Shatter Me (Shatter Me, 1) Paperback – January 9, 2018

There are 3 major things I love about this book.The first is the balance on the edge of sanity. Juliette begins with a roll of a mini-book and a tiny pen where she scratches her thoughts. She has no one to talk to, so her thoughts begin as written and even when she is no longer living precariously out of that mini-book, her thoughts follow the pattern of writing to herself in it. She is forever catching her thoughts and correcting them.Sometimes, she is forcing her will over her emotions... sometimes it is her initial reaction that is virtually insane, but at other times it's her will-power insisting on an imagined reality that is even more insane. Either way, Mafi has captured a level of emotion and imbalance that is exquisite.As the story progresses and Juliette's confidence grows, these cross-outs lessen. She doesn't have to correct herself as often. Except in moments of great emotion... and it's precious. What she refuses to admit carries more story than the words she allows to live. Not to mention, so much more of Juliette's character is revealed without any description!The second thing I love is the use of Numbers."I've been locked up for 264 days... 1 window. 4 walls. 144 square feet of space. 26 letters in an alphabet I haven't spoken in 264 days of isolation... 6,336 hours since I've touched another human being." Pg 1Numbers are emphasized by using the numerical instead of letter form... Juliette divides her life into counting everything around her to keep her grasp on reality. She counts to wait. She counts to make sense of things. She counts to keep her brain ready to think because she also has moments of freezing, where she can't move and can't react and those moments frighten her. I loved, LOVED this use of numbers through-out the entire book.The third thing I loved, but I also squirmed uncomfortably with... there is an awful lot of sexual tension!! Consistent with the power of the first two major themes, Juliette's senses are so deprived that any TOUCH at all is an exclamation point!!! Experiencing human contact through her deprived point of view was... beyond words. My words, that is, so I'll quote again:"His fingertips are 10 points of electricity killing me with something I've never known before. Something I've always wanted to feel.`Then why are you here?' I whisper, broken, dying in his arms. `Why...' 1, 2 attempts at inhalation. `Why are you touching me?'`Because I can.' He almost cracks a smile and I almost sprout a pair of wings." Pg 117I loved this incredible dive into emotions, but, but... those shower scenes are... OMG!!! No, there's no sex, but only because they keep getting interrupted!!Here's my one tiny complaint: apparently Juliette is any-man's idea of beautiful `cause every one of 'em ogles over her. Since this is opposite of her childhood memories, it leapt out at me as beyond-believable. That EVERY man would suddenly desire her beyond their physical control was a little excessive for me. Adam makes complete sense... they have deep long-bonding connections that ooze believability. Warner also makes sense in a sick, twisted way.Warner, btw, is a great hate-able, detestable character and that hint of attraction between him and Juliette is extra creepy, but totally believable.It's just... every other man that saw her flipped over in awe of her seemed far-fetched `cause... frankly... if she was THAT hot, she couldn't be THAT innocent at the same time. You know? She'd have that cocky self-assurance that natural beauty slathers it's bearers with. So she's either one or the other... but both? End of teensy-weensy complaint.I've found one more thing I love about this book, now, which makes four:"He closes his eyes for half of a second and I marvel at the drop drop drops of hot water caught in his eyelashes like pearls forged from pain." Pg 117"Killing time isn't as difficult as it sounds. I can shoot a hundred numbers through the chest and watch them bleed decimal points in the palm of my hand. I can rip the numbers off a clock and watch the hour hand tick tick tick its final tock just before I fall asleep. I can suffocate seconds just by holding my breath. I've been murdering minutes for hours and no one seems to mind." Pg 127The writing behind everything... behind the numbers and the edge of sanity and the sensual tension... is incredible. It's picturesque, unexpected and sharply graphic. I don't know how many times my heart pounded and I stopped reading and just soaked up an odd phrase here or there, reading it over and over again wondering how Mafi ever thought to put those words together in that combination? She took a busy storyline filled with complicated characters and spilled it out her own unique way.You know when you love a book so much you have to read the Acknowledgements section? This thank you to her editor made sense:"It's been such a privilege working with someone who so absolutely understands my story. My characters are safe with you in a way they wouldn't have been anywhere else and I still can't believe I got so lucky."Actually... I can't believe we all got so lucky!! This book could have been edited to pieces, stuffed full of punctuation and strict rules about how numbers are handled in books, not to mention No Crossing Out when it's Thoughts and not even Journal Entries!! This book is a work of art from the writer all the way through the publishing industry... and I really love it.NOTE: At the book signing, Tahereh clarified that her agent loved the book in it's entirety, strike-through's and all, so there was never any scary looming publishing bullies to fight off. I was just letting my imagination go crazy in my own little world. Weird.Cover Commentary: What's with the dress?! I'm just curious... it's not even the shimmery one with the pockets or the too-tight one that's hard to run in. I was (happily) caught off guard when the story inside did not match that cover. The blips are right-on... but based on the cover, I thought some super-human girl in formal wear was going to storm the town.My Rating: 5 stars - Love it!! I love this book, I want to quote this book, reread this book... I want to follow the author around so I can listen to her quirky humor. Oh, I don't have to!! She makes vlogs!! Phew! That would be creepy!

