Shatter Me
4.3 | 34,494 ratings
Price: 22.83
Last update: 03-10-2026
Top reviews from the United States
- DanielaUnique writing style, amazing characters!!!!I finally did it, I finally read Shatter Me.
This book has been on my radar for a long, long time, but I've never had the chance to read it, until now. I'd seen the cover of the books and I was intrigued, but I never actually read the description of the book before reading it, so I was going into it completely blind. I didn't know what to expect, not from the story or the writing style or anything, beyond what I had heard, which wasn't that much.
“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.
I WILL FIGHT BACK.”
Shatter Me is the first book in the series by Tahereh Mafi, which welcomes you to a destroyed world governed by those who call themselves The Reestablishment, who've taken everything from the people, who want to control everything and everyone and submit them to their rules. In this dystopian story we found ourselves in a world where hope is almost entirely gone, where people live in fear, with nothing but what they're given, which isn't much. Juliette is one of those who've lost everything, but not because of them, The Reestablishment. She lost everything the moment her parents gave her away, locked her into an insane asylum and forgot all about her. Their reasons? She's a monster, an abomination. She killed someone. With her bare skin. Now, after spending 264 days locked away, completely alone, she's forced to share her room with a boy. Not any boy, but one she remembers from her childhood. One she's dreamt of all her life. Should she trust him? Should she be scared of him? Does he remember her? Now Juliette has to make some decisions. Follow him and see where he takes her, risk her life and his too, or stay where she is, and be the weapon agains the remaining hope some expect her to be.
“Raindrops are my only reminder that clouds have a heartbeat. That I have one, too.”
Now, here I am, writing my review. This book is something entirely different from what I've read before, not because of the story itself, but because of the writing style. I have to admit, it felt a little weird at first, because it was so different from the way authors usually write, but the more I read, the more comfortable I got around it. I started feeling like I was reading somebody's, Juliette's, diary, like I was reading her deepest thoughts and secrets, and I realized that's how someone's words would normally sound when they're describing something. With pauses. With metaphors. With questions, doubts. And let's not leave the story on the side. Everything was incredibly, wonderfully amazing.
“All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.”
Now, let's talk about the characters. Juliette, what an amazing girl you are. I love how good she is, even after being feared and hated for the people she's always known. Being inside of her head is definitely an unique journey, because it feels like you're part of it, the way she thinks is completely natural and easy to relate. She's scared all the time, and it can get a bit difficult to deal with from time to time, but her circumstances make it impossible for her not to be afraid, so you need to learn (and you do, at least I did) to understand her. She's strong and capable of amazing things, and not just because of her horrible gift. She has a lot to offer to the world.
Then we have beautiful, and patient, and gorgeous blue eyed Adam. From the moment he showed up, he's been giving me butterflies. His goodness and sweetness is so remarkable. I love him so, so, oh-so much. He's the kind of guy that deserves all kinds of happiness. The way he feels towards Juliette, his love is pure pure pure and beautiful.
And then, we have Warner. Warner who's all kinds of bad. Warner who's a monster, a murderer. Warner who's obsessed with Juliette. Or is he in love? Warner who's intriguing and frustrating and maddening. Warner. You need to read this to understand who he is and what he can be to you.
This story includes a bunch of secondary characters that are as important as the main characters. Kenji, Castle, James. I love stories that make it so that without the secondary characters, the story wouldn't be the same. I just can't wait to get more of these characters and I can't wait to learn more about their stories. - CindiJFrustrating at times, but overall a good readOverall more 3.5 stars.
Shatter Me follows the story of Juliette, a 17 year old girl who possesses the touch of death. Because of an incident that happened accidentally where she killed an innocent little boy just by touching him, Juliette is thrown into an insane asylum/prison type place for almost a year. One particular day, a boy comes in and becomes her cell mate. She doesn't know why he is here and who he is but she is drawn towards him somehow. Before she knows it, she's being taken out of the prison into the home of one of the leaders of this world she lives in to find out she's going to be used as a deadly weapon against her will.
With that short synopsis aside, I'm now going to focus on the characters. Because really, this book didn't have much in way of plot. Let's start with Juliette...oh man did she frustrate me. Tahereh Mafi is a beautiful writer, I just have to say that before I continue. No one writes prose and inner dialogue the way she does in the YA genre. However, when we're in the head of Juliette, whom I guess is a girl that's somewhat psychologically damaged, she can be sometimes infuriating. Juliette doubts her all the time. She oftentimes repeats things over and over again and she never says what's really on her mind. This is really creatively done in the book by striking through the text of what Juliette's really thinking and then having her say something complete opposite of what she just thought. When she's taken out of the psych ward and into the home of Warner, the sector leader, she refuses to eat! Or wear clean clothes. And I don't know why she's doing that other than the fact that she's just being a little bratty. With that said though, you know that Tahereh is doing this on purpose because we know in the course of this series, Juliette is going to grow into someone totally different and this was a means to have us start on this journey with her.
Now let's get Adam out of the way. He's the boy that appears in the cell of the prison with Juliette and immediately you know he is going to be a love interest. I mean, it doesn't take long into the book before they have their first make out session. I liked Adam, I thought he was fine. But he wasn't extraordinary or stood out in any way. In fact, their story reminded me a little bit of Katniss and Peeta...except without the warm and fuzzies.
Finally there's Warner. Oh Warner! He is the leader of Sector 45, one of many Sectors I'm guessing in this new world. His father is the leader of all of the sectors which I guess is called the Re-establishment. Warner pushes Juliette's buttons, makes her angry, and ultimately has a motive. He's drawn to her, he's attracted to her but does all sorts of things that are so horrible you can't even imagine. Warner was probably my favorite character in the book. He is someone I'm excited to read about in the future books because he's actually multi-layered and I think he's in here for a very good reason. Warner is probably one of the most exciting characters in the YA genre to date. It'll be interesting to see how this turns out.
Like I said, not much happens in this book. And really this book is marketed as a dystopian novel, but it's really a romance novel. There is a love triangle, if you haven't guessed already. And I'm not one to dislike one...if it's done right. I feel right now this love triangle is on the right track. The world building is basically non-existent but I think people who read and love this novel isn't looking for that. The great thing about this series is going to definitely be the writing. Tahereh writes in a lot of metaphors...and when I say a lot...it's a lot. Like talking about how you can't talk or breathe because there's 400 cotton balls in your throat! Sometimes it sounds a little ridiculous and dramatic, but overall the writing was beautiful. One of my favorite series so far and I can't wait to continue on!