Book: Shatter me by Tahereh Mafi
Rating: 4 Stars
Review Writer: Talia C.
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is beloved by many,
though I’ve heard some differing opinions, so I wanted to check it out for
myself. The novel introduces us to a bleak, decaying world run by the
Reestablishment, a totalitarian government that has taken over under the guise
of fixing a dying world. At the center of the story is 17-year-old Juliette
Ferrars, who has been locked away in a solitary confinement cell for the past
year. Juliette carries a terrifying power: her touch is fatal to anyone who
comes into contact with her bare skin. Her forced isolation soon ends when a
young soldier named Adam enters the picture, getting thrown into the cell
alongside Juliette. His appearance triggers a train of events that soon lands
her fate into the hands of Warner, the dangerously obsessed commander of Sector
45 who wants to use her as the ultimate weapon of terror.
The element that stands out the most in this book is Mafi’s
unconventional style. Written in a stream-of-consciousness format, the text
heavily features metaphors and crossed out sentences. Before the story
starts, In order to avoid confusion, this style choice is explained as being a
deliberate one. I believe this choice does an amazing job of demonstrating and
conveying Juliette’s fractured psyche after being treated like a monster for so
long.
As excellent as the book is, the storyline does present a
flaw. Mafi focuses so strongly on the internal thoughts and feelings of
Juliette, as well as the building where she is kept prisoner, that the outside
world feels vague and undefined. It makes the world feel more like a distant
backdrop than a fully recognized dystopian society. The world-building is
further expanded on in Unravel Me and Ignite Me, the remaining
two books in the trilogy, but the first book including some description of the
outside world would help set the scene for the rest.
Overall, Shatter Me is a unique and compelling
dystopian novel that stands out through deep character development. Tahereh
Mafi uses creative, stylistic writing choices to place the reader inside of her
mind. The book delivers a powerful and emotional story of survival that
explains why the book boasts this level of popularity. Similar novels include The
Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, and Powerless by Lauren Roberts,
which I would highly recommend checking out if you enjoy the Shatter Me trilogy.
