Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior." ~via goodreads.com
Review
I found myself gushing over this book. I thought that seeing a few lines crossed out made the book more unique. This is the first book I have read that was formatted that way, and it fit perfectly with the story. It was full of metaphors and similes and just absolutely beautiful descriptions. During the days I read Shatter Me, I was in awe by the writing. I was also shocked, stunned, nervous, excited, and joyful because of the story and the characters.
There are rare occasions when I would discuss characters in the book. Today is one of those occasions.... First of all, I hurt for Juliette. She begins the story in the asylum, and she is treated so poorly. She does not understand that she is still a human with a soul and does not deserve to be treated so poorly. I felt terrible. I also believed she handled situations so well (I am making this vague for those who have not read Shatter Me). Others may consider her actions as cliche, but I believe they are reasonable. Juliette also has one of the best character developments throughout the book and series compared to other series.
I believe most dystopian novels should have a character that is the comic relief. For Shatter Me, I believe that character is Kenji. At first, he annoyed me, but I believe that was Tahereh's intention. But, I grew to love him. He is one of the main reasons why I loved Shatter Me so much. I relaxed when he appeared in chapters. Again, I apologize for being so vague, but I would rather not spoil the book for anyone.
All around, I believed this book was beautiful, delightful. Surely this book has dark scenes, but the writing and storyline is impressive. It truly was not boring. It was a story that I needed. I did not realize how badly I had needed a story like this one.
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