Shatter Me
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 asThe 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.
Danny: So today, Pushy is joining me for a review.
Pushy: *waves* Hi, all! Thank you, Danny, for letting me horn in on your awesomesauce review!!!
Danny: There was such a hype about Shatter Me beginning already in the middle of last year. I remember it was one of the most anticipated books to be gathered at BEA in May.
Pushy: I remember that too!! But for some reason I held off in reading this particular book….
Danny: Well, that’s how it always is when the hype explodes – it either makes you even more excited to read it or you …wait! Well, we both waited – but damn it!!! If I would have known, really known what I would miss I would have read it last year already…
The Writing, Oh the Writing!
Danny: This is normally not how I start a review but oh my gosh – the writing here was so incredibly beautiful and so very emotional! Ms. Tahereh Mafi is a genius – she’s so incredible talented, I simply bow down to her! Her style of writing might be different, but while reading (or better listening to it) I always thought “this is why I won’t ever be a writer, I could never ever write as beautiful as this.” Her writing triggers emotions in the craziest, most intense way – I felt everything Juliette felt and I was sad and lonely and heartbroken together with her.
Pushy: I could not possibly agree more! Her use of metaphor was so lush! The ways she turned a phrase did more than elucidate what was going on in a particular scene, she gave it a vibrancy and added depth that was just superb! Ms. Mafi gets DEFINITE extra points for her lyrical writing!
Danny: Seriously, I could go on and on about this… I am in awe!
Juliette – heartbroken, completely alone and so very vulnerable
Danny: Although Juliette’s touch can kill – she is one of the most tragic characters ever. She’s lonely – completely and utterly alone, without love or human companionship. Even her parents have left her. Everyone is scared of her, but Juliette is even more afraid of herself. I felt so very sorry for her and all I wanted to do is take her in my arms, hug her and tell her everything will be okay! But seeing her grow and bloom when she meets Adam was a wonderful transformation and my heart cheered for her.
Pushy: Again, you’ve hit the nail on the head, Danny!! Right from the start, Juliette stole my heart! Putting her plight into words, I admit that she sounds a lot like many of my favorite, dystopian heroines: isolated, troubled girl with a heart of gold and the spirit of a lion just waiting to be unleashed. But there’s something totally unique about Juliette; perhaps the very softness of her nature or the bone-deep selflessness she shows throughout the book. Regardless, Juliette is more than just the sum of her YA parts; she’s something truly amazing!
Adam – Oh my … strong, determined and utterly swoon worthy!
Pushy: Okay, I know every YA book needs a cutie. But step aside boys because Adam is the real deal. Oh my goodness, Adam made my heart melt and soar and die and revive and I don’t know what! I love how I knew, just KNEW, from the moment we meet Adam, that he and Juliette had a history. And throughout this book, the more we learn about Adam, the more we see him with Juliette, the more I fell head over heels in love with him!
Danny: As did I!!! When Adam comes in Juliette’s life, everything changes for her. But also for us, because Adam is one of the most dreamy and swoon-worthy boys in YA literature! He’s strong for Juliette and seeing him so tender with her literally broke my heart. Adam was the perfect boy for Juliette: the only thing he wanted was to keep her safe. He gave her back hope…
A cruel Dystopian world and a bad villain
Danny: At first I thought it was just “one of those” dystopian stories – but Shatter Me is so much more and has so much more to offer. Emotions, love, strength, change and … hope! This is what this story is about for me. Despite being different and being lonely, everything can change if you have hope and if you fight for it! The story at times was both cruel and horrible – but I believe these scenes were important.
Pushy: But what you’re not saying, is that despite how despicable Warner, our villain, is…he’s so freaking compelling!!! Like all good “bad guys”, Warner has layers that will surprise readers and leave you wanting to know more!!!!
Bewitched Rating
*with a crown!
Bottom Line
Danny: This was a phenomenal book that totally left me speechless with how much I adored it. The writing is so amazingly beautiful and so incredibly full of emotions I had tears in my eyes nearly throughout. I felt everything Juliette felt. Adam is the swoon-worthy boy that makes the story well-rounded and simply perfect!
