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Author: Tahereh Mafi
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | TBD
The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, called “a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love.”
With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her.
The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu. Tahereh Mafi has created a captivating and original story that combines the best of dystopian and paranormal, and was praised by Publishers Weekly as “a gripping read from an author who’s not afraid to take risks.” Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and satisfying end.
Review:
I have been in love with this series since the first book and seeing it end filled me with both joy and sadness. I don’t want this story to end, but at the same time I’m so glad of everything that happened because these characters deserved it.
What made this series different was Tahereh’s unique style. When I started Shatter Me, it was kind of odd but I got used to it and it started to have an appeal. The repeated words give emphasis and the crossed-out ones gives us a glimpse of Juliette’s internal conflict.
I have this random, unscripted fangirling inside me which might give spoilers so I’ll just list the things that made this book awesome.
1. Juliette. I loved how her character developed since the first book. Before we saw a terrified girl who sees herself as a monster. But in Ignite Me, Juliette was aware of her abilities and learned to embrace it, not fear it. She is determined to fight back and not to be placed at the backseat and be protected.
2. Kenji. What more can a girl ask for if you have Kenji Kishimoto as your best friend? I am so glad he was the first one who heard Juliette’s story on what happened to her when she was separated with them during the battle. I expected a mad outburst but also an understanding, even just a little.. and he did not disappoint. In this book, he acted as the mediator between two sides who still finds it hard to exist together. He was not just the clown in this one who gives us a comedic relief whenever things get pretty serious. He was the support Juliette had when everyone second-guessed her decision to fight The Reestablishment with the help of Warner. (Is that part a spoiler? I think it was pretty obvious that Warner’s gonna help him, right?) He tells Juliette when something is not right and supports her with her decisions—the exact definition of a friend, in my opinion.
3. James. I’m pretty sure we all agree how adorable he is but this time, we got more of him. He has that innocence in him the others lacked because of the war. It was like the only pure thing left in this big mess with The Reestablishment. Here’s a bit of his cuteness:
“They can touch me if they like, and maybe it’ll hurt, but my skin won’t kill anyone anymore. Because I’ll never let it get that far. Because I now know how to control it.”
What made this series different was Tahereh’s unique style. When I started Shatter Me, it was kind of odd but I got used to it and it started to have an appeal. The repeated words give emphasis and the crossed-out ones gives us a glimpse of Juliette’s internal conflict.
I have this random, unscripted fangirling inside me which might give spoilers so I’ll just list the things that made this book awesome.
1. Juliette. I loved how her character developed since the first book. Before we saw a terrified girl who sees herself as a monster. But in Ignite Me, Juliette was aware of her abilities and learned to embrace it, not fear it. She is determined to fight back and not to be placed at the backseat and be protected.
2. Kenji. What more can a girl ask for if you have Kenji Kishimoto as your best friend? I am so glad he was the first one who heard Juliette’s story on what happened to her when she was separated with them during the battle. I expected a mad outburst but also an understanding, even just a little.. and he did not disappoint. In this book, he acted as the mediator between two sides who still finds it hard to exist together. He was not just the clown in this one who gives us a comedic relief whenever things get pretty serious. He was the support Juliette had when everyone second-guessed her decision to fight The Reestablishment with the help of Warner. (Is that part a spoiler? I think it was pretty obvious that Warner’s gonna help him, right?) He tells Juliette when something is not right and supports her with her decisions—the exact definition of a friend, in my opinion.
“I’m here for you, kid. That’s what friends are for.”
3. James. I’m pretty sure we all agree how adorable he is but this time, we got more of him. He has that innocence in him the others lacked because of the war. It was like the only pure thing left in this big mess with The Reestablishment. Here’s a bit of his cuteness:
“That’s so cool,” James says, grinning. “This whole place is so cool.” He frowns. “Hey I thought we were supposed to hate you, though.”
“James,” Adam says, shooting his brother a warning glance.
“What?” James asks.
“You are free to hate me,” Warner says. “If you want to. I don’t mind.”
“Well you should mind,” James says, surprised. “I’d be really upset if someone hated me,”
“You are young.”
“I’m almost twelve,” James says to him.
“I was told you were ten.”
“I said almost twelve.” James rolls his eyes. “How old are you?”
4. Warner. This guy.. *shakes head* Despite thinking that I’ve been on his side after reading Destroy Me, I think I started having this belief that he’s much more than he seems to be since Shatter Me, and boy, he didn’t disappoint. Here you get to see a very attentive, caring, loving and sarcastic Warner. It is so obvious that his world revolves around Juliette but what makes him so much better is that he believes in her. He doesn’t treat her like a damsel in distress and he only comes to her rescue when he thinks she really needs it.
“Warner thinks I’m strong and smart and capable and he actually values my opinion. He makes me feel like his equal—like I can accomplish just as much as he can, and more. And if I do something incredible, he’s not even surprised. He expects it. He doesn’t treat me like I’m some fragile little girl who needs to be protected all the time.”
5. Character development. As mentioned above, Juliette’s, Kenji’s and Warner’s characters were given more roundness, but not just them but also Adam. He may have acted like a total douchebag but Tahereh showed to us a different side of Adam and I actually love it. It removed the notion that Adam is super kind, forgiving, gentle and all that bullshit. It showed Adam as a human being—someone who gets hurt, hurts someone, says stupid things and does stupid things. I honestly disliked Adam for being flat and being whiny and sappy in Unravel Me so I appreciated this development so much.
6. Chapter 55. Holy shitake mushrooms!! 55 is the new 62. That is all. *fans self*
Unfortunately, no matter how awesome this book is, there were some not-so-awesome about it. One is that the ‘great battle’ happened too fast for me. I wanted more action from the war, more elaborate of what is going on especially when they were in the ship. Who the hell was that guy? Juliette said he’s familiar, so who is he?
This book was made of feels, rainbows and unicorns. It didn’t focus more on its dystopian aspect but on Juliette’s growth as a character and I’m okay with that. Some may say that this is just full of romance but it’s not. Yes, it had some feels because Juliette’s choice between Warner and Adam also says something about her but it didn’t just focused there. They weren’t coped up together in the whole book. There was actually confusion, uncertainty and realizations.
The ending didn’t feel like the end at all. It felt like it was just a beginning, but it is a beginning to another chapter in Juliette’s life. But despite wanting to know more about what happens next, I’d rather end this story at this then have another roller coaster. In the end, I think Juliette had all her loose ends tied.
Tahereh Mafi is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the SHATTER ME series. She was born in a small city somewhere in Connecticut and currently resides in Santa Monica, California, where she drinks too much caffeine and finds the weather to be just a little too perfect for her taste.
When unable to find a book, she can be found reading candy wrappers, coupons, and old receipts.
SHATTER ME is her first novel.
