This is a going to be a marmite read for some of you. You are either going to love it, or you are going to hate it. There is some middle ground, which is where I sat, but most of you will be one side of the marmite fence or on the other.

The main reason why I call this a marmite read is how the story is written. It is full of similes, metaphors, strikethroughs and, every now and then, misses grammar. And, for some of you, this will have you throw the book across the room in fury.

But, I liked that this story was written this way. I have never read a story in this style before where it felt like Juliette's notebook where she pours herself into her writing like it's a stream of conciousness without edits and, when she does edit, she crosses it out then write something new in its place, yet you can see what she wants to be rid of.

And it was interesting mix of dystopia (which I have seriously fallen out of love with and am planning to pull myself back into that world soon) and X-Men (and I loved the Avengers movie!), with an interesting mix of characters (there was one scene that made me scream a ton of swear words at the baddie, Warner, as it did something I was so horrified over!).

However, I do have faults with this book. Believe me, I do have faults. One of my main faults is that it took me a very long time to connect with the love story and, even then, I was going "Are you really in love with him, Juliette? Or are you in love with him because he's immune to your touch and you haven't be touched in how long?" I felt like I was continually questioning the relationship...

I think this book will divide readers. You will either love it or hate it.

Holy crap, what a book! 

Yes, yes, I am a massive latecomer to this trilogy but I'd never picked it up before for several reasons. 1, I wasn't a massive fan of the original cover... I know they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover and that is very true, but it just didn't appeal to me. 2, the premise sounded weird to me to start with... There's this girl who can't touch people because if she does they will die... It seemed odd and I wondered how someone could pull that off... But in the long run I needn't of worried...

The Shatter Me trilogy doesn't have a UK publisher and whilst it's done pretty well over in America it is virtually unknown over here unless of course you're a blogger and you see what is being spoken about all the time. Earlier this year I happened across the book on Amazon and I had seen a spike of interest for the book over here with a few UK based bloggers getting the books and announcing just how amazing they are and I thought, well, why not give it a go.

I had been experiencing a pretty bad reading slump when my copy arrived through the post and was eager to read something that would get me flowing again, reignite the spark I had seemed to have lost. And Shatter Me turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. Right from the off I fell in love. The book is written in such a weird, unique and ultimately interesting way that that itself hooked me straight away. Sometimes words, sentences, whole paragraphs and even pages are crossed out as Juliette edits her thinking as she goes along. For me this was quite fun because sometimes it would changes the whole meaning of a sentence or a piece of dialogue and it could go so many ways. It is told in first person and Juliette talks in metaphors and similes all the way through the book. Sometimes passages made my head spin they were chock full of metaphors but it all added to the imagery and overall feel of the book, which I liked.

Juliette herself is quite a tragic character, and I really found myself pitying her the whole way through the book. She's so alone, so lost, so afraid. She has a condition, a disease she has been told, which means she cannot touch another living thing, because if she does, she will kill them. She will become an unintentional murderer, and it has already happened. Locked away in an asylum in a world that is literally falling apart at the seems, she has nothing left. Nothing. And then Adam comes into her life, thrown into her cell it soon becomes clear that he isn't exactly as he seems and soon Juliette learns something that will change her world forever. She can touch Adam, and he doesn't die.

Soon, they fall in love, a love that felt so real, so genuine and so passionate that I was frankly jealous of Juliette, I wanted my own Adam. But all isn't well for Juliette and Adam as there is trouble brewing. The Reestablishment has taken over the world, and it just so happens that one of its leaders, Warner, is fascinated with Juliette and her macabre ability which he sees as a gift. He wants to use her as a weapon against the rebels that threaten to overthrow the system, but she is less than co-operational.

I am so glad I actually picked up this book. I hadn't even finished it and I had to order the next 2 books in the trilogy, it was that good. I just fell in love with everything. From the writing, to the world building, to the characters and their different relationships, I couldn't help myself. After several weeks of barely reading a word this book helped me so much and I am so grateful to Tahereh Mafi for that.

I'm just going to be honest and say that I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style or of Juliette as a main character

I will continue on with the series but I can't see myself loving this series as so many others seem to

My friends were begging me to read this book for ages and I finally did. I really enjoyed reading this book. I felt that the writing style is so easy to read to the point that I was flying through this book and it didn't take me long to read at all. I really enjoyed Juliett as a character. I felt that taherah really allowed you to be inside Juliett mind and feel everything she was going through. I was a bit confused at the beginning to what was going on but once I got further in it all came clear. I didn't like Warner at the beginning but that's the point of his character but I was beginning to like him come the end, out of the love triangle my favourite was definitely Adam. I just love the romantic scenes between him and Juliett.

