Shatter Me

By: Tahereh Mafi

Narrated by: Kate Simses

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

"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. But things happen when people touch me. Strange things. Bad things.

No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.

But Juliette has plans of her own. After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time - and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.

©2011 Tahereh Mafi (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Amazing opening

I was utterly drawn into the book from the opening scene. I loved the scratched journal. I felt that the inner dialogue was raw and original. I couldn't wait to hear more of Juliet's inner turmoil and fight. I didn't want to put the story down. However, I was a bit disappointed by the 2nd half of the book, as the stylistic thoughts of the character vanish and the narration becomes more simple and average. I think I would still recommend this novel, as it's opening is quite unique, but would be ready for a rapid "rap it all up" section at the end.

Not for me...

Would you try another book from Tahereh Mafi and/or Kate Simses?

I really did not like the writing style in this book. Not sure I would enjoy any other books by the same author if this is the normal writing style used.

Any additional comments?

I really did not like this book. It dragged in too many places and couldn't keep my attention. I did not finish the book because I got tired of waiting for the story to blossom. I have NEVER quit a book without completing it. I have always followed through to the end but I could not make myself with this one.

Great initial voice, devolves a bit toward the end

What made the experience of listening to Shatter Me the most enjoyable?

I actually really liked the weird scratching sound -- as if she were scratching out her own thoughts with her pencil. It got less and less throughout the book, which seemed appropriate, but might have happened a touch too fast for my taste.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shatter Me?

I really enjoyed her initial fixation on the bird in flight. I don't know what the significance is, and I'm a little afraid to find out, but her focus on the bird stuck with me.

Which scene was your favorite?

I definitely enjoyed her shooting of the bad guy with his own gun. Not enough heroines take advantage of situations like that.

Any additional comments?

The below is a critique of things I did not like about this book. In spite of that, however, I DID enjoy it all the way through, and I will be getting the second one. POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW!I loved the first third of this book. I was definitely okay with the second third. The final third...devolved into X-Men fanfiction, as far as I can tell. Not that I'm averse to fanfiction -- I write some myself that I hope to make original enough for publication one day. But it seems to me that our heroine is obviously Rogue, and the leader of the resistance moves things with his mind.... Also, if she's spent her whole life not touching people, you'd think that picking up a toddler would NOT be her first instinct. WHY did her parents not arm her with gloves immediately? Why is a zippered jumpsuit in shiny purple fabric necessary, when it seems that a turtleneck and jeans would do? This is a dystopian society -- do they really have the time and resources in the resistance base to make up special jumpsuits for newcomers? Also, it bugs me a bit that we find out so quickly that both her love interest AND her stalker are immune to her. I hope we find that a few other people are immune too -- that would make them less coincidentally special. I guess what bothers me most is that I completely did not see the end of this book coming. I mean, we start out in a dystopian mental institution, and we get a great feel for the brokeness of the society from there. Our heroine, while she might not have been crazy to start, is clearly headed in that direction. Then, all of the sudden, we discover she's wanted as a weapon by this twisted-tin-god-dictator-guy. Okay, fine, she doesn't want to hurt anyone, but she has to play along or her sudden love interest will get hurt. I can roll with this. And the next sequence makes sense too. Heck, even being taken to a rebellion place makes sense from there! But then the whole tone of the book changes, and it's like "Welcome to the school of misfits, where you will feel at home for the first time ever!" I grant that she did resist trusting for a bit, but the whole tone of the book changes, and it left me a little confused and disappointed.All that aside, I still recommend this book. The initial voice is unique and fabulous. The rest of the story is certainly entertaining, and the world setup is relatively convincing. Overall, decent story telling.

Great book

Really really good book. I had put off reading it for a while and I wish I hadn't :) the only thing that I didn't like was all the romance, but I'm not much or the romance stuff. It really did tie the story together though. I am looking forward to reading the next one. Kate Simses is an awesome narrator!

Meant for a teenage audience

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend to my granddaughter and her friends. As an adult I couldn't get through it.

LISTEN UP!!!

I loved this book and finished it in two sittings. The only break I took was to sleep. In the beginning the whole scrated out noise is a little annoying but it goes away. It represents her correcting her thoughts.The love story is their and a big factor but it isn't the whole book their is a story. I and what I think to be a large majority of the listeners/readers were on the edge waiting to know what would happen. I personally wait to know what will happen with Warner. There are a lot of bad reviews on this book but don't let anothers opinion influence you chose in this book this series is good and I hope more people will read/listen to them.

Can't wait for the next book!

What other book might you compare Shatter Me to and why?

Hunger Games...based upon the story.

What about Kate Simses’s performance did you like?

She captured the main character's personality perfectly!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me excited for the next book in the series.

It was really good

I loved the way she said the words it really touched me it was amazing.

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!

Story and Narration...Awesome! Tahereh Mafi did a wonderful job with this story and Kate Simses brought the story to life with her narration. It was so eloquently written it's on the verge of poetry. The passion Mafi put into her two main characters was practically tangible. Juliettte, shattered mentally and emotionally due to her life taking touch has been thrown into a dystopian society after being locked away in a mental institution for the last three years. The ability that she considers a curse is the same ability she is being sought after for by the "Reestablishment" for their own intentions. Intentions to use her as a weapon. A perfect mix of action, romance and thriller sprinkled with an x-menish feel rolled together and tossed into a dystopian bowl. There is always room for the misfit with super abilities at my table.

If you liked Divergent/Hunger games....

Where does Shatter Me rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I absolutely loved this series. I don't know why I didn't read it before!
For the story...it gets top marks but it can be sort of "teenish" at times. I loved the characters but the narration was average...I KNOW this will be a movie... I went through the series in no time.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shatter Me?

Each book kept me excited....the story just kept me attached to the characters

What about Kate Simses’s performance did you like?

I believe she tried...she did a good job on the main character but the male characters lacked believability.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"In the future....the human spirit will explode with power!"

Any additional comments?

Your welcome....