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A review by looseleafellie
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
3.0
Actual rating: 2.5 stars
I thought the prose in this book was beautiful, and the ending set the next instalment up nicely, but I knocked one star off for the over-the-top romance, and another star for the characters, plus another half for a bonus gripe ...
The romance wasn't exactly instalove, but it was close. Juliette and Adam have been talking to each other for three weeks, and then they decide that they're madly in love with each other. Yes, I know that they sort of knew each other in school, but they never actually talked to each other. You can't fall in love with someone without talking to them. And if you do, that's not love -- that's crazy (I had the same problem with The Hunger Games, though I don't know how much of that was real, and how much was just Peeta making things up for the audience).
And my problem with the characters? All of the major ones are described as devastatingly gorgeous. Juliette is gorgeous, Adam is gorgeous, Warner is gorgeous, Kenji is gorgeous. And all three of those guys are attracted to Juliette. I don't know what kind of love potion she uses, but I want some.
Bonus gripe: Juliette's relationship with mirrors. Supposedly, she hasn't looked in a mirror for half of the book, despite going into several places where there are mirrors. This includes a room where one whole wall is a mirror. How can you not look in a mirror when one is right in front of you???? This aversion to mirrors seems to just be a plot device for describing her physical appearance (which is gorgeous, of course) when she actually DOES look in a mirror on purpose.
Overall, there were several points about this book which annoyed me. The ending posed some interesting questions, though, so I'm going to see if I can borrow Unravel Me from my library.
I thought the prose in this book was beautiful, and the ending set the next instalment up nicely, but I knocked one star off for the over-the-top romance, and another star for the characters, plus another half for a bonus gripe ...
The romance wasn't exactly instalove, but it was close. Juliette and Adam have been talking to each other for three weeks, and then they decide that they're madly in love with each other. Yes, I know that they sort of knew each other in school, but they never actually talked to each other. You can't fall in love with someone without talking to them. And if you do, that's not love -- that's crazy (I had the same problem with The Hunger Games, though I don't know how much of that was real, and how much was just Peeta making things up for the audience).
And my problem with the characters? All of the major ones are described as devastatingly gorgeous. Juliette is gorgeous, Adam is gorgeous, Warner is gorgeous, Kenji is gorgeous. And all three of those guys are attracted to Juliette. I don't know what kind of love potion she uses, but I want some.
Bonus gripe: Juliette's relationship with mirrors. Supposedly, she hasn't looked in a mirror for half of the book, despite going into several places where there are mirrors. This includes a room where one whole wall is a mirror. How can you not look in a mirror when one is right in front of you???? This aversion to mirrors seems to just be a plot device for describing her physical appearance (which is gorgeous, of course) when she actually DOES look in a mirror on purpose.
Overall, there were several points about this book which annoyed me. The ending posed some interesting questions, though, so I'm going to see if I can borrow Unravel Me from my library.