Reading is a great way to relax, but it can also improve your mental health. You can put your current world behind you and dive into one that will sweep you off your feet; you can meet new and interesting people along the way.
Shatter Me is a dystopian novel written by Tahereh Mafi. Mafi uses exceptional writing and description that will transport you into a world that could potentially be our future. Mafi uses real life characteristics in a way that moves you.
In Shatter Me, we enter the life of Juliette, the main character who has been living in an asylum for 264 days. Alone. She is confined there because her touch is lethal; touching people is impossible for her. Her touch will inflict intense pain that will eventually kill.
Juliette is only fed twice a day and only allowed to walk out of her cell once a day to perform her unfortunate superpower for The Reestablishment.
When Juliette was a young child, the world collapsed on itself leaving those who survived the unfortunate task of starving and scavenging for food the best way they could. After a while, humans, animals, and even plants were nearly impossible to find, which eventually caused nearly the entire human race to become extinct.
The Reestablishment has now become the new government of the world where they promised that they will restore the order to the way it was before the world collapsed on itself. But Juliette, the observant girl she is, decides to go against the rules and uncover a world with many mysteries. The story progresses from there and Juliette finds herself in some unfortunate circumstances.
I absolutely loved this book. It is by far one of the best dystopian novels I have ever read. The story addresses real life issues that are currently happening around us and reflects us in a position where at some point we will have to fend for ourselves.
The storyline is tremendous and it’s the type of story that is filled with twists and turns; it will leave you staring at the same page forever with your jaw to the floor.
The writing is easy to follow and I really enjoyed the characters that I met along the way throughout the entire series. Mafi uses exceptional humour that makes light of the situation that the character is in and the description is immaculate. It makes you feel as if you’re the main character and that you are living her life for her. It’s just a brilliant story that is captivating and I recommend it if you love dystopian novels.
Overall, I give this series a 5/5 star review in terms of the written aspect but after Ignite Me, the story begins to go downhill.
In 2011, Shatter Me was originally a planned trilogy that ended with Ignite Me. But in 2018, the novels gained so much attraction that Mafi created three more novels, making Imagine Me the final instalment of the series.
The writing style remained the same but the storyline went in a direction that I found was not needed. Yes, Ignite Me ended on a little bit of a cliffhanger, but it was a satisfying cliffhanger that would leave the story on a happy note rather than dragging the storyline and the characters through another rough patch.
Overall, I give the writing style 5/5 stars but the storyline after the originally planned trilogy only rates 2/5 stars.
