Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me Tahereh Mafi
Release Date – November 15, 2011
Publisher Website – Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter//Facebook//SavvyReader
Pages - 342 pages
My Rating- 10/10
**obtained from Book Expo America and HarperCollins for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

It is fitting that this novel is called Shatter Me because that is exactly what it did. It shattered my expectations and shattered my heart.

Tahereh Mafi’s writing style is nothing short of awe inspiring. It’s different, so full of emotion and very lyrical. It engages your attention and emotions right from the beginning. I felt a whole range of emotions while reading this. I felt everything from wonder, fear, disgust, and hope. There’s a particularly gut wrenching scene involving a child that literally made me sick to my stomach. It’s a testament to the amazing writing that I felt these emotions so vividly.

Her characters are all wonderfully developed. They are rich, layered, complex characters that you can’t help but care about, even the evil ones.

Juliette’s story does not begin as a happy one. She’s been locked away for a murder she did not mean to commit. Juliette’s touch is powerful, and it was an accident. Her character has had to deal with a lot and it’s so heartbreaking. The most amazing thing is, even after all of this has happened, Juliette is kind, caring and quite strong. I am not sure I would be as strong as she is. You want to protect her, but honestly, she really doesn’t need it. She manages just fine.

Adam, the boy that steals Juliette’s heart. The back and forth, touch me/ don’t touch me between them is seriously smoking. I can’t fault Juliette for wanting to be touched after so long. I would crave any kind of connection if I had locked away as well. Add to this the fact that Adam is a hot boy who can touch her back, and it's easy to see how she falls for him. The relationship is intense, and moves quickly, but it never felt forced. You can feel the connection between these two.

The character of Warner is someone you’re going to love to hate, or maybe hate to love. I have to admit that he’s pretty hot. He is complex for this type of character. His backstory so developed. I am looking forward to reading more about him. I could see him being a temptation for Juliette. The novel focus on the struggle within her. Is her power a gift, a curse? Does it make her a monster, or something else? Can it be used for good as well as evil? Adam and Warner factor into this as she makes her way through her journey.

The ending is nothing short of heart stopping amazing. It sets the tone for the second book, and opens up a whole new world to Juliette. It’s one I can’t wait to explore.

All of this is made even more amazing when you factor in that this is Tahereh Mafi‘s first novel. HER FIRST. I can‘t wait to see what she does with book two. Thank you Tahereh Mafi, for creating such an exquisitely beautiful written novel. This book really is a must read.