Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Wanted to love it, but I didn't :(, November 19, 2011
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I was among the many who couldn't wait for the day Shatter Me finally released. Then I was lucky enough to score an early copy of this highly anticipated and greatly hyped dystopian novel. Heck yeah! So I started reading and was a little put off by the author's writing style. Yes, I just might be the only person on the face of the earth who didn't find the author's prose beautifully unique. The lack of punctuation (commas are your friend), overuse of metaphors (& the word butter), and the author's apparent addiction to the strike through tool seriously distracted from a novel I could have probably found a way to like a bit more. Some of the metaphors didn't even make sense or fit with the scene. It felt like I was stuck in an insane character's stream of consciousness that just refused to end (when I desperately needed it to). I didn't find the premise unique. I felt like a premise we've seen in books, movies, television, and even comic books was used with the hope readers would find it fresh and new because of the author's disjointed writing style. Maybe for some, but I'm not falling for it. Did I hate this book? Nope. I just feel like it could have been so much more, but got seriously weighed down by the writing. Metaphors are cool, but I needed less of the pretty and more action and character development. I did really like Adam. He is a perfect male lead. Not quite sure how I feel about Juliette. She seemed to have badass potential, but as the novel progressed she started to become a little codependent (and horny) for my taste. After a life of exclusion, lack of human touch, and then being imprisoned in isolation you'd think she'd maintain her guarded persona (she didn't). She quickly rolled over and put all her faith in a boy (a cute boy, but still). I need a strong protag who keeps her priorities straight, and Juliette just didn't fit the bill. I also felt like the plot progressed too smoothly. There were several obstacles, but they were all overcome quickly with a solution that was just a little too convenient. I wanted more survival mode, but it seemed all the action and conflict took a backseat to the romantic elements. Will I read the next in this series? While Shatter Me's conclusion didn't leave me pining for the sequel, curiosity just might persuade me to pick up the next. P.S I feel calling this a dystopian was kind of stretching it. Yes. It does have dystopian elements, but it felt a little more sci-fi to me. Not that this is bad. I dig sci-fi. P.P.S Dear Authors and Publishers, Please stop comparing your next big release to the Hunger Games or Harry Potter (or in this case X-Men). There will never be another Katniss or Harry and when I pick up a book that has been compared to one of the greats and find it to be nothing like it at all I get kind of pissed and start questioning your credibility. Let the readers decide. Cover Thoughts: I thought this was gorgeous when I first saw it online. In person it is pretty horrendous.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
32 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Paranormal romance disguised as dystopia, November 16, 2011
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Juliette is seventeen years old hasn't spoken to or touched anyone in 264 days. Whenever she touches someone, they suffer and eventually die if she holds on long enough. She was imprisoned for murder by the Re-establishment, an organization who is dedicated to rebuilding the polluted, barren Earth on the surface. Food and animals are scarce, the sky is incredibly polluted, and diseases run rampant. No one knows why Juliette's touch is so harmful, but she is small compared to the larger problems of the world. Everything changes when after months and months of isolation, a boy is put into her cell with her. She has no idea what her jailers' angle is, but she is determined to keep to herself and keep him safe. He isn't what he appears to be and she has to choose whether she will be a weapon for someone else to wield or a self sufficient warrior. Shatter Me is a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I was engaged by the interesting writing style and the main character, Juliette. The narrative is written in a kind of stream of consciousness style, giving the work the feeling of reading her journal or her innermost thoughts. It's punctuated with occasional strike outs that reveal Juliette's true feelings, usually followed by what she thinks she should feel. At the beginning of the story, she is practically catatonic, having been isolated for the better part of a year in an insane asylum. The strike outs provide glimpses into Juliette's character that she doesn't reveal outwardly. They lessen as the story goes along and as Juliette becomes stronger and more expressive. Juliette is the most compelling character by far and undergoes the most development. Underneath all the abuse she has experienced, she's very strong and her sensitivity is sometimes mistaken for weakness. I thought her power was interesting, even though it was reminiscent of both Jenny Pox and Rogue from X-Men. On the other hand, Shatter Me had a lot of flaws. The dystopic world isn't fully developed and felt a little hollow for me. There are no real, detailed reasons for practically anything and no questions are answered. The story is closer to a paranormal romance than a sci-fi dystopia. The romance is pretty melodramatic and over the top. I didn't like Adam, the soldier boy love interest, because he was too macho and alpha male for me. Not appealing. Plus all of the characters besides Juliette were flat and I also thought it was awfully convenient that two of the characters vying for her love can touch her without dying. The ending was the aspect I hated most because, like most first installments of teen series, it ended in the middle of a scene without really resolving anything. I really don't know why this keeps happening in teen books, but it's really annoying and I would like to read a complete story. Of course some things should be left open for a second book, but to abruptly, awkwardly end is just unacceptable. Although it has flaws, Shatter Me kept my attention and introduced some interesting concepts that I hope are continued in the next book. I would recommend it to paranormal romance lovers who also like X-Men and Jenny Pox.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Remember Rogue from X-men?, November 15, 2011
Shatter Me is one of those books that I couldn't wait to read. Not only has it been incredibly hyped online, but it has an incredibly compelling concept and a great blurb that screams "Read me!" Being touted as the Hunger Games meets X-men, Shatter Me boasted some of the most unique marketing I've ever seen for a YA novel, despite its unknown author and not-incredibly-compelling cover. Being the dystopian nerd that I am, I was completely pulled in by the incredible blurb and was beyond exciting for this title. Juliette has been locked up for a long time. The Reestablishment, a type of government faction that was seizing power, locked Juliette away when they discovered her strange gift, that when she touches people, she kills them. After being locked up for so long, a boy joins Juliette in her cell, though he isn't who he seems. Shatter Me was strangely difficult for me to get into. First, Juliette spends much of the first half of the novel being completely obedient to the horrible regime that locked her away and seemed completely resigned to her terrible fate. It also doesn't help that she spends far too much time feeling sorry for herself, calling herself a "monster" and dripping with angst. There were times I wanted to tell her to just get over it. Thankfully, throughout the novel Juliette's adventures help to meld her into a stronger, better person who is more confident and empowered. Then, there's the words that have been crossed out. This seems to be the biggest stylistic feature of Shatter Me and, in my opinion, nothing but a huge gimmick. At first this was a somewhat interesting way to reveal character and get the idea across, but I quickly became annoyed with it and thought that it was a way of talking down to the reader, like the reader couldn't read what exactly what was going on, so the author literally had to tell the reader everything that the character was thinking and feeling. Thankfully, the cross-outs became less frequent as the story went on, and, the more I thought about it, the gradual lack of them helped to show Juliette's development from a weak and obedient character to a stronger, more confident woman. I've also read some interesting reviews that have discussed how much they loved the writing style in Shatter Me. I'm not sure I like it -in fact, I was torn for much of the book. Most of the writing is done in stream-of-conscious style that really gets into Juliette's head, but left me out of breath by the end of most sentences. It didn't seem that polished or crisp to me. Again, this did get better as the book went on, but I wouldn't rave about the writing style here. However, some sentences here were amazing emotional gems that really were beautiful. I was also somewhat disappointed in the overall setting and plot. There is a very light dystopian setting, and most of the focus is on the romance with little action. In fact, as the story went on it became more and more obvious that Juliette was essentially Rogue from X-men, and the plot started veering further and further from a dystopian into something else completely -and more reminiscent of comic books and super heroes. I wouldn't call Shatter Me the best dystopian novel I've read this year, but it's still worth reading. It's certainly something different in the genre with a unique style approach that's unlike anything else I've ever read. Recommended for fans of dystopian romance.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
