Full of action, suspense, and romance, Tahereh Mafi’s, Shatter Me follows Juliette, a teenager who has been locked up, alone, for the past 264 days for “her own safety.” When Adam Kent arrives in her cell, Juliette pushes him away. She doesn’t want to hurt him, because anyone she touches suffers pain and might die. Now, enter Warner, the cruel son of the leader of this dystopian government. He drives Juliette past the point of breaking and attempts to make her a weapon of torture.
Fate, however, has other plans. After Juliette discovers she can touch Adam without hurting him, the couple find a way to help the rebels at Omega Point, a group of people with powers similar to Juliette’s. Some are healers, and one can turn himself and anyone he touches invisible. All are devoted to overthrowing the new government, the Reestablishment.
I read this book in a day. The fast pace kept me hooked. Every scene had some sort of importance in the long run. From the small things, like Warner possibly brushing against Juliette, to the important ones, like Juliette being able to touch Adam.
Written in Juliette’s view, I noticed that Juliette would write or say something, cross it out, and rewrite the phrase the way people want to hear it or delete the phrase. This was an effective technique that I enjoyed. Here’s an example:
“’Where is Adam? Is he safe? Is he healthy? Are you going to hurt him?’
Warner flinches before finding his composure. ‘Why do you care?’
I’ve cared about Adam Kent since I was I third grade.”
One of the themes I loved from this novel was that love will always win. Adam and Juliette face all sorts of bad times, from beatings to near death, yet their love only grows stronger. No one can tear them apart, no matter hard they try, especially Warner.
I couldn’t put this book down and you won’t be able to either if you love dystopian romance and a plot-driven story.