Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Published November 15th 2011 by Harper/HarperCollins

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I’m having a hard time reviewing this book. When I love a book it’s real easy, when I hate a book it’s even easier, but when a book it’s just so-so I struggle.

It was not a bad book, about 1/3 in I was starting to get into the story but before that it was just a little too slow-paced for me. I mean I liked where it was coming from (Juliette is locked away because she accidentally killed someone with her bare hands) and were it was going (after almost 3 years of being alone she finally gets a cellmate and it casually turns out to be her elementary school crush). Interesting stuff, yet to get to know this, it took like 100 pages. I liked Juliette from sentence 1, but then at sentence 2 I was bored of her already, she was all “I’m so bad, my touch is evil, I hate myself, I’m so lonely, I want to see the birds, I want to see the outside world…” blah blah blah

It was good writing and I’m sure a lot of people loved the poeticness of it all, but I really don’t like it when the narrative drags on banal stuff not that important for the plot. Just take me to the action as soon as possible, please.

Now, leaving that out the book wasn’t so bad. I liked the storyline even though I’ve never been into X-Men stuff. You know Juliette has a superpower, and there might be other people who have superpowers too, so that was cool. The characters were my favorite part, although some of their actions and capacities were awfully convenient for the time/place if I say so myself.

I also didn’t like the potential love triangle, I'll kill the sequel if it dares to go there, -cause it will mean that either Juliette is pretty stupid messed up or the author thinks I’m stupid and will try to convince me for something I’m completely inconvincible of (but I don’t think so, Tahereh seems like a nice lady, I vote for option #1).

Now that I re-read this review I realize it doesn’t sound like I liked this book much, but I did. Believe me, if not, I wouldn’t have finished it. I haven’t read many GOOD dystopians but this is one of the best.