Blog Tour: You Can't Shatter Me by Tahlia Newland

Today, as part of the blog tour for Tahlia Newland's new release You Can't Shatter Me, I have a review for the book. So without a further ado...

Summary/Cover Image from Author's Website:

Sixteen year old Carly wants to write her own life and cast herself as a superhero, but the story gets out of control when she stands up to a bully and he turns on her. His increasing harassment forces her to battle flying hooks, giant thistles, doubt dragons and a suffocating closet. Dylan, a karate-trained nerd who supports her stand, turns out to be a secret admirer, and while he struggles to control his inner caveman, Carly searches for her own way to stop the bully. An old hippie shows her an inner magic that’s supposed to make her invincible, but will Carly learn to use it before her knight in shining armour risks all in a battle with a fire-breathing dragon?

This heart-warming magical realism story will inspire and empower teens and adults alike.

Review:

When I was first offered the chance to read and review You Can't Shatter Me, I quickly took up the chance. It seemed like an interesting read (I was curious to see how Tahlia used magical realism to take on the problem of bullying) and I liked how it was less than 200 pages long- what can I say I always liked a quick read...Anyhow, You Can't Shatter Me was a fast paced read, and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. However, I did have a few tiny problems with it...

You Can't Shatter Me alternates between the voices of Carly and Dylan, two ordinary teens who are sick of seeing their fellow classmates harassed by the their grade's bully. I enjoyed how Tahlia gave the reader an inside look into each teen's head, because it allowed for both Carly and Dylan to grow as well rounded characters. Carly was personal favorite out of the two. I really enjoyed her take to standing against bullying as well as how she reached out to past victims. I did like Dylan as well, though. He was kind and sweet, and he really grew as the novel progressed. He learned to take a stand against something that wasn't right, and that was interesting to see. The wide variety of secondary characters introduced were also interesting. However, I wish more was said about them.

I had a love hate relationship with the plot in this one, though, and that mostly had to deal with Tahlia's use of magical realism. Don't get me wrong, it was interesting and I always enjoyed seeing how she tied it into the scenes at hand, but sometimes I felt like it was just too much. To tell the truth, I probably would have enjoyed the book more without it, but I could see the positives to using it. I did, however, like how Tahlia used mediation as a way for the characters to overcome some of their stresses...I don't see much of that in YA, and it was an interesting little aspect.

In all, You Can't Shatter Me is a good enough read. It had its ups as well as its downs, but for the price as well as its length and the good messages it contained, I still think it's worth a try.

Grade: B

You Can't Shatter Me (Amazon, BN, Goodreads) is now out!

Source: Author- thanks Tahlia!

To find out more about Tahlia as well as see other posts from the blog tour, head over to her website or click on the banner above.