Shatter Me

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)
By: Tahereh Mafi

I wanted to read the whole series before I reviewed the first book. I have done so and now will give my opinion. This series was gifted to me and I had never read this author before. Overall it was an entertaining read that I read pretty fast. I liked it. Didn’t love it. But I think it was more a personal preference thing than a poorly written book. I just wasn’t a big fan of the main character or the love triangle.

Writing style: was interesting-not sure if she has other books like that. I wasn’t sure what I thought of it at first. The first book was slow moving in the beginning and her descriptions and “fluff” was a bit much. Some of it was poetic and meaningful but a lot of it seemed very unnatural. I will say-the second half of the book and the next two in the series were a lot more fast-paced with less dramatic feeling fluff. (See below)

Plot/storyline: intrigued me. I liked the exploration of how not being able to be touched affects a person's psyche. You don’t realize how vital physical touch is to someone's well-being. I think that was a unique facet to this book. I’d say the rest of it was like Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children meets Marvel Agents of Shield meets Divergent. Dystopian world, people with gifts, rebellion against a corrupt government, and a heroine who has to save the world. Oh and a love triangle.

Characters: I liked all of them, except Juliette, who is the main character and tells us the story in first person. All of the other characters seemed to have more depth than her and we knew all of her feelings. She was selfish and frankly pretty stupid. I don’t know if I fully formed my opinion of her until later books but I came away from the series liking it, but not because of her.

To give you an idea of the writing style, here’s an excerpt from book 1 & 2 that I really liked:

"The sun is an arrogant thing, always leaving the world behind when it tires of us. The moon is a loyal companion, it never leaves. It’s always there, watching, steadfast, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do. Every day it's a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light. The moon understands what it means to be human. Uncertain. Alone. Cratered by imperfections."

"On the darkest days you have to search for a spot of brightness, on the coldest days you have to seek out a spot of warmth, on the bleakest days you have to keep your eyes onward and upward, and on the saddest days you have to leave them open to let them cry. To then let them dry. To give them a chance to wash out the pain in order to see fresh and clear once again."