they share and the pasts they both have create such a great foundation for what is essentially an incredible relationship. With everything they’re both been through, and are going through with their changing world and changing lives, they find something in each other that is so sweet. How they feel about each other is so strong and they’ve got such chemistry together. The scenes between them held so much spark and when they kissed or touched it was so hot and sensual.
Every one of the characters in this book was excellent in my eyes. With such a strong plotline, this book needed an equally strong cast of characters to make it great and Ms. Mafi has done exactly that. Juliette and Adam of course are standouts, but Kenji, James, Warner, even the few characters we met at the end all give the book colour and depth. Even the “villain” was someone who intrigued me, even if I disliked him. The characters are so well developed even so early on in the trilogy and I’m excited about the prospect of getting to see them grow and change even more in future books.
The ending of the book was really fitting if you ask me. This chapter of the series has come to an end and the next one is beginning. We learn so much about the world in this novel and what else is out there and the ending leaves me wanting....no, demanding, more.
Shatter Me is a tantalizing blend of the X-men and Hunger Games, with a bit of The Day After Tomorrow thrown in. This book is sure to be a hit with dystopian fans and readers alike, and with two more books promised in the series, I for one cannot wait to read the rest of Juliette’s journey!
Rating: ***** stars
Source: ARC from Allen & Unwin (Thanks guys!)
Format: Uncorrected Bound Proof
AU Release Date: November 2011
Expected AU Price: $17.99
Recommend: Yes!
Recommend borrow or buy: Buy
Cover: It's stunning. So beautiful.
Read sequel/continue with series: Yes!
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.
Blurb from Goodreads.......
Review:
Tahereh Mafi’s debut novel is one that will thrill readers, pulling them into a world and journey that just gets better with the turn of each page! Shatter Me’s riveting tale and incredible heroine will have you on the edge of your seat; eager for more and desperate for it to never end!
Personally, I’m only just beginning to get into dystopian novels. They seem to be the craze lately and going into this book I’d heard so much about it and yet I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was so excited to get and ARC from Allen and Unwin. The premise sounded so good, but I wondered if it could live up to that.....and boy did it ever! This book blew me away. Simple as that.
The writing and the story itself caught me from the very first page and as I continued to read, Juliette and her journey and all the other characters cemented this book as one of the best I’ve read for a long, long time.
The writing itself is different from a lot of books out there and yet it fits the book so beautifully. You can really feel Juliette’s fear and confusion and uncertainly with each word and it comes straight through the pages. You’re completely in her head and know her every feeling and emotion. Shatter Me is well written and descriptive; painting a perfect picture of the world and institute Juliette lives in. The book has a wonderful pace; each moment flows so well to the next and even when it seemed slow at times, there were plenty of things happening to keep you interested. It’s well thought out and I never once felt bored. In fact the whole time I was reading I didn’t want to put the book down!
Juliette was incredible, simply incredible. She has to be one of the most tormented, somewhat broken characters I’ve read about in YA for a long time and yet she’s oh, so strong. She’s been through so much and is in an impossible situation. She hates herself and what she is and what she has no control over, but there’s such a strong inner strength to her. She’s afraid of what she might accidently do and what she doesn’t want to happen. Even when she was betrayed and it seemed like things couldn’t get any worse, she never gave up or gave in, nor did she stop fighting or go against her morals. Even though she herself was treated so inhumanly, Juliette never one wavered in her own kindness and managed to keep hold of herself even when she was faced with cruelty and pain. Her goodness shone through more than anything and this coupled with her bravery in the face of danger made her a joy to read about. She has such a great heart and I love this gal!
I thought Adam was a really great character too. He’s such a well crafted male lead. He has it all; he’s good looking, tough, brave, sensitive, funny, sexy....and totally in love with Juliette. He’s the perfect package and was great to read about. It’s so wonderful to read about a guy with such a good heart himself. He cares about Juliette so deeply and is willing to do so much for her; including risk his own life to help her. What girl doesn’t want a guy like that?!? Oh, and he and is little brother....so freakin’ adorable. Boy, he could make me swoon at times and he and Juliette together were so electric.
While I could see some people thinking that the relationship between Juliette and Adam moves fast, it really doesn’t. The history they share and the pasts they both have create such a great foundation for what is essentially an incredible relationship. With everything they’re both been through, and are going through with their changing world and changing lives, they find something in each other that is so sweet. How they feel about each other is so strong and they’ve got such chemistry together. The scenes between them held so much spark and when they kissed or touched it was so hot and sensual.
Every one of the characters in this book was excellent in my eyes. With such a strong plotline, this book needed an equally strong cast of characters to make it great and Ms. Mafi has done exactly that. Juliette and Adam of course are standouts, but Kenji, James, Warner, even the few characters we met at the end all give the book colour and depth. Even the “villain” was someone who intrigued me, even if I disliked him. The characters are so well developed even so early on in the trilogy and I’m excited about the prospect of getting to see them grow and change even more in future books.
The ending of the book was really fitting if you ask me. This chapter of the series has come to an end and the next one is beginning. We learn so much about the world in this novel and what else is out there and the ending leaves me wanting....no, demanding, more.
Shatter Me is a tantalizing blend of the X-men and Hunger Games, with a bit of The Day After Tomorrow thrown in. This book is sure to be a hit with dystopian fans and readers alike, and with two more books promised in the series, I for one cannot wait to read the rest of Juliette’s journey!
Rating: ***** stars
Source: ARC from Allen & Unwin (Thanks guys!)
Format: Uncorrected Bound Proof
AU Release Date: November 2011
Expected AU Price: $17.99
Recommend: Yes!
Recommend borrow or buy: Buy
Cover: It's stunning. So beautiful.
Read sequel/continue with series: Yes!
I have been seeing this book lately! and you know I wonder how you get arc from Allen and Unwin? sooo curious about this site! Ive recieve some arcs from different publishers but havent known this one!
ReplyDeleteCraving for Shatter me, great review.
♥Ficbookreviews♥
Hi Lalaine! Allen & Unwin are an Australian based and operated publishing company. I'm not sure they have Allen & Unwin in the States, but for Aussie residents you can contact them from here: http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=29
ReplyDeleteI just emailed them explaining my situation as a blogger and to see if they were interested in providng ARC's/books for review.
Hope this helps and thank-you. Shatter Me is a fantastic book--you'll love it.