Review- Shatter Me

Title: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Harper Collins
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC compliments of HarperTeen

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.

My thoughts:

When I first started reading Shatter Me, I had a very difficult time getting accustomed to the author's writing style.  It's a little bit choppy and weird and I had to concentrate more than I usually would.  But once I got into it, it started to flow a lot better and more quickly.  

As it turns out, I feel that the odd writing style fits the book and the main character's personality perfectly.  Juliette was in solitary confinement for almost a year and, to the best of my abilities, I could imagine that it would be a shock to someone's system for another person to be suddenly thrust into her life.  I felt that her emotions and state of mind were conveyed very well through the writing style.  

One of Shatter Me's main theme is Juliette's internal struggle between what the world thinks she is and who she believes herself to be.  Her society believes her to be a monster who kills people with just the touch of her hand, which is true, but her intentions are always honest and pure.  Juliette's internal struggle is also seen through the author's writing style.  Phrases are scratched out and replaced with more controlled phrases; ones that won't get her into trouble.  "It's a home, a center for troubled youth, for neglected children from broken families, a safe house for the psychological disturbed.  It's a prison."  It's also a way to show how she struggles with her feelings for Adam.  "He sits down next to me and leans against the wall.  His shoulders are so close too close never close enough."

I am so intrigued by the world that Tahereh Mafi has created.  A world that is dying because of what humans have done to it.  In the beginning she weaves such a web of mystery and deceit, that I was questioning Adam's loyalty to Juliette and wondering what his true intentions were.  I was constantly guessing and curious to know what was around the next corner.  

Shatter Me is one of those books makes me want to read as many dystopian books as I can.  It was so good and I can't wait to discover what's in store for Juliette and Adam.