Prepare to be overwhelmed with the amount of love I have for this book Rad Readers (all love is duly deserved though)... because this is a C8's Rad Reads certified banger of a book!
Let's start with the plot, shall we?
So, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is a dystopian thriller and quit the one at that. It is narrated by Juliette, a girl who with the lightest touch can transfer excruciating pain and even death. Sounds familiar to another book I have raved about huhhh... *cough cough* Carve the Mark *cough cough.* Anyways, because of her touch and an incident that happened because of it she has been locked away in an asylum by the Reestablishment, the new form of government that controls the people in a not very great way to say the least. Most of the population is living in slums and starving. Anyone who questions the Reestablishment is done away with in one way or another. I got some strong hunger games vibes from the government system in the book. Anyways, it is pretty clear that Juliette is a little insane, or at least just a bit crazy. Something very cool about the writing that demonstrates Juliette's instability and in a sense non-reliability as a narrator is how there are certain parts that are written that are crossed out, poorly crossed out so that they are readable and it is clear that they are meant to show what she is really thinking and what she is really thinking is, well, kind of just a tiny little bit insane! She is a nice girl though. It is pretty obvious that it is not her touch that has driven her insane, or her disposition, it's been the isolation both literally and figuratively. She was never liked in school or at home before and then ultimately she was shipped off to an asylum where she hasn't been with human contact for a year or so. Something odd then happens. She gets a cellmate, Adam Kent who interestingly is unaffected by her touch. *cough cough* Carve the Mark vibes *cough cough.* Then, as it always does with books like these, all hell breaks loose! Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Tough to tell so far, honestly as the series continues I see it going either way. Not soon after Adam arrives they are both removed from the cell and one of the leaders of the Reestablishment tells Juliette that they plan on using her as a weapon for the Reestablishment. Obviously that is not going to fly so Juliette and Adam run away and thus ensues a wild goose chase with Warener, (the man from the Reestablishment) and that mad lad is on a mission for destruction and Juliette. Personally, not a fan of him.
Obviously you can tell this is a pretty deep and layered plot. That is definitely a massively important part of the book, but what I also loved was the character development.
At first I was a little iffy with Juliette because she kind of seemed like a damsel in distress and it is pretty apparent in my other reviews that I AM NOT a fan of that trope. Eventually however she settles into her boss lady-ness, recognizing that she literally could kill someone with her bare hands, is straight lethal, and grows into it. It is super gnarly to read about.
I don't like however that the first person in the her life that ever just shows her simple common courtesy, the only person that doesn't just trash on her physically or verbally, she just falls in love with. That is just not how that works and I'm also not sure why it was so important for the author to write about how they knew not each other but knew of each other when they were much younger. I think that makes it all even weirder and if she was going for the instant love cliche then this diminished it a bit. I know it isn't a major aspect of the story, it is just something that while I was reading it I was just like... so... we're at the slow part of the book now I guess... nice... I felt like I was waiting for things to get more interesting at that point, which obviously they eventually did because as you can tell I do love this book a lot and intend on continuing with the series.
As for Adam, he is a great person... I think. Right now, I'm just going to say it, I don't think he is a bad guy. I know I have been fooled one too many times with characters like these who seem too good to be true, but I do not think he is going to turn on the crew, or at least I hope he doesn't... I might be projecting, who knows!?
Anyways even though, like I said prior, I think it's rather odd that just because he is the first person that essentially just holds a conversation with Juliette they are suddenly "in love," I don't have any complaints about him.
I like characters that have more depth than just the cliche trying-to-conquer-a-government-with-no-backup-plan. He has a lot to lose with his brother and his house that he has worked hard to keep safe and he knows that and he isn't willing to do much to risk this. If his brother dies (which I feel like he will because why else would an author want me to be so emotionally attactched to a character am I righttttt #bookishprobs) I will guarantee you that I will be crying. I digress, I liked Adam a lot is what I am trying to get to.
My favorite character by a country mile was Kenji! He reminded me of Simon from the Mortal Instruments series and YOU KNOW how much I love-- nay, live for that series and Simon specifically. He was so funny and I care a lot about dialogue in stories which I don't think I have mentioned prior. I'm not sure why it is so important to me, I think it is either more interesting or it could just be how the way dialogue is structured is more eye-catching so it just resonates more? I'm not sure, but what I'm trying to get at is that Kenji's dialogue really made me laugh. He is whimsical and the comedic timing of this book is spectacular!
Sometimes authors think teenagers talk in a certain way and frequently they are so wrong that it is painful and then other times you have teenagers in these dystopian societies that need to, for the sake of the story, be extremely mature so they don't read like normal kids. In this book however, I believe something that made it so great, was the fact that yes, they are in a crazy world and under ridiculous tyranny and Juliette has been independent for her entire life and isolated but they talk in a way that makes sense for both where they are in their lives and their age. Juliette is anxious all the time and isn't used to talking to people because everyone is scared of her, and that comes across clearly in her dialogue. Adam is hiding a lot about his life, he is careful with his words. Kenji is also hiding something but in a different way, but he also has a lot figured out, is more confident. All this is so ingeniously expressed in the dialogue. Some really strong writing going on right there!
I could go on forever, probably longer that the book itself, so you might as well just read it! I would recommend it a thousand times over!
Keep on reading readers (especially this book),
-C8 :)