This book had me hooked from the moment I started reading it! 
If you love dystopian fiction like me then you will love this book! 
The action and the romance were perfect!

I've heard lots about Shatter Me for ages so it's a wonder it took me this long to finally read it. I don't know what I was waiting for because I really enjoyed it!

Narrated by Juliette, a girl who kills everyone she touches, Shatter Me tells the story of her life as an outsider and a 'freak' with a supernatural ability. Juliette has been kept in a prison with no human contact for hundreds of days, trying her best to stay sane and more importantly, alive.

I love Tahereh Mafi's writing style. Short chapters and scenes make the book fast paced and keeps the story moving quickly to hold your interest. The writing isn't overloaded with long and flowery descriptions, but instead has short, beautifully worded metaphors and imagery. It also has a unique layout with some of Juliette's thoughts crossed out with a strike through, thoughts that she doesn't want to say out loud. This gives you a deeper insight into her character and what's going on inside her head, so you're more able to understand her feelings and why she makes the decisions she does.

As with the fast paced writing style, the plot also follows this trend. With action around every corner, a lot happens in the space of the book. Settings are constantly changing as more is revealed about the characters and the world.

There are a wide range of characters to fall in love with or despise. Juliette is weak at first from her captivity and removal from society, but she grows stronger throughout the book and I can see her becoming a ferocious heroine in future installments! With a gentle love interest, a dark but charming antagonist and a sassy unlikely ally, this book has so many great characters each with their own puzzling motives, and many moments and twists that will make you smile, laugh, gasp or throw the book across the room and sit in stunned silence for a moment!

Bonus: After writing this review I was so caught up in the story that I went on to read the next 3 books in the series! Each book is more amazing than the last and I've definitely found myself a new favourite series! These books are so easy to read and I love the journey these characters have been on throughout the stories.

4.5 stars out of 5! I loved this book and it's definitely the start of a dystopian series I'm bound to become obsessed with! The lush descriptions and imagery pave the way for the characters who are rich with personality and easy to root for. Juliette's powers of lethal touch are really interesting and I'm intrigued to find out more about them and everything else Mafi's world has to offer.

My review

This book follows Juliette, whose touch is lethal to people, locked in a cell for murder. She gets a cellmate and the story kicks off from there. 

I really liked the writing style of this book. I found it fit to the story and was done well. I liked how you can see the progression of writing as the story was told.It was confusing at some points but overall I did like it.We could see the mindset of Juliette and how she improved. You could see this progression as the crossing out of words were less frequent towards the latter half of the story.

The setting  was a  typical dystopian setting of people being oppressed and there being a rebellion to try and stop it. That being said it was interesting one and I'm looking forward to learning more about it in the coming books.  I would like to know how powers work in this story and how one would obtain powers.

The plot was fast moving and this made the book very quick to read. Some of the plot points I had guessed and were very obvious but I really did like the direction the story is heading in. 

In terms of characters, it was interesting to see Juliette and how she coped with not being able to touch anyone, and her dealing with confinement. I felt for her as she had no human connection all her life. I also liked Adam  and I like him and Juliette together. As I say in a lot of my reviews, I felt the professing of love was quick but it did make sense and I wasn't too bothered about it I'm also kind of suspicious about him, I don't know why but maybe because of how a lot of people like Warner.  Speaking of Warner, I didn't like him and I don't know why most people like him but I'm guessing it's something to do with the next books. It'll be interesting to see if my opinion of him would change in the next books.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and look forward to continuing with the next ones as I own the next 3.

4/5

We all love a girl with supernatural abilities and Juliette has a lethal touch to anyone she comes in contact with. I loved this as part of the plot and found it really interesting to read about but overall I just didn't connect with the book as much as I wanted to

I read this back in August and I read it in around 48 hours, which is always a good sign! This is YA Dystopian book (first in a series) where we meet Juliette, a teenager who is suffering from being locked up, some mental health issues caused by the fact that the last time she touched someone they died. We follow her story as she starts to discover herself and her strength and her power again.

I enjoyed this book. YA Dystopia is probably my top of all YA genres so I might be a little biased. While this is no Hunger Games or Bone Season, it has its own charm. Its written from Juliette’s POV for the most part and we get to see into her thought process in the unique way that the author writes – She will cross through an initial thought and replace it with what Juliette corrects herself with:

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

I really enjoyed this approach – its not for everyone but for me its unique and I enjoyed following Juliette’s journey this way, in her own thoughts.

