#shatter me book review

[maddiesnowflake]

SHATTER ME TRILOGY REVIEW-

2/5 stars…

Almost every review of this series that I have seen raves about how amazing it is. I have to disagree. For some context, here is the plot summary of book one:

“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.”

A plot summary for books 2 and 3 really isn’t needed since the storyline is so hopelessly redundant one can barely distinguish each book from the other. Essentially, the main character Juliette is rescued from her prison by the ruggedly handsome Adam Kent. They are taken to a District 13-esque underground base by the comedic relief character, Kenji. A resistance movement against an evil government whose motives are never clearly defined is introduced, a love triangle is formed between Juliette, sexy Adam and bad guy turned good sexy Aaron (who- plot twist- is Adam's long lost brother) , our main character discovers that she’s a super powerful girl boss, she takes down the government, becomes the government….yaddah yaddah yaddah.

My main issue with this book isn’t necessarily the plot. The concept of a person who can’t touch others without killing them is intriguing. The two sexy male characters that are conveniently the only people who can touch her without dying from her powers are obnoxious, but what can we expect from a dystopian YA novel? The thing is, a lot of the issues with this book are issues typically associated with YA novels, and in most books, they can be overlooked. BUT THIS BOOK HAS SOME OF THE WORST WRITING I HAVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE.

The chapters (which vary in length, sometimes 1, 2, 3, or 15 pages long) are fraught with sad attempts at profound metaphors. Allow me to provide you with a few examples:

“Raindrops are my only reminder that clouds have a heartbeat. That I have one, too.”

I've never heard about clouds with a heartbeat, but whatever makes you happy I guess.

“I only know now that the scientists are wrong.

The world is flat.

I know because I was tossed right off the edge and I've been trying to hold on for 17 years. I've been trying to climb back up for 17 years but it's nearly impossible to beat gravity when no one is willing to give you a hand.”

I think we can all agree that this metaphor could've been made without the declaration that the world is flat, but that line will definitely cause the reader to do a double take!

“I am nothing but novocaine. I am numb, a world of nothing, all feeling and emotion gone forever.  I am a whisper that never was.”

.....this speaks for itself. or maybe it doesn't speak, since it's novocaine.

“Every butterfly in the world has migrated to my stomach.”

this imagery both disturbs and confuses me

"My eyes are 2 professional pickpockets, stealing everything to store away in my mind."

quick writing lesson: when a number is less than ten, you write it out in word form!! also what. just what.

"They want to delete every point of punctuation in my life from this earth."

“And we are quotation marks, inverted and upside down, clinging to one another at the end of this life sentence. Trapped by lives we did not choose.”

punctuation metaphors are really a theme here. quite possibly the only theme of this series.

"My mouth is sitting on my kneecaps."

"My jaw is dangling from my shoelace."

"My eyelashes trip into my eyebrows; my jaw drops into my lap."

There are so many other normal ways to just say she was surprised! I simply cannot understand the thought process behind these absurd sentences.

"My stomach is a flimsy crepe, my heart is a raging woodpecker, my blood is a river of anxiety."

"I crumble to the floor, folding into myself like a flimsy crepe."

The fact that a crepe metaphor was used at all, let alone twice in one book, is completely bizarre.

[…]his lips his lips his lips are 2 pieces of frustration forged together.”

This pattern of crossing out and repeating phrases is repeated several times throughout each chapter, and it is sooooo irritating.

To conclude, this book series gave me the same vibes as most soap operas: terrible quality, the plot is filled with intrusive twists that make no logical sense, and the characters have about as much depth as a puddle.

I will admit that I was entertained by this series, hence the two stars instead of one. But I was entertained in the same way a train wreck might be entertaining. This series is so bad it's hilarious. The fact that someone wrote this, reread it, thought it was decent, an editor read this, also thought it was decent, and then had it published is so strange to me.

