Shatter Me (#1)
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Format: E-Book
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Publication Date: November 15, 2011
Synopsis:
I have a curse
I have a gift
I am a monster
I'm more than human
My touch is lethal
My touch is power
I am their weapon
I will fight back
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.
Many authors try to their hearts content to get the feelings of their characters across the page and to reach the readers. I've read some books that fail completely but then there are some authors like Taherah Mafi who really has the gift for it. From the very first page I could feel the pain that the protagonist, Juliette, felt. The coldness of her surrounding, her family, her life. When she was scared or ready to give up, I felt that way as well. It really leapt off the pages like a 3D movie.
We join Juliette while she is locked away in a mental institution. She hasn't seen her family in years and hasn't spoken a word in 264 days. She is all alone. Then Adam, her new cellmate, crashes into her world and completely flips it upside down. Adam is the dreamy guy that any girl who would want. He protects you, he loves you, he is your everything. The only problem is Adam has a few secrets. Would you trust him?
People are trying to make Juliette into a weapon. They see her as a tool, as a means to and end. Is she to the point in her life where she wants to give up and just be what they want? Or can she overcome herself and become a warrior. Fight the wrong and make it right?
I absolutely could not put this book down. It sucked me in from the beginning and I found myself wanting, no needing, the next book to already be here.
“I feel a light tugging on my legs and realize he's undoing my restraints. The brush of his skin against mine is abrupt and unexpected, and it triggers something deep and dark within me, enough to make me physically ill.”
