Reading: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

"My world is one interwoven web of word, 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" - Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me

Title: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)

Author: Tehereh Mafi

Published: 2011

Publisher: Harper

Rating: 4 Stars (really liked it!)

I will be totally honest with you all. I am writing this review after having completed the entire series (minus novellas). This is purely because I have no self control and there was no time to review the book when I was trying to greedily get my hands on the next one.

My sister has been wanting me to read this book for a long time. Not because she's read it, but because the author is Muslim and that's awesome. To me, that wasn't enough reason to read a book, so I basically ignored her. Then I started seeing this series all over Instagram and though "huh, maybe it's also good?" So, on a rainy Saturday afternoon, I have purchased this on sale from Books a Million and snuggled in to read it. Fastforward to Sunday morning and I have finished book one. Fastforward to Sunday afternoon and I am walking back from the library with books 2 and 3.

So yea, I liked it. It's not at all what I expected. The story and concept are familiar. Very familiar. Every other YA dystopian novel familiar. But the characters and plot feel different. A lot of this has to do with Mafi's gorgeous prose. Her writing style is entirely unique, unlike anything I've read elsewhere. I found myself reading with a pencil in hand to underline, star, and otherwise note the beautiful poetry in her words.

I cannot tell you how hard it was to choose ONE quote to place above the picture in this review.

The story, about a young girl whose touch is lethal, is about so much more. It's about people who were silenced. It's about youth. It's about coming of age. It's about learning you have a voice. It's a story about people and people should read it.

I generally avoid the YA romance genre. Personally, it's a little substance-less hot-and-heavy for me, but this is coming someone who only reads historical romances. This series is definitely a romance, but I don't think that it detracts from the story or the power of the female protagonist. Don't believe me? Read it and judge for yourself.

Rating: 4 Stars.

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