Shatter Me Series: Earth-shattering or What?

Okay, you’ve got to love the classic young adult dystopian trope. Think the Hunger Games or Divergent series – extremely popular books that really forged the young adult dystopian theme (both really good too if you haven’t tried them out yet). I’m into it so I decided to pick up the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi. The series seems to check all the boxes. You’ve got your powerful heroine with her young group of rebels, a bit of boy drama, and of course, the need to end an evil dictatorship. Was that enough to shatter my world? 

The Long Gist

Psst…watch for spoilers. I tried not to give too much away but I wanted to give you an idea of what each book was like. 

Shatter Me

The world is in shambles and a new government, the Reestablishment, is in control. Diseases, hunger, and radiation are destroying the population and with very little food being grown and animals dying out, it seems like there’s no way to figure out Earth’s crisis. 

Its in this context that we’re introduced to our main character, Juliette. After discovering her power of deadly touch, she’s treated as an outcast. When she accidentally touches and kills a child, she’s sent to an asylum to live without human interaction. The Reestablishment, however, might have a special use for her. After all, a girl with a deadly touch would be an extremely powerful weapon.

Unravel Me

At the end of the first book, Juliette and Adam escape from Warner and the Reestablishment and start to fight with Omega Point, a group of rebels with powers similar to Juliette’s. Hoping to understand and control her abilities, Juliette and Adam stay with Omega Point to train and fight back against the Reestablishment. When Warner is captured and brought to Omea Point, Juliette will be torn in two separate directions because maybe Warner wasn’t who she thought he was and maybe Adam isn’t everything she thought she wanted. 

Ignite Me

Omega Point suffered a great defeat and Juliette doesn’t know if anyone is alive. She and Warner plan to take down the Reestablishment themselves but thankfully they won’t have to. With a small group of surviving rebels, Juliette comes up with a plan to take down Anderson and the Reestablishment in Sector 45. Once she masters her powers, Juliette will lead her people to freedom…or die trying.

Earth-Shattering or What? 

Let me start by saying there are SIX books in this series. I read the first four, summed up the first three, and gave up on the last two. Now, let me tell you why. I gave it 4-stars overall because the first three books in the series were actually pretty good. Maybe not Earth-shattering but enjoyable nonetheless.

Things I liked:

• The writing style was really cool but I know it’s not for everyone. Mafi uses short choppy sentences, strikes through things, repeats phrases over and over but for a really good reason! I think it helps you see what’s going on in Juliette’s head and why she reacts the way she does.
• Juliette does get better by the third book. I liked her character in book one, she lost me a bit in book two, but I came back for her hard in book three. I think she changed so much and I really enjoyed seeing that growth. She becomes a TOTAL beast in book 3 and I was there for it.

• The love triangle and the angst that went along with it – I just wanted Juliette to make up her dang mind already!
• In book two, Juliette kind of sucks. She’s such a ninny and so afraid of herself that it takes a lot to root for her.

Now let me tell you about Restore Me, book four of the series. I was super excited that the trilogy continued with Juliette’s story. I loved her in book three and I thought, “YES! She is going to really be something in this one.” Oh Lord. Restore Me was the worst! Juliette loses all confidence in herself, in Warren, in the people around her. Every time I read her point of view, I wanted to skim so I could get to Warren’s character because he was at least likable. To me, Juliette was intolerable! This book made me give up on the rest of the series. I checked out some reviews on Goodreads and Amazon and just decided that the rest of the series wasn’t for me. Super hard pass.