Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi- Review

Juliette can't touch anyone. She won't. Because when she does, bad things happens. Dead things. The Reestablishment has her locked up, away from anyone she can harm. But when they think Juliette may be what they need now, what they need in a dying world, Juliette has to make a decision. To be a weapon, or to be her own person.
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Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Mixed feelings for this one, I must say. The plot itself was promising; the writing mostly executed well, but then there was the problem of the main character: Juliette.

In the beginning, I really didn’t understand why people bagged on her so much, or why they said she was a whinner, or why they said she didn’t make any sense. I mean, cut her some slack, she’s been in this prison for what- nearly a year? Without anyone to talk to? I’d be pretty messed up by then too, if I were her (especially for my poor impatient, talkative self). I’d thought that the writing just added further to show that she was, going crazy (even though Juliette denied it, time and time again).

But then there came the escape. I’ve read a lot of books where, at this point of the book, at the point of possible freedom, the main character would unleash their inner heroine and rule the world (well, not really, but you know what I mean) and I really thought Juliette would step it up.

Then it got to the part where she really, really pissed me off. It was when her and Adam were basically running for their lives with about a hundred soldiers with guns behind them, and then Juliette basically goes and says, "I can't run because I'm a broken girl, Adam!". Puh-lease. You can't go around saying that when just a few hours ago you broke a concrete wall with your bare, I repeat, bare hands. No, you just cannot.

But with that said, I remembered what Mrs. Evans told us in English about seeing whether the main character has changed in the beginning of your story and at the end, and if it did, then you have a story (I am, actually, quite appalled that I remembered all this; by the end of fifty minutes worth of English with Evans, you'd be a zombie. She's THAT boring). And I guess Juliette did change by the end, saying that she was "ready", though ready for what, I have no idea.

I liked Adam enough, but I still do not understand why he likes Juliette so much. Sure, she's "good" and "still gives a damn about the world", but she doubts his love for her all the time. I swear she asked him about ten times why he cared about her so much, doubtingly, only to have Adam reply back a sweet answer that should set any girl's mind at ease. But apparently not Juliette. And then there was the fact that, until they got to Omega, there were no female characters apart from Juliette. Do I need to say more? I don't think so.

I really don't know how to move on without going on about Juliette again (that should say something about my feelings about her), so I'll just conclude now.

Well I liked the plot; I don't think I've read anything like it before, and the writing had the "pretty" prose that I love but Juliette was just a massive downer for me. But I will be reading the sequel. Hopefully that will change my mind about Juliette.