If you are the type of reader who enjoys plots that aren't thought out whatsoever, if you can stomach the cringiest of writing phrases, if you are okay with the most muddled and rushed endings ever, and if you enjoy the most cliche events possible , you may be able to enjoy this series. Or maybe you can enjoy it while seeing it for the ridiculousness it is. However, if you read this and think that you have walked away with some profound and thought provoking quotes like a majority of people on the internet seem to think, please reevaluate. Expand your reading horizons. Try some classic literature. Or something.

anyways this is not as harsh as it sounds, please don't be offended if you are a huge fan, just my opinion. :)

[ilovecoralineandotherbooks]

God, you're so beautiful ... even when you lie to me.

Tahereh Mafi - these infinite threads

[starrynightsxo]

guys, just finished restore me.

what the hell was that???

spoilers below...

JULIETTE IS ELLA??? SHE HAS A SISTER??? SHES THE SUPREME COMMANDER OF OCEANIAS KID?? SHE AND WARNER HAVE MET BEFORE???? HER AND NAZEERA KNOW EACH OTHER (that one was obvious tbf)

[stargazineyes]

Me when Aiden Crawford, Aaron Warner and Jack Ross (only men i love)

[su4vz]

The only good thing that Juliette’s mother (sry I mean Ella’s 👀 👀) did was growing back her hair

Dumbass also decided she liked the buzz cut

Like can u imagine if she kept it…

[bookhighlightss]

Okay so I'm done with half of shatter me and....

1. Aaron is only hurting juliette till now THATS NOT HOW YOU WIN A GIRLS HEART

2. Adam is so nice to juliette how is everyone hating on him I don't understand and from the booktoks he has a character underdevelopment and I'm not ready to watch that happen

3. Where is the booktok aaron warner IM WAITING FOR BOOKTOK AARON WARNER AAAAHHHHH

4. I love kenji tho ik he only appeared once till where I have read but I love him

Anyways... book review done I'll probably add more to this after I'm done with the book

[simpingforwomen]

Warner: my father gave me these scars as birthday presents

Kenji:

[crippling-pages]

Finished book 1 of the Shatter Me series, and may I just say

Warner is the most delulu man I can ever met read.

He's also kinda crazy. Scratch that, really crazy. But sort of hilarious. I don't really know what you guys see in him, as of now. And now I'm a bit concerned for his mental health.

Adam seems alright. I don't know when I'm supposed to start hating him (because apparently Adam is the bad guy???)

Jame is my child. If he dies or if anything bad happens to that angel I will CRY.

Kenji>> I'm gonna be completely honest, I wanted to read Shatter Me not because of Warner, but for Kenji, and my boy is slaying.

I actually love Juliette a lot but there's something about her... ehhhh yeah. She's slaying though <3

But yeah. I have Unravel Me from the library right next to me, so I'll be reading that next. I'll keep yall update.

Thank you for listening to my Book Talk. Adiosss

[yourfavouritewerido]

I have big news

Tahereh Mafi is making a spin off series to shatter me!!! I am so excited for this book!! It is about james and this girl Rosabelle who works for the reestablishment, and she is an assassin. It’s set ten years in the future and James is on the island that the reestablishment is on in a jail cell, so… idk what going to happen

I am so so so excited for this book, but the only thing is that it comes out in April 2025😭😭😭

[readingdaydreams]

Just finished Ignite Me and I’m minutes away from beginning Restore Me.

The Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi has not let me down. I’m so captivated by the storyline and I’m so sad I’m coming close to the end.

☁️

Ignite Me thoughts:

So far this is my favorite out of the three I’ve read.

I just knew a group of Omega Point was still alive. I just knew it.

Adam pisses me off so much but I hope he starts to calm down within these last reads because sir?? You and Juliette broke up THREE times and you still have the nerve to say “it doesn’t count.” What?? Lmao

Please tell me I’m not the only one in love with Kenji? Like I get the Warner hype and I do love him… but Kenji?? Oh he’s my favorite 👀 I sincerely hope nothing happens to him, I’ll cry.