Pushy: As compelling as it is glorious, this book will hook you from page one and keep your heart pounding until you read the very last word!
Audiobook ramblings:
Get your own Audiobook at audible: Shatter Me (unabridged, 9hrs 12 min)
Danny: The audiobook was incredible and the narrator perfectly translated the emotions. It’s not often that the narrator perfectly manages to catch the right tone for the story and transporting emotions can be the hardest part. But Kate Simses manages all this! Her voice was lovely, had a great intonation and I liked her male voices. None of them sounded too fake. Not only would I recommend reading Shatter Me, I would also wholeheartedly recommend this audiobook!
Pushy: I adored this audiobook! Kate Simses conveyed just the right balance of vulnerability and untapped power for Juliette, while perfectly capturing the other characters as well. This audiobook was definitely a treat!
Much Love and … get lost in a book!
Latest posts by Danny (see all)
- INTENSITY by Sherrilyn Kenyon – Excerpt & Giveaway - September 8, 2017
- Locked in Temptation – Q&A withBrenda Jackson & Giveaway - August 4, 2017
- Locked in Temptation by Brenda Jackson – Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway - July 26, 2017
Great review! The writing is so beautiful in this book, I’m not surprised to hear it was excellent as an audiobook! I’ll have to give it a listen someday soon!
Becky @ Stories & Sweeties recently posted..Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Reply »
This one is most definitely a fantastic audiobook and if you plan to reread Shatter Me, maybe consider the audio this time!
Danny recently posted..Audiobook Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Reply »
Hi, Pushy! *waves back* LOL I love the way you guys wrote this review — it was so much fun! x) This book definitely deserves a gushing start, especially for the way it was written because unless it’s another Tahereh Mafi book, you’re probably never going to read another book like it! 😉 And you’ve gotta love the adorable villain (although I will always be Team Adam, just because he was sweet, sweet, SWEET)! <3
Really fun-tastic review, you two! And I think that this book would be so cool to listen to as an audiobook too! 🙂
Mimi Valentine recently posted..Review: Slide
Reply »
Thanks Mimi – Pushy and me had so much fun together. Especially since we loved this book so much!! We were talking endlessly on Skypa bout it!
I agree her style is unique and mesmerizing and , I would read anything from her!
I’m also Team Adam and Pushy too – but unlike me, Pushy really found our villain fascinating!!
Danny recently posted..Audiobook Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Reply »
You guys are the cutest! I love you and miss you both:) So glad you guys enjoyed this one, I agree that the writing was just stunning. I’m not a big highlighter of favorite quotes or phrases when I read, but my fingers were itching to highlight almost the entire book. Can’t wait for the next one!
Reply »
Oh Sweetie and how much we love and miss you!!
I’m not a highlighter myself, although here I wish I had – there were some moments and phrases she used which simply made my heart ache and my eyes water. She is insanely talented! Can’t wait for the next one..
Danny recently posted..Audiobook Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Reply »
You ladies with your fun little post just reminded me that I need to get around to reading this book. It sounds so amazing. I love reading books with gorgeous writing. I will definitely read this soon.
Reply »
Oh Heidi, please go and pick it up, you won’t be disappointed! It was so awesome and we both fell in love with the story, the writing and the characters…
Danny recently posted..Audiobook Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Reply »
Ahhh!
I’m so glad you liked it Danny! 😀
I loved it too!
I agree. Adam is swoon worthy 🙂
As always, awesome review.
Reply »
Oh Adam, OoOOO Adam!!! He’s dreamy, lovely, adorable and … still so strong!! Who cannot love him?!?!
Danny recently posted..Audiobook Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Reply »
I’m so glad you enjoyed this one Danny! I really liked this one too. Adam is so…sigh. I loved him. Although I can’t really understand the people who are on team Warner. I mean, he kills people. There’s not much you can excuse for that. But anyways, awesome book, I’m glad to hear the audiobook was great too! 🙂
♥ Sarah @ I’m Loving Books
Sarah recently posted..Comment on Review: Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin by Rebecca
Reply »
No me neither! Warner is just so bad and I hated this scene with the baby?
