Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

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 asThe 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.

Review

Is it just me, or have I been giving a lot of books five stars lately? Believe me, I'm not just feeling lenient - I have simply read some amazing books in the past few months. And Shatter Me has slid right in there with my favorite recent reads. Tahereh Mafi has written a fresher dystopian story than I have read, a more steamy young adult story than I expected, and the sort of becoming of a superhero that intrigues me to no end. And the relationship between Juliette and Adam.....yum yum yum...Yes it is still a YA book but Mafi knows how to balance innocence with...um...yumminess!

First off, I must address the unusual writing style. You will notice it as soon as you open to the first page, unless of course you're reading with a blindfold on. Mafi gives us Juliette's stream of consciousness, with or without periods and including those things you think or want to say but you keep to yourself or change at the last minute. This worried me at first. I thought, "Oh crap, I'm going to be the one who hates this book"...yeah, that SO didn't happen. I fell right into the writing and loved every minute of it. Nowadays it takes something unique x 1000 to surprise someone who reads as often as I do, but this book did it. I wish more authors would takes the leap to abandon traditional writing and just give us their characters' brain.

Next, I have to talk about Juliette herself. She is a wonderful character to be inside. She has been through so much, both from the Reestablishment and from her own self-loathing. It is absolutely spectacular to watch her come out of her fearful shell and become a little more of a fighter as the story goes on. I cannot wait to see how she grows during the rest of the books in this trilogy. And Adam? Well well well, what can I say about him? He is strong, sexy, loyal, and just absolutely adores Juliette without her even realizing it.

“Adam stares at me so long I begin to blush. He tips my chin up so I meet his eyes. Blue blue blue boring into me. His voice is deep, steady. "I don't think I've ever heard you laugh."

He's so excruciatingly correct I don't know how to respond except with the truth. My smile is tucked into a straight line. "Laughter comes from living." I shrug, try to sound indifferent. "I've never really been alive before.”

Do I recommend this book? Uh, let's see...Yes x 1000!

***This review is based on an advanced reader's edition of the book.