Felt similar to Divergent but I really enjoyed it and excited to see how the series develops. I loved that it never felt boring!

I've said it before; I'm not a big fan of dystopias. I do have a few favorites but for the most part I try to stay away from them. There's just something about them that is so...depressing. I've had my eye on Shatter Me even before it was released but it somehow kept getting away from me. When the covers were changed, I might have had a little fit and I decided I didn't want to read them anymore. One, I wasn't a fan of the new covers (the eyes creeped me out although they are growing on me). And two, I HATE when publishers change covers. I know it's silly since the author has no say in it but I'm weird that way. I kept seeing all these AMAZING reviews of Unravel Me and when I read Jennifer's review from @Some Like It Paranormal, I knew I just had to read it. I had to find out for myself what the fuss was about for these Adam and Warner characters. I was expecting to like it; I was not expecting to be so blown away by it!Juliette's touch is lethal. Nobody understands her or wants her, her own parents even sent her to a prison-like place where she hasn't had contact with anyone in almost a year. Until the day when Adam is assigned as her cell mate. From the beginning, there is something about Adam that draws Juliette towards him. And it's not the typical: I just met you and I'm in love with you kind of thing. Juliette is almost positive that she knows Adam from somewhere. Just when they start getting close, they are sent away to a top secret military base where Warner plans to use Juliette as a weapon. Suddenly Juliette is torn between the guy who is determined to protect her and show her how to accept herself and the guy who is determined to rule with her by his side and who encourages her to embrace her lethal touch.I'm so happy that I was clueless to the fact that this is a dystopia or else I most likely wouldn't have read it. I don't care what genre this book is, it's freaking beautiful! The writing! Ah, I fell completely in LOVE with Tahereh's beautiful and lyrical style of writing. The way we got to see Juliette's thoughts, especially when they are scratched out just goes to show how confused and lost Juliette is. She made me connect with Juliette, Adam and Warner on so many levels that I didn't want the book to end. I can tell that this is going to be one of those very well written love triangles, one that I will have a hard time picking a team. Although I am leaning towards Adam, every time I got a glimpse of Warner and his vulnerable side I found myself rooting for him too. In the end I was left feeling conflicted. On one hand, I wish I would have read this book as soon as it came out. On the other hand, I'm glad I waited this long because that means I only have to wait a few weeks for Unravel Me. I can't wait to read Unravel Me and Warner's novella, Destroy Me. I have a feeling I will be stitching teams back and forth on this series. My only teeny-tiny complaint was that the end started to drag for me a little bit and started feeling to dystopyish for me, you know, where they are on the run from the bad guys and everything goes wrong. Regardless, Shatter Me was a beautiful and unforgettable read for me.4.5 out of 5 stars!Some of my favorite non-spoiler quotes from Shatter Me:- All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.- I only know now that the scientists are wrong.The world is flat.I know because I was tossed right off the edge and I've been trying to hold on for 17 years. I've been trying to climb back up for 17 years but it's nearly impossible to beat gravity when no one is willing to give you a hand.- "You can't touch me," I whisper. I'm lying, is what I don't tell him. He can touch me, is what I'll never tell him. Please touch me, is what I want to tell him.- Adam stares at me so long I begin to blush. He tips my chin up so I meet his eyes. Blue blue blue boring into me. His voice is deep, steady. "I don't think I've ever heard you laugh."-He's so excruciatingly correct I don't know how to respond except with the truth. My smile is tucked into a straight line. "Laughter comes from living." I shrug, try to sound indifferent. "I've never really been alive before."*** of my reviews at:Nereyda @Mostly YA Book Obsessed