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

Good story annoying narrator

I really like the story and the way it is written! The descriptions put you right there with the characters. I just wish the narrator was different. The high pitched voice is like baby talk in my ears.

Very predictable

It was very predictable I felt everything that went wrong was very quickly solved. The main character was very annoying in my opinion it was just very straight forward I felt there was no anticipation and was overall very cringe

Booktok got me

I didn’t hate it. I just didn’t get the hype. I also kind of want her to end up with the villain because he’s far more interesting then the actual love interest. I can’t decide if I like the writing style or if I’m feeling like it was a bit much. It’s kind of boring. I also hate wasting credits on books this short. The author could have done a lot more world building. I think that would have made the book so much better.

AMAZING

It’s the best book I’ve read in my entire life jr the d end Snns’s

Poetry sounding story

The author uses words while telling this story like a poet. It is a very emotionally gripped story. I deeply enjoyed it.

For six grade girls

This is why you do not write a review until you have finished the book. Had I written the review at the end of ten chapters, I would have given it five stars. It starts out with this girl in prison. A prison where there is only a small window about fist size. The only light is through that window. She is fed maybe once a day. She has been in prison for nine months and has not spoken to anyone in that time. It kind of reminded me a little of Room by Donoghue. The language or vocabulary is different then any I have heard in any book: See Examples. When the story started to go down hill, which is when she is let out of this jail for another jail, I stayed with it for the flavor of Mafi's words. After about a third of the book is over, the story seems rushed, gets very predictable and even the tasty language which had been about every other sentence stops, with the exception of the semi-love scenes. With the exception of one line in the whole book(See Examples), the love scenes are very middle school. The bad guy is laughable. The book ends with a copy of X-Men.

Examples of Mafi's savory language; My words use no parachutes as they fall out of my mouth. I've discovered I don't know how to breathe. The bed under my back. My eyes are fighting not to flutter. I am going to memorize every inch of your body with my lips. I die stupid in that second.

I wish I could have written these down as I drove, they come at you every other sentence in the first half of the book. If Mafi ever writes an adult novel or erotica, I most assuredly want to read it. This book went from five stars to two stars faster then a speeding bullet and I have no interest in the rest of the series.

The narrator sounds like a ten year old girl, the girl is seventeen.

WOW!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

i was drawn in right away and the story line is original. The author wrote in such a unique way, your not sure what is said aloud vs. what is being written in her journal.

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

It's a little like The Pledge, but not really. Both are post apocalyptic America. both have female lead who must find an inner strength, and have a romeo and juliet type love interest.

Have you listened to any of Kate Simses’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no, never

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

I did enjoy the story, when she triumphs, i felt pride. when she fears, i was insecure, i didn't know why no one could touch her, but i didn't want them to.

Any additional comments?

I can not wait for more from this author, for a first effort, this book was most excellent.

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.