Here’s the thing, it’s not a secret…we’re OBSESSED with the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi.
The story landed in our lap in 2011, when we were in bit of a YA rut. Lost in the sea of stories that all started to blend together.
But Shatter Me wasn’t like the other kids on the block. It had a distinctive style that demanded attention.
The beautiful writing drew us in and now that we’ve read Unravel Me (which joined the ranks of Terminator 2, Toy Story 2 and Mighty Ducks 2 for being better than the 1st) we’re completely hooked on this series and neeeeedddddd more.
Here’s why:
THE WRITING
Call it poetry. Call it prose. Call it AWESOME.
It’s writing like anything we’ve read before. It’s like the rainbow of YA.
At first the style is a bit abrasive, literally. (The first half of the book has strike-marks throughout.) But by as you read on, the writing style develops into a character itself. It is beautiful and harsh. Rich and simple. Sharp and soft. It lingers with you and once you go along with it you find it hard to stop.
ONE OF THE BEST VILLIANS EVER
Every story has a villain, someone who you’re rooting against.
Every once in a while a story taps into the magic sauce that has one side of you despising the villain, while the other side can’t wait for them to make another appearance.
This is Warner all the way.
He is bad. Super bad. Like kills-people-in-cold-blood bad. There is no question.
But Mafi has developed a remarkable balance that has you wanting to get to know him. Just like Juliette, you want to find out what makes him tick.
STEAMY SCENES
Whoa boy. Whoa Boy. There are moments in the series where you will be powerless to stop the blood rushing to your face. Like in the shower scene or #chaptersixtytwo
BEAUTY IN DYSTOPIAN
Juliette lives in a harsh world. Life under the Re-Establishment (The government run by Warner’s father) has turned everything desolate and gray, typical in the realm of dystopian. But this is where Mafi’s writing style steps in FTW!
Juliette’s inner thoughts are beautiful. Thoughts like this one that is filled with heartbreaking beauty.
“I spent my life folded between the pages of books.
In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”
THE FEELS!
Like gut-wrenching feels.
HOLY BALLS.
This series is crafted to have your jaw slam on the floor multiple times, send you into the fetal position at least twice and re-reading entire chapters just to make sure you can fully grasp what happened.
Support groups need to be created for these kinds of series. The ones that have your totally real emotions surgically tied to the totally fictional lives of the people you are reading about.
PAGES THAT WON’T STOP TURNING
Together Shatter Me and Unravel Me have 100+ chapters. The story comes at you fast and hard. It demands that you keep reading.
We haven’t determined the main force behind needing to continue reading despite the clock showing 2:36am, but all of the previously listed reasons are vying for the spot.
GEEK WORLDS COLLIDE
It’s awesome when this happens.
Yes, Juliette is like Rogue.
But that’s awesome.
Juliette has Rogue-like powers in a dystopian world, which gives another interesting layer to the issues that come along when you can’t touch someone without KILLING THEM.
BIG UPS TO THE SIDEKICK
Just because there’s a kick-ass protagonist and swoon-worthy dudes and doesn’t mean the secondary characters aren’t vying for your heart.
Kenji brings it.
Doesn’t matter if he’s there for comic relief or the dose of reality that your leads need from time to time, it is impossible not to do a little book shimmy when Kenji is on the page.
Major applause to his great backstory, to boot.
AN AUTHOR YOU CAN FAN-GIRL
Outside of the books, Mafi is amazing. She exudes the wit that is present in her writing. If you follow her on twitter, you will not regret it. Also, her mom is equally cool.
and now, i will take my mother’s advice. twitter.com/TaherehMafi/st…
— Tahereh Mafi (@TaherehMafi) January 24, 2013
BONUS: Her shoes are always amazing.
So there you have it.
Unravel Me comes out next week. We’re going to read it again. And then probably again.
Any others inflicted with the Shatter Me obsession out there?!?
What got you hooked? Share in the comments and then bring it in for a hug!
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Can’t wait to read this book!!!!! YAY!
<3 this series! Also Tahereh's mom. She is the most hilarious thing on Twitter.
I just bought Shatter Me today at BAM! can’t wait to read it!
I read “Shatter Me” today… in like 10 hours, or so. It was brilliant and I can’t wait for “Unravel Me”.
I loved Shatter Me and can’t wait to read Unravel Me! Even cooler, I can’t wait to actually meet Tahereh at the Dark Days event!! OMG Total fan girling will happen!!
After reading shatter me I wanted to hug warner and be all like, “shh. Sh. No tears now, only dreams. Its ok, I know you’re misunderstod. I understand. Sh, storm god is here to lean upon…”