Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Pages: 338
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: November 15, 2011
Rating: 3/5
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.
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.
Review:
WARNING: This review contains major spoilers. Read at your own risk. Thank you. :)
Juliette hasn't seen the outside world--or what's left of it--in almost a year. For almost a year, she's been in a cell, caged like an animal. Dirty. Starved. Untouched.
Until he arrives.
Her new cellmate won't tell her why he's there. Of course, neither will she. But she knows him from somewhere.
Adam Kent.
The little boy with the deep, alluring midnight-blue eyes. How could she ever forget those eyes? Those eyes that watched her suffer all those years ago...
This book has a writing style that starts off very creative, but quickly turns into nothing but a distraction. She seems to have an obsession with numbers, too.
"I've been locked up for 264 days.
I have nothing but a small notebook and a broken pen and the numbers in my head to keep me company. 1 window. 4 walls. 144 square feet of space. 26 letters in the alphabet I haven't spoken in 264 days of isolation.
6,336 hours since I've touched another human being."
As well as the numbers, she has a way of striking things out, giving you an insight of what Juliette is really thinking, but isn't supposed to think.
"'You're getting acellmate roommate,' they said to me.
'We hope you rot to death in this place For your good behavior,' they said to me.
'A psycho just like you No more isolation,' they said to me."
She also likes to repeat things three times in a row. For instance, reminding us for the upteenth time about Adam's "blue blue blue eyes."
It would bother me less if there were commas in there.
But, to make matters worse, she likes to do this two things AT THE SAME TIME.
His hands on my body his hands on my body his hands on my body his hands on my body
Mafi's writing style consists mainly on metaphors and analogies. Every time it gets a little steamy, you are going to read about the "fire and honey exploding in her mouth" or some other fire analogy.
There are only so many ways you can describe fire before it gets old.
What I'm saying is, her style seems too forced. It works some of the time. Mostly, it's just a mess. :(
Now, onto our characters~!
Juliette is our main protagonist, our heroine (and I mean that in the loosest way possible). She is basically shunned for her gift. She is able to drain a person's life force simply by coming into contact with them (Rouge, anyone?). It's cool, in a sense, but Juliette isn't very happy with it. She has a completely pure heart, and doesn't want to hurt anyone, despite other people's beliefs. Unfortunately, it got really annoying.
Adam is our second part of the love-triangle. He is bland, for lack of a better word. He has loved Juliette ever since the third grade, and is always there to defend her. Also, he is immune to her touch. Just. Great.
Our last part of the triangle is our main antagonist, Warner (<3). Warner is the leader of a sector of The Reestablishment. He is a gorgeous, power-hungry, sadistic man (nineteen...man-boy). He is by-far, the best, most well-rounded character in the story.
Warner will do anything to get what he wants.
Oh, and he's also immune.
This book had a very X-Men feel to it towards the end. It's not a bad thing, really. I'm just not the biggest fan of superhero stories. I came into this thinking it was just a distopian novel. Oh well. I will be picking up the next book when it comes out, because I just NEED more Warner. :D
Juliette hasn't seen the outside world--or what's left of it--in almost a year. For almost a year, she's been in a cell, caged like an animal. Dirty. Starved. Untouched.
Until he arrives.
Her new cellmate won't tell her why he's there. Of course, neither will she. But she knows him from somewhere.
Adam Kent.
The little boy with the deep, alluring midnight-blue eyes. How could she ever forget those eyes? Those eyes that watched her suffer all those years ago...
This book has a writing style that starts off very creative, but quickly turns into nothing but a distraction. She seems to have an obsession with numbers, too.
"I've been locked up for 264 days.
I have nothing but a small notebook and a broken pen and the numbers in my head to keep me company. 1 window. 4 walls. 144 square feet of space. 26 letters in the alphabet I haven't spoken in 264 days of isolation.
6,336 hours since I've touched another human being."
As well as the numbers, she has a way of striking things out, giving you an insight of what Juliette is really thinking, but isn't supposed to think.
"'You're getting a
'
'
She also likes to repeat things three times in a row. For instance, reminding us for the upteenth time about Adam's "blue blue blue eyes."
It would bother me less if there were commas in there.
But, to make matters worse, she likes to do this two things AT THE SAME TIME.
Mafi's writing style consists mainly on metaphors and analogies. Every time it gets a little steamy, you are going to read about the "fire and honey exploding in her mouth" or some other fire analogy.
There are only so many ways you can describe fire before it gets old.
What I'm saying is, her style seems too forced. It works some of the time. Mostly, it's just a mess. :(
Now, onto our characters~!
Juliette is our main protagonist, our heroine (and I mean that in the loosest way possible). She is basically shunned for her gift. She is able to drain a person's life force simply by coming into contact with them (Rouge, anyone?). It's cool, in a sense, but Juliette isn't very happy with it. She has a completely pure heart, and doesn't want to hurt anyone, despite other people's beliefs. Unfortunately, it got really annoying.
Adam is our second part of the love-triangle. He is bland, for lack of a better word. He has loved Juliette ever since the third grade, and is always there to defend her. Also, he is immune to her touch. Just. Great.
Our last part of the triangle is our main antagonist, Warner (<3). Warner is the leader of a sector of The Reestablishment. He is a gorgeous, power-hungry, sadistic man (nineteen...man-boy). He is by-far, the best, most well-rounded character in the story.
Warner will do anything to get what he wants.
Oh, and he's also immune.
This book had a very X-Men feel to it towards the end. It's not a bad thing, really. I'm just not the biggest fan of superhero stories. I came into this thinking it was just a distopian novel. Oh well. I will be picking up the next book when it comes out, because I just NEED more Warner. :D
No comments:
Post a Comment