What is the book about?
Shadow Me – Warner just betrayed Juliette and she feels completely alone. She believes that everyone lied to her, including her best friend Kenji. But Kenji was lied to as well, and now he needs to show Juliette that he will always be there for her and that he would never do anything to hurt her. He needs to be there for her while Warner isn’t and push down everything else just for her, even though on the inside he is also in need of support.
Reveal Me – Ever since Juliette found out that everyone had been lying to her, Kenji has also been feeling a bit betrayed. He wasn’t aware of anything and he feels like no one truly trusts and believes in him. And now, his friends all seem to be keeping secrets again. He just wants them all to stop treating him like he is a joke and to take him seriously for once. But, the only way to do that is to finally stand up to them and prove that he belongs, and he isn’t sure if he is ready…
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
As soon as I glanced at the blurb and spotted that both of these novellas were going to be from Kenji’s perspective, I was over the moon. I had wanted to hear from his point of view for a very, very long time and I was ecstatic to get the opportunity, and in two novellas as well! I read Shadow Me after reading Restore Me, which didn’t include Kenji’s point of view, so I was so desperate to start reading the novella. Restore Me had also ended in a huge cliff-hanger so I was so anxious to find out more, so I dove straight into the short story. I was just as excited to read Find Me because I also wanted to continue on from Defy Me; however I was a little less desperate to get my hands on more information as Defy Me had ended perfectly. But, I enjoyed both novellas from the very start, and they both started incredibly well and quickly and I literally took no time at all to finish them.
Who was your favourite character and why?
I don’t think it is much of a surprise that my favourite character was Kenji. I mean, I have been writing a lot about him in the reviews for all of the other books, but also its obvious it would be him as the novellas are written solely from his perspective and there weren’t many other characters that played a bit enough role to be considered. These novellas really opened up a new part of him and I was so glad that I got to see what he was truly thinking in some of the key scenes of Restore Me and overall it was great to see into his inner thoughts. I always knew he was one of those wounded characters who used humour to hide their pain because it was pretty obvious from the start, but I didn't realise just how hurt he was until I got to see things from his perspective. It made me love his so much more because I knew he was alone and hurting and that no one really got it, and so I wanted to be able to be there for him. But, obviously, that isn’t possible so I just ended up hurt myself. Kenji is just such a great character and I hope he gets his happy ending because he deserves it.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
No matter how hard I tried to come up with a novella, or a part, or anything at all, to answer this question, I just couldn’t think of my favourite part because, even though I loved the novellas, they were just so sad and similar that I can’t name a favourite novella. Instead, I am just going to discuss the parts of the novellas that were the most emotional for me. One part was at the beginning of Shadow Me when Kenji talks about how he only gets to truly be himself in the comforts of his own private room and he literally says this about the room: “Somewhere to hang the happy face I force myself to wear even when I’m having a [bad] day”. He uses a more explicit word rather than bad, but this clearly shows just how broken he is inside and by this point I was already crying. He also talked a lot about being alone: “…everyone seems to have someone. Everyone but me.” “I’m a big, raw, bleeding heart, and I spend my days pretending not to notice that I want more. That I need more.” “This capacity to love… And I’ve got no one to share it with.” Reading all of these broke me because no one deserves to feel like that and I just wanted to reach out and hug him, but that isn’t possible. Find Me was just as depressing and I read quotes like: “No one really cares about my emotional state.” “Why don’t my feelings matter?” “I can’t be anything but happy without making most people uncomfortable.” I think now I have made it pretty clear that there was nothing about these novellas that could be my favourite anything, but they truly were incredible and so emotional.
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, I loved reading Find Me and I thought both novellas within it were so well written and really emotional. One thing that I loved about Find Me was that it was solely written from Kenji’s point of view. This meant that there were no interruptions and I got to read from his perspective without worrying it would come to an end. It was actually a huge relief to get to read from a new person’s viewpoint because I was getting kind of overwhelmed by the constant Juliette and then Warner perspectives. They were great points of view, but I think that I really benefitted from a change and I also loved to see Kenji’s own opinions and views on the matters. Another thing I loved about the book was that it made me cry. Overall, I haven’t really cried very much reading the Shatter Me series books; however, Find Me really changed that because I pretty much spent the duration of the book crying over how broken and alone Kenji was. It was a great feeling to get to release all of my own feelings while feeding off of the emotions from the novellas. I love when a book makes me feel something because it means that the book has done its job in making me truly bond with the characters and the story, so the fact that the novellas made me feel so devastated and torn shows the great writing, characters and world building. One last thing that I really enjoyed about the book was that I got some behind the scenes information from some of the biggest scenes in the main novels and that I got to see certain parts through a fresh set of eyes. It really let me see some of the characters and events a lot clearer and it also helped me get my head around some of the more action-packed events of the novels (which were very overwhelming the first time I read them). Find Me was a really great book and I loved both novellas so much.
Would you recommend this book?
I would definitely recommend reading Find Me, though obviously you have to read all the other books in the series fist. These novellas are definitely worth it, even though they are just short stories and not really part of the big thing. I think Find Me is particularly great for 15 year olds or over and those who love fantasy, dystopian fiction, romance and action.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
A short story collecting full of new romance and action, all narrated from a fresh point of view.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
No comments:
Post a Comment