Review - Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Series: 1st

Pages: 352

Published: November 15, 2011 by HarperTeen

ISBN: 9780062085481

Source: Once Upon A Twilight Blog Tours

Description: 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. 

I Give This ...

 

Well this was a surprise.  I actually didn't set my standards too high for this one because I just didn't feel like I had enough to go on.  It sounded intriguing and the cover is awesome.  I actually ended up tearing through it and the storyline kept me guessing.

 
I was instantly drawn to Juliette.  She's completely isolated from society.  She doesn't speak or touch other humans.  Her only communication with the outside world is the alarms that signal different part of the day (but those aren't even an regular intervals).  She's been shunned her entire life, and feels like even her own parents wanted nothing to do with her.  She may not like being all alone, but she feels being away from society is the best thing for her.  And even she doesn't know what she's fully capable of. 

Entire in Adam.  He suddenly appears as her cellmate.  She's terrified of being around another human.  She doesn't trust why he's there, and for very good reason.  It's a test she passes with flying colors.  The Reestablishment wants to use her as a weapon to bring those who defy them under their control.  She's taken from her cell into a house rich in luxuries she never had in the outside world.  But, she's has no desire to use her touch to bring people pain, no matter how grandly she is treated.  

Warner is the leader of The Reestablishment's son.  He seems to get a particularly gruesome kick out of the pain the Juliette can cause people.  He's the one who wants to use her for his own gain.  His character really intrigued me.  He's extremely twisted and is convinced that Juliette enjoys it as much as he does.  He will stop at nothing to keep her under his control.  The tests he sets up for Juliette to perform were horrible!

The story takes an interesting twist when we learn that Adam is not all that he seems.  It turns out he has a special connection to Juliette which he plays to his advantage.  For awhile, I wasn't sure which side he was truly on, which is I'm sure how that author intended you to feel.  When the truth comes out, I ended up completely in love with his character.  

As Adam and Juliette learn who they can trust concerning what is really happening in the outside world, the story starts racing forward at breathtaking speed.  There for some many things that happened that I really wasn't expecting.  This wasn't your typical dystopian and I think that's why I was so surprised by it.  I ended up really enjoying it.  Can't wait for the next one!