Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

"You can't touch me," I whisper.

I'm lying, is what I don't tell him.

He can touch me, is what I'll never tell him.

But things happen when people touch me.

Strange things.

Bad things.

No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.

But Juliette has plans of her own.

After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.

Review: 

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is a book I have been looking forward to reading for ages now. It sounded amazing, and the early reviews coming in for it praised it immensely, especially for its dystopian elements. However, I was worried if I would like the book as much as everyone else..if it would live up to all the hype and glory surrounding it. Luckily, it did, as not only was Shatter Me a fantastic and noteworthy debut, but it's certainly a great first book, one that I'm absolutely, 100% stoked to read the sequels for.

Shatter Me begins the story of Juliette, a girl who's been under the thumb of The Reestablishment for 264 days because of her deadly touch. The people around Juliette have always marked her as outcast, but now that The Reestablishment has control of her, she knows it's true. She doesn't deserve to be around people...to be touched and cared for...because when people touch her and she touches them they only get hurt. Everything changes, though, when Adam gets thrown into her cell. He's quiet, daunting, and mysterious, and he's completely caught her eye. He gets her in ways she could have never imagined, but what happens when she finds out Adam isn't the person Juliette thought he was? Will Juliette prosper or sink further into the ground? Only time and more pages can tell in this lively, thrilling debut that's sure to have anyone saying, "What's going to happen next?!"

Juliette was certainly one of my favorite parts of Shatter Me. From the first page, I was instantly intrigued by her character. She seemed so hurt and damaged, and I wondered what made her that way, and what it would take for her to realize that she's still a great and strong person under it all. Because of that all, I loved watching her character develop and grow as the book progressed. It was a true transformation, and one that I'm eager to see it continued in the next book. I also ADORED Adam! He was just as swoon-worthy as everyone said he was, and I really liked seeing his relationship with Juliette develop as the book continued, especially when he grew as a person right along with her. Another great as well as surprising aspect of this book were the supporting characters. I loved Adam's little brother who was sweet, funny, and wise beyond his years, as well as Kenji who managed to make me chuckle more than once with his wry remarks. 

The plot in this was action packed from start to finish. I really enjoyed the level of detail Mafi put into The Reestablishment. They were creepy as well as deadly, and the perfect "villain" in most senses. And while I have a lot of questions to be answered, I'm sure the sequels will answer them. I also enjoyed seeing the romance in this one bloom too. It was steamy, and even though it developed at a fast past, it seemed somewhat realistic given the circumstances, which made me happy. Lastly, the paranormal abilities in this one rocked my socks! I seriously can't wait to learn more about Juliette's abilities in the sequels as well as some other possible ones.

The only problem I had with the book is that I felt like some of the scenes were sort of dry, and perhaps needed some more spark and emotion, but besides that Shatter Me was truly a treat to read!

Grade: A-

Shatter Me (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads) is now out!

Source: Publisher via Publicist (Thanks Lauren!)