Juliette’s touch is deadly, and no one knows why.
Her strange ability has her locked up in an asylum for 246 days by the Reestablishment, a worldwide totalitarian government.
The young adult dystopian romance novel “Shatter Me” by Tahereh Mafi was written in 2011 and took off in 2021 because of its rising popularity on BookTok, a TikTok community dedicated to discussing books and connecting through books.
The book is about a girl named Juliette Ferrars with a power that hurts people whenever she touc
hes them. If she touches them long enough, it could end up being fatal. Throughout “Shatter Me,” Juliette goes on an adventure to overcome the Reestablishment and to find herself in the process.
The Reestablishment took over the world, claiming to help people because their world was beginning to struggle, with environmental destruction and low resources. However, the Reestablishment was not all that helpful and made things worse by creating strict control over the people and allowing the plants to die, killing off animals and unconsciously creating nuclear areas. Now, they have plans to use Juliette as a weapon as a fear factor against anyone who opposes them.
When I read “Shatter Me,” I was so captivated. It felt like I was in the book and watching everything happen right in front of me. The writing was so descriptive with it written from Juliette’s perspective, allowing me to fully visualize every detail and create a clear image in my head. This also helped me understand Juliette’s mind, not just through words but the strikethroughs on words, repetition and constant numbers. I also really enjoyed how much all the characters, not just Juliette, developed and evolved.
Freshman Xoey Ward recalls how engaging the book was for her when she read it.
“I couldn’t put it down,” Ward said. “I read it in one night.”
Adding on to Ward, freshman Erin Walker appreciates the voice of the book.
“I honestly really enjoyed the writing style,” Walker said. “I feel like some of the quotes are like poetry sometimes, so I really like when there is complicated writing.”
Most of the writing was beautiful, but every once in a while, it was worded awkwardly, causing small bumps in the road. Even with some clumsy scenes, such as when Adam comforts Juliette in a bathroom, which feels unnecessarily dramatic, the quality of the book was not lessened for me.
Freshman Audrey Keeney builds on this line of thought and discusses her least favorite part of the book.
“I don’t really think there was anything the author wrote that made me want to put down the book,” Keeney said. “But there were some moments where I would read a line that was meant to be serious, and it just kind of cringed me out, and I just started laughing.”
Aside from an occasional tacky moment, I enjoyed the writing style, character development, and elaborate world-building. According to a Goodreads review by reviewers that have read the book, reviewers like Roohdar and Emily May share a common opinion of disliking the in-depth descriptions of common objects and ideas, repetition of words and cross-offs.
To me, this feels like an essential part of the book. It shows how Juliette sees the world since the book is written from her perspective. She draws out descriptions of normal things like rain because it shows how her isolation and trauma have made her savor everything in life. When she crosses off words, it is used to creatively represent her mental struggle and the constant battle she has with herself in her head. The repetition of words is similar to the cross-offs. Juliette is alone for most of her life, leading her to be scared of herself and unstable. The repetition of the same words conveys her mental state. As Juliette grows to be more confident and strong, the cross-offs and repetition fade away, indicating how she is gaining more control over herself.
“Shatter Me” is a powerful book, and I would definitely re-read it. This book will be enjoyed most by young adult readers who appreciate fast-paced, twisted plots and the romance genre.
Overall, I give this book a 4.5/5 feather rating.
