Early Buzz Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Publication Date: November 15th, 2011

Published By: HarperTeen

Hardcover, 352 Pages

Source: Received from publisher for an honest review

Summary:

"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.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel."

My Review: ***** = 5 Stars

(Spoiler-FREE review)

This has to be one of the toughest reviews I have ever written. Whether I write it now, a month before it comes out, or a month after, there is so much I cannot include if I don't want to spoil all of you out there that have not had the pleasure of reading it yet, and I REALLY don't want to spoil it for you. I will do my best to get my feelings across, and I will certainly not spoil anything for you.

I'll start with how I feel about the book overall. This truly is a beautiful book. With beautiful writing and characterization and words that will make you fall in love<3. It is so well written.. I couldn't have been happier with what I was reading, and how it was written, and that it was living up to my expections, even exceeding them.

Juliette is a complicated character. She is not the weakling girl that everyone has to take care of, nor is she the strong amazing never fail girl that can do it all. She has flaws, but she handles them with grace. Her main flaw or gift (to be deterimined while you read the book), is the power to kill with her touch, and this is very much what makes her so complicated. Her story is very much a heartbreaking one, but she grows and allows her heartbreak to also heal her.

The introduction of Adam, who you will learn all about when you read the book, is quite genius. The chemistry between Juliette and Adam is off the charts. Unfortunately, that is all I will say on this subject. ;)

Throughout the novel, there are plenty of twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages until the very end. The character relationships and backstories were some of my very favorite parts of this novel. Probably some of my favorites from any novel (especially the backstories, Tahereh Mafi YOU'RE BRILLIANT!)...

Now I'll talk about what I didn't like. It's not enough to change my overall feelings, which is that this book is stunning and amazing, but I did feel that there were some things that if done differently could have made this book a masterpiece and not just close to perfect. The first half of the book, and the second half, had a very different feel to them. In the first half, the focus is on Juliette. Her story, backstory, how she has changed, what is going on with her internally etc. I really loved her internal stuggle, and how Mafi conveys that to us in the writing. It was definitely the most interesting and intriguing writing in the entire book. Near the halfway point though, the internal thoughts kind of fade away. Juliette's side thoughts are taken out. I know the book is moving forward and as the character changes, so must the story, but I really wish that part of Juliette stayed throughout the entire novel. Also, near the end of the book there is a huge twist. It definitely isn't bad so don't get all worried. But part of me feels that with this twist, it took Shatter Me and turned it from an amazingly unique one of a kind novel, into something we have seen before. It's very hard to explain without being able to tell you why I feel that way, but there you have it.

 Now please don't let this deduct from all of what I have previously said.
 THIS IS STILL AN AMAZING BOOK! I love it, and I have no doubts that most everybody will too.

One of the best of the year by far and without a doubt.

I definitely recommend this to any fan of anything. This isn't something you want to miss.

On a side note... let's talk about the cover^^^! I have waited to post this review until the cover was released, which was earlier today. This cover is just as stunning as the book itself, and it fits it perfectly. Mad props to HarperTeen on an outstanding job with this one!

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Shatter Me is now available for Pre-Order. Check out Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Borders to pre-order yours now!

Want to learn more about debut author Tahereh Mafi? Check out her blog, tumblr or twitter page!

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Sherry<3