I’m glad to hear you also liked it – it was an awesome book and I wish I would have read it earlier!
Danny recently posted..Audiobook Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Reply »
I’m really glad you both enjoyed it that much !! I still have to buy a copy and read it but I’m definitely even more impatient to do it now .. Thanks for the lovely double review girls !!
Elodie @ Once Upon a Quote recently posted..Review : Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz :
Reply »
Oh Elodie, you have to get this book, like seriously and now! I know, I also saw all this hype and read the synopsis and thought “well, yes another Dystopian” but this book is just so much more awesome! The writing!! I hope you’ll love it as much as we did!
Danny recently posted..Audiobook Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Reply »
I thought this book was totally awesome. I read the first 25 chapters online through the publisher one Saturday. Every hour they would post a new chapter. I tried very hard to win a copy of the book, but though there were a lot of Heathers winning, not me. Anyway, everything you said was so true. But that day of the chapters being posted, the publisher was asking questions and they asked who Juliette should be with and some people picked WARNER! That evil B******! WHY??? I couldn’t believe it. Adam is just so cute and wonderful and caring. Why the villain? Did you see anything in him that would appeal to you? Warner, I mean?
Heather
hrose2931 recently posted..Review- War of the Fae- The Changelings by Elle Casey
Reply »
Oh that might be also where the hype came from?? I mean if I would have read a few chapters I would have drawn in – completely!! But, I tempt not to read Chapters, preview or excerpt since I want to read the whole book and not having to wait until I can read it.
Yep, no freaking idea why someone would pick Warner… Why?? No freaking clue. Maybe they re hoping that he could change?? I do not know…
But, Team Adam here, all the way, all the time!
Danny recently posted..Audiobook Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Reply »
Yay! I’m so very glad you both enjoyed it so much. I got to start a bit of it before I had to put it down because of have-to-reads, but wow, I adored the way it was written based on that short time! And Juliet and Adam… o: I’m so curious. And 5 with a crown?? Wiie. You’ve also made me quite curious about the audiobook version… Awesome review!
Rebecca (Kindle Fever) recently posted..Review: Life Is But a Dream by Brian James
Reply »
Oh no, you have to pick it up again, it was so incredible!!! But, I know what you mean and how this feels – sometimes the reading pile is so over floating that you have barely time to read what you want to read and then read what you agreed to read…
If you like audiobooks, you should definitely consider picking this up again:)
Danny recently posted..Waiting on Wednesday {52}
Reply »
I’m really excited about this book. I’m excited that you thought the writing was so outstanding. It’ s nice to see a book live up to the hype.
Alison (AlisonCanRead) recently posted..The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
Reply »
It totally does! And you know how creating such a hype sometimes can so easily backfire. But here, it definitely deserved every praise! It was so incredible!!!
Danny recently posted..Waiting on Wednesday {52}
Reply »
This book is SO amazing! I loved it. I totally agree about Tahereh Mafi’s writing style, it is just wonderful. And Adam is one of my most favorite male characters. 🙂 I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book!
Reply »
I received this for Christmas, but still haven’t read it 🙁 Everyone says how beautiful the writing is.. I can’t wait to finally get to it.
Christy (Love of Books) recently posted..As the World Dies: Untold Tales – Exclusive Excerpt
Reply »
[…] We’re in LOVE with this great review of ‘Shatter Me’ over on Bewitched Bookworms: […]
O I must run to my library and see if they have this on audio. Thanks for the great review.
Reply »
I so want this book! I mean, I read the e-copy -& looooved it!! But there’s NOTHING like holding the book -one you freaking liked- & touching, smelling the pages, looking, WHATEVER!
Awesome review!
Reply »
[…] from my Review: This was a phenomenal book that totally left me speechless with how much I adored it. The writing […]
スーパーコピーオメガ(Omega),人気オメガコピー時計,オメガ偽物時計：http://www.cheapwatchcopy.com/cs-omega.html N級スーパーコピー時計,ブランド時計コピー,ブランド偽物時計激安通販専売店：http://www.cheapwatchcopy.com/
Reply »