Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)by Tahereh Mafi
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Add to: Goodreads
Synopsis:
I have a curse
I have a gift
I am a monster
I'm more than human
My touch is lethal
My touch is power
I am their weapon
I will fight backJuliette 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.
***I will NOT finish this series. In #2 it felt as though the characters were transformed to MAKE the story lead in a certain direction. And I can’t be OK with that. You can see my review of Unravel Me here – Unravel Me: 2/5 Stars***
Review:
Truth be told, I didn’t want to fall for Shatter Me. You see, I have a dirty, dirty little secret. I loathe spoilers. Avoid them at all cost. And I get so angry when I read a review, and whoops they forgot to warn me about a spoiler. That’s NOT fair! But before I started Shatter Me, I noticed my wonderful friend, Chelsea, didn’t read the final book. Of course I got curious. Why would she not finish a series she loved in the beginning? So I dug and I asked and I even talked to our other blog buddies Laura & Anna (who loved all three books, by the way) and I found out some stuff that could most likely prevent my stubborn self from loving this whole series too. So I kept trying to think “do NOT get attached”. Do I ever listen when I should? Noooooo. I allowed those thoughts to roll around to the back of my head and found myself slowly becoming mesmerized by every word that fell off of these pages. Because the way the characters entrance you, the story is written, and how the words blend together are just beautiful. And you know what? Of course, I got hooked.
I don’t remember much from before. The only existence I know now is the one I was given. An echo of what used to be.
Juliette has spent her whole life alone and unloved. Her parents shunned her and the students at her school avoided or were horrible to her. To further cement her lack of love, she was locked up in an asylum. Her future is unknown, as is her ability to live to the next day. But one day, everything changes. A boy gets thrown in her room, and he reminds her of someone from her past. His name is Adam and he treats her as though she is human. But her “peaceful” new life doesn’t stay that way for long. She has been informed that she is and will be used as a weapon. You see, The Reestablishment wants Juliette so desperately because she is special. Her touch can kill.
“Of course I remember you.” My voice is a strangled whisper. I squeeze my eyes shut. I remember you every day forever in every single broken moment of my life. “You were the only one who ever looked at me like a human being.”
While Juliette is a broken person, she is defiant. She fights rules they try to place on her. She tries to find a way to negotiate to her benefit. And she has no qualms about standing up for herself, even if it is to the leader who is holding her prisoner and is obsessed about her. But goodness yes, she does cry a lot. She shed many tears, but I think I would too if I were in her shoes. So ultimately, I just let that issue roll off of me. My favorite thing about Juliette – I loved every time she tried to smack Warner back into his place. Warner is the leader of The Reestablishment, and he had a way of getting under my skin. Even though he appears to have cracks in his evil façade, by showing glimpses of humanity and decency from time to time, I disliked Warner on every level. He is crazy, evil, a bad boy…..uhhhh wait a minute here, because usually I fall for these types!!……but for some reason he helped push me right into Adam’s arms.
When I think about it, can I admit that I may be broken? Because here I am falling for another sweet man. Not the jerk, not the bad boy, but the perfectly beautiful good guy. Adam. He made me smile, he gave me butterflies and truth be told there is not one thing I didn’t love about him. From his tattoos to his crystal blue mesmerizing eyes to the way he treated Juliette as an equal and the words he used to speak to her. It all warmed my heart. Adam is everything I girl could ever want and then some.
So here I am terrified of what the future holds. I know I have allowed myself to become too attached to Shatter Me. Or maybe not? Here’s to finding out if I will continue to love Juliette’s personality, swooning over Adam, and becoming lost in the way the story progresses. I am keeping my fingers, toes and arms crossed that I will be able to trudge ahead and enjoy the rest of the ride as much as I am now!
He’s kissing away the pain, the hurt, the years of self-loathing, the insecurities, the dashed hopes for a future I always pictured as obsolete. He’s lighting me on fire, burning away the torture of Warner’s games, the anguish that poisons me every single day. The intensity of our bodies could shatter these glass walls. It nearly does.
P.S. I LOVE Kenzi. He is quirky, and has this innate ability to make everything hilarious. I just now that you will enjoy every moment that he is in a scene, too!
P.P.S. The fact that Juliette strikes out her thoughts, when she doesn’t want to think about something, wow, wow, wow. I loved that.
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