I gave this 3/5 stars, and I’m already looking for Book 2 😊

Like The Bone Season, I am incredibly late to read the Shatter Me series. I had to read it for the monthly book club that I go to at my local Waterstones and I was so glad that Shatter Me was picked, because it just meant that I had an excuse to FINALLY get around to it.

It's very... meh?

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 colour.

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.

To start this review off, I'm just going to say... WHAT?!! WHY DO PEOPLE SHIP JULIETTE AND WARNER TOGETHER? He is probably the most sadistic character that I've ever read about in YA. He's just completely insane. All the reviews that I've read of the other books in the series say that Juliette and Warner are great together and that they ship them so hard and I'm just sat here like... 'what?' He is so controlling and manipulative and forces her to kiss him and act like his plaything and to do stuff that is just horrifying *see baby scene*... He MUST go through some massive character development for people to fall in love with him... He MUST. Because right now, I really can't see it. I also can't see why Juliette would even START to be attracted to this guy. Yeah, he might be attractive but that doesn't mean that he's a nice person! It's just advocating people being in abusive relationships and I can't handle that. I really really hope that this whole character development thing that he undertakes is MASSIVE because it needs to be for me to start liking him.



“I spent my life folded between the pages of books.
In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”

― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me




I do think though that I would have liked this book a lot more if I had read it when I was younger and not when I was 22. It's definitely something my younger self would have enjoyed a lot more, maybe when I was about 17?

When it came to the writing style, it was very disjointing at first, with Juliette crossing out what she was saying and then correcting herself, but as the book continued, I realised how unique the writing style actually was. I think the reason behind it was for Mafi to show the reader the development that Juliette went through. At first, she was insecure about herself, but as she got stronger, so did her voice, and I think that it's such a clever way to write a novel.

Speaking of Paige, she's basically just Rogue from X-Men. Actually... This whole novel is basically X-Men where there is a safe space for people with powers, and then they wear spandex suits and... yeah... you get the idea.



“The moon is a loyal companion.
It never leaves. It’s always there, watching, steadfast, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do. Every day it’s a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light. The moon understands what it means to be human.
Uncertain. Alone. Cratered by imperfections.”

― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me




And I think (?) that she may be the only girl/woman in this book? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

The story itself was pretty captivating. There were a lot of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting and I did like the romance between Juliette and Adam, even though it was cliché as hell, but then I have to remind myself that it was written in 2011 when the whole Twilight thing was going on and that's what people like me loved then (and still do.)

I also really liked the secondary characters in the book like Kenji, and I can't wait to see more of them in the other novels.

Overall, this book was ok... It didn't WOW me completely as it just didn't feel like an original storyline. I know that nothing is ever completely original, but this seemed to rip off X-Men too much (?) But I AM intrigued to see where this storyline goes, and yes, I am intrigued to read about Warner's character development. I guess we will just have to wait and see...

I read this a while ago and absolutely adored Tahereh’s writing. I’ve read the rest of the series since (except the most recent, Restore Me) and I can say that her writing and storytelling on gets better.

Wow!! Just Wow! This had me on my toes throughout the whole book! I can't wait to read the rest of the series. So many twists and turns I didn't expect!!! An incredible romance with dealer meaning beneath it all and showing a woman coming into her own

I feel like the story has potential but the flow could use some work. There was a lot of not a lot, Juliette telling us about Adam's eyes and his, well, everything a lot.

Then we had a change of scene with Warner the psycho head of sector (or something) who made me think of a slimy, overweight old man despite him being described as apparently being an attractive 19 year old. We get more obsessiveness over his eyes as well... The author certainly has a thing for them.

The action picked up during the second half but there is still a general lack of information or half information that was frustrating. I would like to know what happens though so I may do a library request sometime or something.

This is the first novel in an incredibly hyped YA dystopian series where we follow Juliette, a teenage girl who can kill people just by touching them. At the beginning of the story, she is locked up in a cell and wants to avoid even being near other people through fear of accidentally killing people.

I went into this book with low expectations as I assumed that it would be over-hyped. Indeed, I spent the first half of the book disliking it and finding it dull, and I honestly wondered how on earth anyone could think this book to be fantastic. I thought it was incredibly slow, and I didn't care about Juliette and her powers, Adam or indeed any of the other characters that popped up. Then, a little after the half way mark everything changed, and this book got exciting. The problem is, I nearly gave up on this book so many times, which would have been a massive shame as I really enjoyed the latter half of the book. Making the first half of a book this dull is a major risk, which luckily paid off in this case.

