janpolo

(Note: Goodreads friends and followers, you know me by now. You know that, even as much as I love a book, my reviews aren't always a resounding, "Oh my goodness, you need to READ THIS NOW! YOUR LIFE WILL BE SO MUCH FULLER BECAUSE OF IT!" I'm not that naive or arrogant to think that the books I love will be the books you love. Instead, my reviews are...chronicles of the experiences I had with books, and if that can help you decide whether certain books will be for you or not, then I'll be all the happier. However, sometimes I am a gushing mess with books I love, and I don't note the flaws present. I will try to be mindful of this tendency of mine as I write this review.) Hope is hugging me, holding me in its arms, wiping away my tears and telling me that today and tomorrow and two days from now I will be just fine and I'm so delirious I actually dare to believe it. Two years ago, I had my first experience with a young adult dystopian novel: Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games. I fell in love with the characters, found myself fascinated yet horrified by the circumstances of the world, and became invested in a wonderful story that still makes me feel a tangle of emotions to this day. In some respects, Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me gave me some of the same emotions I had back then as I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning just to read what happened next to Katniss, Peeta, and everyone else. Shatter Me left me expectant, worried, and intrigued with every page I turned. It was a stressful reading experience, definitely, but all the stress I felt was pent-up through the heroine, Juliette. Juliette, you see, hasn't been touched for 264 days. Inside of her is a curse gift that brings deathdeathdeath agony to anyone she touches, and this strange ability has led to her being locked away in an asylum. Isolation takes its toll on Juliette, and her only real solace is writing away in a notebook and spinning phrases in such a way that they seem overwrought and not entirely rational or "normal." Then the unthinkable occurs: Juliette is given a cellmate, and everything she thought she knew begins to expand and spin out of her control entirely. Shatter Me is a dystopian novel but, unlike others of the genre, the novel is less about external conflict (though there is some of that; it wouldn't be a novel if there weren't) and more about internal conflict. To make my meaning more clear, let me explain with a comparison: one of my friends recently directed me to a script called Maggie about a teenage girl bitten by a zombie and her slow change into one of the undead. What do zombies and one girl's transformation into one have to do with this novel? Because that script is about a big idea (zombie infestation worldwide) narrowed down to a character (Maggie) and her experiences. In some ways, Shatter Me, is much like that: it's about a big idea (a dystopian world headed by a secretive totalitarian government), but instead it focuses on one character's role in it (Juliette). Given how so many writers focus on the "big ideas" and sacrifice deep characterization because of it, I was very happy with the way this first novel developed, driven by Juliette and her ramblings thoughts. Another hurdle of this novel is the prose, something that I feel will probably alienate many readers since...it's not exactly typical to read novels with lines like I'm catapulted across the room by my own fear or My mouth freezes in place. Also, the strike-outs may become a teensy-bit annoying to some readers. As for my experience, I was surprised: the prose didn't bother me. It actually reminded me of a verse novel (which, I know, many people don't like...but I find some of them very lovely, albeit a bit thin plot-wise). And it also helped that the prose fit the character. Juliette is an isolated girl, left alone with nothing but her own thoughts and words. Her thoughts, eccentric and detailed as they are, are coping mechanisms. The words help her to distance herself from her situation, and even after her life begins to brighten she still relies on her old habits of describing things and actions in an unnatural way. What would have bothered me is if Juliette hadn't seemed a bit "different" after spending so much time alone. Then I would have thought her a robot, and the story would not have drawn me in nearly as much. The hero, Adam, and the antagonist, Warner, also managed to get my heartstrings all tangled. I couldn't help noting some of the sweetness and tenderness I had seen in Peeta Mellark's character within Adam Kent. In contrast, Warner...is a sadistic bastard of a character, but his obsession with Juliette and her powers is as sorrowful as it is pitiful and disturbing. Though a part of me dreads the love triangle already beginning to form, a greater part of me finds the dynamics fascinating since Adam and Warner are two opposite ends of the spectrum. One is heroic and kind; the other is cruel and nearly mad during certain moments. Even though it's a no-brainer who the "right" choice is, one must wonder how this will all play out if Juliette begins to look at herself as a monster again. I'm not going to lie: the direction this novel takes is familiar yet still a bit surprising. When I opened this book, I hadn't known what to expect...but, near the end, I found myself at a complete one-eighty from what I had first expected. That in and of itself is a good thing, so I'm hoping that the rest of the trilogy will continue to bring surprises to the table. With the ending, I actually felt that I had a glimpse of what Tahereh Mafi had been hoping to accomplish with this novel. It's an origins story of transformation and healing amid darkness, despair, and loneliness. The only major thing that irked me a little in this first novel was that the lack of other female characters was...quite noticeable. It gets a tad annoying that all the other characters (who matter) are boys in this first installment. No matter how strong Juliette becomes as a character, somehow it will feel a little lacking if she's the lone girl amid adoring males. I love strong heroines even more when they have a few other strong females around them. As much as I really enjoyed this first installment, my reading experiences with the next two novels may be hindered as far as enjoyment goes if Juliette remains the one girl who matters in the story. Mixed though the opinions may be about this novel, Shatter Me really surprised me with its take on the dystopian genre, narrative style, and characterization. I look forward to seeing what will happen as the story progresses throughout the trilogy, so here's hoping the ride will continue to be exhilarating to me as a reader. As for whether you should try this one for yourself...I advise making use of preview chapters before committing to read the entire novel. Shatter Me isn't going to be for everyone, but I hope that it will find the readers who will appreciate and savor it for what it is and be able to ignore the flaws that may hamper full enjoyment of this novel.

2022-11-14 16:46