“‘I have a curse. I have a gift. I’m a monster. I’m more than human. My touch is lethal. My touch is power. I am their weapon.’ A fragile teenage girl is held captive. Locked in a cell by The Reestablishment, a harsh dictatorship in charge of a crumbling world. But Juliette is no ordinary teenager – one touch from her can kill. The Reestablishment wants to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has other plans. After a lifetime without freedom, she’s finally discovered the strength to fight back – and to find a future with the one person she thought she’d lost forever…”
What is the book about?
Juliette has been held captive for a little less than a year. She has been trapped in a mental asylum by The Reestablishment, a terrible dictatorship given the power to take charge of the world. The people elected them because they believed that The Reestablishment would help their crumbling world and stop them from starving to death. However, they soon realised that The Reestablishment was just full of empty promises and life today is just bad, if not worse. Now, The Reestablishment wants to use Juliette, for she is not an ordinary teenager – one touch from her can kill. Juliette will never allow herself to become a weapon and, after a lifetime without any freedom or chance at a happy normal life, she has finally decided to fight back and she is never going to allow herself to succumb to those empty feelings ever again. She now has the strength to fight her battle and she is not going to allow anyone to take away the future that she may have with the one person she thought she had lost forever. She is ready to take back her life and save herself from destruction.
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
I spotted the Shatter Me books a long time ago as I was scrolling through Pinterest and I was so captivated by the gorgeous matching covers and titles that I knew that I needed to read them. As soon as I read the blurb of the first book, I fell in love with them and so I bought them all as quickly as I could. However, I kept them on my shelf for almost a year, just staring at me, begging me to read them. Finally, I picked up Shatter Me and started to read and I soon realised that I made a huge mistake by waiting so long to read them. The first sentence of the first page was more than enough to make me the most curious person in existence and, after reading only a few chapters, I became so desperate to read and read and read in order to gather all the answers I could. Soon, I was reaching the end, but I still had tons of questions that needed to be answered and I was already reaching for the second book as soon as I closed the cover of Shatter Me. I am so glad that I bought the books and I was right from the very beginning – this was definitely the book for me.
Who was your favourite character and why?
My favourite character was definitely Juliette because of many reasons. Firstly, she was smart, sweet and a little stubborn, which combined made her incredibly perseverant and determined. She was not going to let Warner convince her to let go of her last bit of humanity and join him because she was so good and kind that she would never want that for herself and she wasn’t going to change her mind ever. Secondly, she had the power to kill anyone she wanted with just the slightest touched, but she determined to never use it to her advantage, even though anyone else in her position would have used it. She tried so hard to not use it and to resist the temptation and I admired her so much for this. She accepted the fact that she was never going to feel human touch ever again, but she didn’t mind because that meant that she would never hurt anyone ever again. Lastly, I really liked Juliette because, although she believed herself worthless and that she was a monster, she never let those thoughts possess her and she never allowed herself to go mad. She resisted the temptation to give in to those thoughts that plagued her day and night and because of that she was able to flourish outside the mental asylum, while anyone else in there wouldn’t have. Juliette was an inspiring character and I really liked her.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
My favourite part of the book was the ending where Juliette found out that maybe she wasn't a monster and there was hope for her. I can't say exactly what happened because I don't want to ruin the book for anyone who would like to read it, but I can explain roughly what it was that I loved. Throughout the whole book, Juliette her believe that she was worthless and that she was a monster and there was no place for her in the human world because no one would ever want her or want to be with her. But, at this part, she saw that maybe there was something worth living for and that maybe her curse could be a gift used for good. She believed that maybe she didn't have to live in constant fear of causing someone pain because there could be a chance that maybe she could live with her power; that she could live happily. For once, in the whole book, she had hope that something good could happen for her and that maybe she wasn't what she always believe she was. I absolutely loved this part because I saw that Juliette had hope, which is one of the strongest feelings anyone can ever have, and I was so excited to be able to see what would happen for her in the next book.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, Shatter Me was the perfect book. One thing that I absolutely loved about the book was the intentional strikethroughs and repetition. I thought that the use of them was absolutely incredible and that it showed how amazing the writer was as she managed to think up this incredible idea to illustrate Juliette scrambled mind. I loved how this all changed as Juliette evolved and how it showed that the story was changing and that her life was changing – it was truly amazing. Another thing that I loved about the book was the plot because it was just like all the books that I have come to love. It was exactly my type: romance, adventure, strong heroines and life or death situations. I felt so at home reading it as it was a safe, comfortable and interesting book; I loved reading it. One last thing I loved about the book was the character development in Juliette, which was clearly shown in the decrease of strikethroughs and the slowed repetition. I barely noticed this gradual change until I was reaching the end and suddenly Juliette was claiming that maybe there was hope. Then, I realised that she had changed and that she had become a better person with more hope than she had had before. It was incredible how I had barely noticed change and it showed me just have incredible her character development have been. Shatter Me was an incredible book and I am so excited to continue my adventure with Unravel Me, the second book in the series.
Would you recommend this book?
I would definitely recommend reading Shatter Me, especially if you are over 15 and are looking for a book filled with action, romance and fantasy. I believe this is a perfect book for any teen hoping for an interesting read.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
An incredible, action-packed novel about a girl with the power to destroy lives using only her bare hands.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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