Towards the end of the book I found it fast paced, thrilling, gripping and just genuinely interesting. I suddenly cared about what was going on, and cared about the characters and how things would pan out. I found myself constantly doubting who to trust, which was a winning factor for me. Juliette also came into her own as time went on, and started to feel more like a real character, rather than just some wishy washy person on a page.

I'm truly excited to see where this series goes from here, and I will definitely be continuing on with the series.

This is possibly one of the most confusing books that I’ve ever read. What actually happened to the world to make this a post-apocalyptic style novel? Why does Juliette actually have this gift or power or mutant ability? Why do others also have other abilities? Why do both of Juliette’s love interests have an immunity to her power? In fact, who were most of the people who were introduced in this book.

This book was just incredibly vague in its writing style. Nothing is ever really explained. It was also incredibly gimmicky with the strikethroughs and the number obsession. It was actually really annoying to read a book with that because reading the numbers kind of pulled me out of the story because I read it and I had to wonder why the author had chosen to do that.

I just finished re-reading Tahereh Mafi’s ‘Shatter Me’ trilogy in preparation for the release of one of my most anticipated books of the year: ‘Restore Me’.

“And we are quotation marks, inverted and upside down, clinging to one another at the end of this life sentence. Trapped by lives we did not choose.”

It’s been four years since we left Juliette, Warner and the rest of Sector 45 and though I knew I’d loved the original trilogy back when I first read it, I struggled to actually remember what had happened. So I obviously had to binge re-read. And binge re-read I did.

Because I could not get enough of Tahereh Mafi’s writing.

“It’s the kind of kiss that inspires stars to climb into the sky and light up the world.”

Every feeling that Juliette has is vibrant and vivid and so incredibly palpable that I could feel her fear, her anger, her love, her lust. We’re with Juliette every step of the way and we see her go from a scared, broken girl scared of her own shadow into a hero who knows her strength and her worth. Mafi details every emotional detail of her journey – one where she’s imprisoned, captured, tortured, falls in love twice and leads a rebellion – and you get carried along with her.

Each word is deliberate and precise, the structure of each sentence is poised to deliver a particular emotion. And I’m hypnotised.

This wasn't the book I was hoping for, which was a shame as I know so many people love it. It's misleading to call this dystopian YA - it's primarily a romance (which is fine, but not what I picked the book up for), with dystopian touches. The world-building is vague and undefined (Juliette has been locked up for years, so this is somewhat understandable, but I feel like it could have been done better) and there's a LOT of purple prose, and sometimes the metaphors don't really make any sense. I'm prepared to let most of the issues slide as it's a debut, but I was expecting something better with the amount of hype. Apparently the sequels are better, so I may pick them up at some point - but I'm not really in a rush to read them after this. I'm not a fan of instalove (and there was plenty of it in here) and would have liked to see more of the world.

I really enjoyed this book. After reading a string of rather poorly-written novels, this was a breath of fresh air.

Juliette's loneliness at the beginning of the book is beautifully described, and when the plot picks up it really goes quickly. It was exciting reading that was difficult to put down.

I enjoyed the characters a lot, particularly Kenji and Warner. James, the male protagonist's young brother, was also a welcome addition. His inclusion widened the scope of what would otherwise have been a novel with a conspicuously young-adult focus. It still could have done with a few more adults, to my mind. I never can get my head around why teenagers are always the most prominent soldiers, superheroes and rulers in dystopian societies. I know this is YA fiction, but it feels perverse to write adults and children out of the world entirely.

I can't really complain though, because the dynamic between Warner and Juliette was particularly crunchy and interesting, although the novel suffers a little from the frequent YA disease that causes every male character to fall in love with the female protagonist for some bizarre and unfathomable reason.

Still, the romance itself was enjoyable. A little linear for my tastes, and I would have preferred some additional twists in the romance storyline, but it was satisfying nonetheless.

The good:

The voice was very strong, and it worked well in the context of a girl whose psyche is shattered from trauma and isolation. The writing reminded me of Ryan Graudin and James Frey; it's a disjointed, repetitive, stream of consciousness style that can be irritating, but suited the story.

The bad:

I disliked the ending. The concept of Juliette turning into a spandex-clad superhero just did nothing for me, so I have no impetus to read the next book in the series. In that respect, the book reminded me of The Hunger Games and Divergent trilogies: after the initial situation was resolved, and the characters broke out to 'fix' the real world, I quickly lost interest.

The ugly:

The formatting was terrible in my review copy. I hope that it will have been corrected before publication.

