Review: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

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Title: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: Young Adult: Dystopian, Young Adult: Sci Fi, Young Adult: Paranormal, Young Adult: Romance
Format: Paperback
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

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.

Unpredictability in Disguise

Unpredictability in disguise. That is what Shatter Me is, when you think its about one thing Mafi (the author), turns it all around and blows up a huge plot twist that utterly surprised me.

Shatter Me started out under the narration of Juliette Ferrars, she's crazy, broken, dangerous and locked up in an asylum. Juliette kills with one touch, one brush of skin on skin and she murders and the way Mafi writes Juliette's story about her pain, rejection and overall loneliness is more than poetic, its dark and musky and overall creative. It's been awhile since I've read a Young Adult novel with such creative use of words. And these words become the glue that sticks you to each and every page. They make a reader not want to miss a word. Such unique writing from a debut author of 2011.

The plot at first was unclear, the story was fluid and paced at first then it began to shift and move faster with events occurring here and there. Events that keep you occupied and attached to each page.

The characters were interestingly constructed and fit each and every aspect of the story perfectly. Juliette was strong, not so witty, and keeps to herself. You can't really blame her since everyone thinks she's a monster. She was a pleasure to read about throughout the story. Though at one point she didn't get repetitive and sounded like a broken record while she kept on asking a certain someone why he cared so much. It's ridiculous. Moving on to Warner, Warner is the bad guy in the picture. He's still a teenager and is one of the most powerful men in 'The Reestablishment' (Please, refer to the synopsis if this is not clear). I actually liked Warner, until he started acting a little obsessive and a lost puppy, that threw me off. Now, Adam is the knight in shining armor and that is all I'm going to say about him. I might spoil something for the reader.

As the plot grew deeper and all hope was lost. Mafi takes us on a roller coster ride and drops the "plot twist" bomb on us. That bomb absolutely blew my mind. I haven't read such a wonderful book since the Vampire Academy last year. I'm amazed and thrilled to have finally read Shatter Me. I'm looking forward to the second installment and hopefully, my readers will find this book as unputdownable as I found it.