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desiree930 's review for:
Shatter Me
by Tahereh Mafi
***UPDATE***
Re-read 3/7-3/8 2018 - I was wondering how I would feel about this book when I reread it, knowing now what I didn’t know then. I stand by the 3 star rating I originally gave this book. There are a lot of issues with this book as far as problematic content. That being said, I still enjoy this book, especially knowing how much more I enjoyed the second and third books. I’m really intrigued to see where the story is going to go with the new trilogy.
I listened to the audiobook for this reread. I enjoyed how they addressed the fact that there are things crossed out throughout the narrative. However, the narrator used a very childlike voice for Juliette, which didn’t work for me at all.
***ORIGINAL REVIEW***This was a super quick read for me. I went into this book with a little background into the style of the writing, which I think helped me accept the stranger aspects of the narration. Near the halfway point her narration became clearer in any case, so that also made it easier to understand.
I do have some other issues regarding this book. The world-building is a little murky. We aren't told exactly when this is supposed to take place, but it doesn't seem like it's TOO far in future. Society has devolved because of food shortages, pollution, and disease. There are militaristic groups in charge (it isn't clear if they work for some sort of government or if they are just independent groups). Entire city streets are abandoned, and there are compounds housing many of the people. And yet, Juliette remembers a time when things were more normal. And according to her it was only a few years prior. I guess it's just difficult to believe that things could turn so bad and change so completely in such a short time frame.
The characters were a little over-the-top. Now with Juliette I can understand it. She has this potentially fatal ability that makes it impossible to have physical contact with another person. She's spent the last couple of years isolated from the rest of society, from juvenile detention to a very scary asylum. It would make sense that she was off-kilter in her thoughts, speeches, and actions. I'm not sure about Adam. The insta-love these two had going had me rolling my eyes at times, especially when a 17ish year old boy is spouting all this flowery dialogue. I'm sorry, that just isn't realistic.
Warner creeped me out quite a bit. I've heard people talk about this series and how much they love Warner, but as of the first book, he comes off as a psychopathic stalker creep. He also speaks in a way that doesn't seem authentic for a 19 year old guy. I really am interested to see how his character develops in the next couple books.
As for the plot, there really isn't much of one to speak of. I mean, a lot of things happen, and one event leads to another and another, but this felt more like a superhero origin story than anything else. I guess that would be my other issue with this book. It felt like it didn't quite know what kind of book it wanted to be. A dystopian? A paranormal romance?
Even with all my critique, I still enjoyed this book. I am interested to see where it goes from here and if the character development is really as successful as most people seem to think.
Re-read 3/7-3/8 2018 - I was wondering how I would feel about this book when I reread it, knowing now what I didn’t know then. I stand by the 3 star rating I originally gave this book. There are a lot of issues with this book as far as problematic content. That being said, I still enjoy this book, especially knowing how much more I enjoyed the second and third books. I’m really intrigued to see where the story is going to go with the new trilogy.
I listened to the audiobook for this reread. I enjoyed how they addressed the fact that there are things crossed out throughout the narrative. However, the narrator used a very childlike voice for Juliette, which didn’t work for me at all.
***ORIGINAL REVIEW***This was a super quick read for me. I went into this book with a little background into the style of the writing, which I think helped me accept the stranger aspects of the narration. Near the halfway point her narration became clearer in any case, so that also made it easier to understand.
I do have some other issues regarding this book. The world-building is a little murky. We aren't told exactly when this is supposed to take place, but it doesn't seem like it's TOO far in future. Society has devolved because of food shortages, pollution, and disease. There are militaristic groups in charge (it isn't clear if they work for some sort of government or if they are just independent groups). Entire city streets are abandoned, and there are compounds housing many of the people. And yet, Juliette remembers a time when things were more normal. And according to her it was only a few years prior. I guess it's just difficult to believe that things could turn so bad and change so completely in such a short time frame.
The characters were a little over-the-top. Now with Juliette I can understand it. She has this potentially fatal ability that makes it impossible to have physical contact with another person. She's spent the last couple of years isolated from the rest of society, from juvenile detention to a very scary asylum. It would make sense that she was off-kilter in her thoughts, speeches, and actions. I'm not sure about Adam. The insta-love these two had going had me rolling my eyes at times, especially when a 17ish year old boy is spouting all this flowery dialogue. I'm sorry, that just isn't realistic.
Warner creeped me out quite a bit. I've heard people talk about this series and how much they love Warner, but as of the first book, he comes off as a psychopathic stalker creep. He also speaks in a way that doesn't seem authentic for a 19 year old guy. I really am interested to see how his character develops in the next couple books.
As for the plot, there really isn't much of one to speak of. I mean, a lot of things happen, and one event leads to another and another, but this felt more like a superhero origin story than anything else. I guess that would be my other issue with this book. It felt like it didn't quite know what kind of book it wanted to be. A dystopian? A paranormal romance?
Even with all my critique, I still enjoyed this book. I am interested to see where it goes from here and if the character development is really as successful as most people seem to think.