The quote:

"I hate the sun, too preoccupied with itself to notice the hours we spend in its presence. The sun is an arrogant thing, always leaving the world behind when it tires of us.
The moon is a loyal companion.
It never leaves. It's always there, watching, steadfast, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do. Every day it's a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light. The moon understands what it means to be human.
Uncertain. Alone. Cratered by imperfections."

The Gin Book Club received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.

I enjoyed Shatter Me way more than I could have ever expected! I had so much fun reading this book that I immediately had to pick up book 2.

Set in a dystopian future where the world is falling apart, Juliette can kill people with a touch. The Reestablishment have her locked up for three years, isolated, until she is given a cell mate. Adam is a stranger, but something about him is familiar, and soon Juliette is thrust into the world of The Reestablishment and of Warner - the man who wants to use her powers as a weapon.

The concept has a few parallels with X-Men, but for me the novel definitely stood on its own. It comes with a different approach to the same ideas, and although it's not perfect, it sure is fun to read. The plot was lacking in a few places, but enough was provided to keep me hooked on the story.

What really had me hooked were the characters. Juliette is a brilliant protagonist. She is kind-hearted despite what the world has done to her. She is scared but strong and so very human, and all of that is reflected in her narratorial voice. The writing is rambling and self-correcting, but rather than finding it annoying, it made her character feel more real to me. I loved seeing Juliette grow and how her voice changes with her. I also loved Adam, who was a genuinely sweet love interest. I expected to hate the romance (as I often do), especially because it was so central to the story, but I unashamedly loved it.

As for the villain, Warner was amazing. I feel like I didn't get to learn a lot about him, other than the fact he is utterly repulsive. He is gross and predatory and enjoys hurting people, and he feels like the world has wronged him in the same way that it has wronged Juliette. But the difference is that Juliette wants to be better than him. I was worried that she would reciprocate his twisted feelings, but I'm glad he wasn't romanticised. I don't know if he will stay a villain, but right now he seems irredeemable and I like it that way.

Shatter Me is definitely not a story for everyone, but if you can get past its flaws, it's utterly engaging. I can't wait to see where the story takes these characters.

I think i’m a little late to the party reading this series. I saw this on NetGallery the other month, and thought the cover was beautiful so requested a copy. It sat in my TBR pile for a while until the other night, when I decided to give it a go. I read it in one sitting.

Imagine my suprise when I found out this was the first book in a series of 6 which came out in 2011! I am literally so excited because it means there are so much more books for me to read. I can’t even describe the feeling of reading a book, knowing it’s the first in a long series, so you get to enjoy it that much more.

The book follows, Juliette, who has been locked up for 264 days. The last time she touched someone, she was locked up for murder by The Reastablishment. You see, Juliettes touch is fatal, but no one understands why. No one is too bothered with a 17 year old girl though…that is, until now.

Now The Reastblishment have decided they can use Juliette to their advantage and attempt to show her just how powerful she can be, if she works with them. She must decide whether she is with them, or against them.

I haven’t read a dystopian novel in so long, and I am glad this was the first one I chose to reignite my love for them. I really enjoyed the style of writing throughout and think Tahereh Mafi is a fantastic author. As I had a copy of this through Netgallery, I didn’t actually see that parts of the book were crossed out, but when I found out, I thought it was a great twist. It helped me understand that the writing was meant to be Juliettes thoughts and ramblings. Writing in her notebook was her coping mechanism. She has been locked up with no human contact, and nothing but her own thoughts and words.

I understand that many people seriously disliked this book. I think this may be down to the love triangle that is envitably going to happen between Juliette, Adam and Warner. One is meant to be the hero, kind and utterly devoted to Juliette, while the other is completely cruel and twisted. It will be interesting to see how this is played out.

What was noticeable in this book is the lack of female characters. Whilst Juliette is a great heroine, it’s slightly frustrating that the rest of the characters in the book are male. I think Juliette holds her own, and I love her character development into this strong woman, however I fear the men overshadowing her as the series progresses. I really hope this isn’t the case, but we shall have to wait and see!

This was such a suprising book for me because I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I look forward to continuing with the series and finding out how the story will progress. However, whilst I really rate this first book, I think it’s one others will have to read for themseleves before making up their own mind, as I realise it won’t suit everybody.

Finally, can we just appreciate how beautiful the covers are! The phrase “never judge a book by it’s cover” rings true. I totally judged the book by the cover.

I rate this first book in the series four out five stars and will now wait patiently for the post man to deliver me the rest of the books so I can devour them one after the other.