☁️

[astralesha]

every time i finish a book on my bookshelf i stick this on the back cover. a song from my likes that fits the vibe, my favorite quotes, a rating, and i use a color that i feel fits the book

i literally look forward to doing this the whole time i’m reading

[starrynightsxo]

FULL SHATTER ME SERIES BY TAHEREH MAFI BOOK REVIEW

NO SPOILERS AHEAD

1) Shatter Me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 -> lays a good overall foundation of the books and nice introduction to the fmc

1.5) Destroy Me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -> provides much-needed mmc POV which helps us understand him more

2) Unravel Me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -> interesting "unravelling" of events, feel like this book is crucial to the plot and her character development

2.5) Fracture Me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ -> least favourite due to a certain character POV...

3) Ignite Me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 -> I liked how the fmc and mmc relationship progressed and the plot was starting to come through more as well. Both complimented each other and there was some nice development.

4) Restore Me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -> It was a bit boring at first but the ending saved it and was INTERESTING.

4.5) Shadow Me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 -> Kenji POV was much appreciated and I liked but I felt that there wasn't much movement and it felt a bit unable to flow?

5) Defy Me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 -> Took some time to get into BUT there were some good plot twists and revelations to keep things interesting.

5.5) Reveal Me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -> For Kenji lovers, it had some plot but it focused more on him. Felt it had more flow than in Shadow Me and I enjoyed the actual plot more in this.

6) Imagine Me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 -> All in all, I found the beginning a bit boring but it was the end that pulled it through for me. If you don't read for anything else, read for after around 100 pages because that is where it gets interesting.

6.5) Believe Me - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 -> A great wrap up of the whole series I thoroughly enjoyed this fluff filled novella. After the whole series I felt the fmc and mmc got the end they deserved and it was worth reading every part of this book. Especially how the relationship between the mmc and others grow even more and it's nice to see him come to realise this.

Time taken to read full series: 3 days shy of 1 month (from a moderate reader)

[booklovers-hub]

Books are easily destroyed, but words will live as long as people will remember them.

~Aaron Warner

[andreai04]

That's all I ever was, I realize. A spare part kept in captivity. A backup weapon in the case that all else failed.

Shatter me.

Break glass in case of emergency.

[sofiasjornal]

Shatter Me Review

Since I read the book I thought I might as well make a review 😂 it’s not really my type of book but it compelled me enough to keep going, thanks to Warner, by the way However, I have issues with it so don’t kill me!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The writing style is painful. In the beginning, I enjoyed the metaphors and similes but then it just became way too much. At some point, it gave me a headache. I don’t know the writer and I believe she might be very good but this writing style isn’t for me. It may be to give it poetic sentiment but it doesn’t. It feels incredibly heavy. Also, first person… ehhh…

Juliette is incredibly annoying, at least to me. I get the trauma and isolation, I get that it screws with your head but do you have to be so… bland? The only time her personality shoots forward is when Warner is around and only because it pisses her off. And being in the first person just makes it worse…

Adam is a bit more interesting but still… ehhh. From the get-go, you could sense something was up with him, with them. Not only that she knew him but he knew her as well. And when he wrote that phrase in the notebook, you knew they were running away at some point in time. Their relationship is too predictable.

Warner, however, was a very interesting and complex character. There’s clearly some war inside him. At this point, I don’t think what he feels for her is love, is definitely an obsession. Maybe she represents something for him that he confuses with love, I don’t know. Now, if he was her love interest in the main plot, maybe it would be more interesting. A Romeo and Juliet (yeah yeah, I know) of sorts. But as it stands….

Also, Kenji and James are adorable. They made me laugh and made me enjoy the story.

Again, the existence of Omega Point is way too obvious. It was obvious she would end up aligned with the rebels somehow. And if it wasn’t Adam leading her there, someone else would… it was Kenji. The one soldier Adam seemed to be friendly with. Again… what a surprise…

Also, calling a dystopia… I think that’s stretching it a bit. Let’s call it a romance and maybe leave it at that.

Maybe the next one will be better? I’m holding on to hope!

[bookhighlightss]

Okay!! Um!! He's technically supposed to kill you!! Why are you finding your future boyfriend's father hot!! I mean I don't blame you!! You're just a girl🎀