FlumeAward – Shatter Me //Shatter Me// by Tahereh Mafi
Yes, YES, a million times yes. This will probably appeal to girls a lot more than boys, but it was amazing.
Tahereh Mafi is an expert at sexual tension. Sometimes I was worried my book might catch fire because of the steaminess between the characters. This book was not overly inappropriate, Tahereh just managed to build up this tension that made the sparse air between the characters so thick with desire or fear or hatred. It was truly amazing and made the relationships that much more palpable.
The whole story was just so fantastic. The society is falling apart and there is resistance from small groups. There are lies and secrets and misdirection. There is romance and aversion and murderous looks. This book has everything you could hope for and more. I can’t even decided which side I’m rooting for more. There are so many tempting things that both have to offer. If I was Juliette though, I would have definitely played at Warner’s game for a while. Let him get comfortable so he’d let his guard down. It would have also been easier possibly, not having to fight him every inch of the way. Who knows what would have happened with Adam though…who knows if he can even be trusted. Oh the dilemmas of love and power never cease!
Shatter Me is coined as being "a world as riveting as the Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as the X-men" and I am telling you right now, that is correct. This is one you’ll want to pick up and reread before you even get a chance to set it down. I highly recommend this for the list.
Brittany MooreHall Memorial Library
I second Brittany’s recommendation- this book was so amazing, I couldn’t put it down, and still, months later, my mind drifts back to certain events & issues. I’m going crazy waiting for the sequel. I say this is a definite Flume nominee! -Lucia Von Letkemann, Wiggin Memorial Library, Stratham, 1/16/13
An interesting setup for another Dystopian series. It struck me as derivative of the Gwen storyline in the TV series Angel, with Juliette, the mc, unable to touch anyone without inflicting pain/death. That being said, it was highly readable with interesting twists and turns and believable characters and situations. Good for both boys and girls.
Kirsten Rundquist Corbett -Lane Memorial Library, Hampton 2/27/13
I liked some aspects of this book – it was definitely sexy, I liked that it wasn’t a traditional love triangle, and I loved its X-Men-esque turn of events. However it had some major drawbacks for me including: Juliette’s metaphors, which were melodramatically colorful to the point of not making sense, and her character in general: I felt like she didn’t do anything for the plot – nearly everything that happened to her happened because of all of these surrounding men in her life. I’m assuming she’ll gather her own guts as the series progresses, but it was not a great opener. Some of its events toward the end left some interesting questions open for me, but in general it isn’t a great list choice to me. It’s hard to see boys picking it up, especially with its beautiful but nonsensical cover (I read paperback). Liz, merrimack pl