By: Tahereh Mafi
Narrated by: Kate Simses
Shatter Me begins with Juliette Ferrars trapped in a cell undergoing solitary confinement. She hasn't spoken to anyone, or touched anyone since coming to the cell 264 days ago. Her touch inflicts excruciating agony upon whomever she touches. Sometimes even causing death. But, things begin to change when she is given a cell mate. A boy cell mate.
Audio Review: Andye is going to throw things at me, but this was not my favorite narrator. I know many people have adored Kate Simses' narration of this title, but it was tough for me to get through. I think that I prefer my female narrators to have a deeper, more husky voice. The higher pitched ones give the impression (to me) of girlishness and weakness. There were times when I really enjoyed her narration, and others (particularly the romantic bits) where I just didn't.
Book Review: Oh, this book, this book, this book. The hype surrounding Shatter Me was at a fever pitch last fall. And probably still is, seeing as how this book was nominated twice for Tell Me What to Read. I follow Taherah Mafi on twitter, and find her absolutely delightful. Andye recommends the audio, Angie and Holly both enjoyed the book, so it seemed to be a sure-winner.
I don't really know how this book went wrong for me, but it did. I found the constant metaphors to be tiring. Perhaps even more in audio, since in print I can easily skip it. But, about the time that Juliette was going to be released from her jail cell, I was really exhausted. Each emotion or piece of inner dialogue (of which there was a lot), was repeated in multiples of three. I really struggled with this, because I felt like Daughter of Smoke and Bone had a lot of metaphors as well. And I really enjoyed that book. I think it was the repetition that just put it over the edge. Coupled with the fact that there were some really strange metaphors (jaw bones dangling from shoelaces to show surprise, blushing to bones, etc) that made me laugh out loud in a few places.
And, the heart of the matter is that I really just didn't like Juliette all that much. Remember how I always say that I don't mind a slow plot as long as I love the character? I felt so disconnected to Juliette that the slow plot made it difficult for me to care about her story. Also, she found her love interest, Adam, so quickly that I never felt like we were able to make a connection just about her. Which was sad, because Adam, being the childhood sweetheart, seems like it totally would have fit the bill for me.
The plot is pretty slow. There are 2, maybe 3 major events, and the rest of the novel is spent pretty much in Juliette's head thinking.
So, what did I like? I really did think the writing was beautiful. It was just sensory overload. With a little bit of a lighter touch, I really would have enjoyed the book. The concept is exciting, and I actually really enjoyed the last 25% of the book when things started to pick up.
There is some pretty heavy romance in this book. It's definitely more appropriate for older teens. There is also some swearing.
*As a very very tiny sidenote: I don't like the name Adam.
I was NOT a fan of this book. The writing really did me in. In fact, I think an audio might have been a better way for me to enjoy it, since it was often the crossing out of words and such that annoyed me too. But I truly love Taherah as a person - she is just like her tweets in real life and so much fun to listen to. Take any chance you get to hear her speak.
ReplyDeleteShe is such a neat person! I want to meet her, and hope I get the chance to sometime.
DeleteThe crossing out of words was really interesting in the audio, and that didn't bother me. It was all the repeating.
I am half way into this book (I have been reading it on and off since January) and I feel the same way- I want to like it so much but I just can't. I do want to finish it but I don't think it gets better. The writing is beautiful though.
ReplyDeleteThe writing is lovely. I just found it to be a tad overwhelming.
DeleteThose were some of my thoughts too. I didn't get the hype either and I rated it about the same. It seems sometimes predictable and little left to the world building. I found Warner more interesting than Adam.
ReplyDeleteSuch a disappointment...
DeleteWow. I'm going to hang out on a limb here and say maybe it was because it was an audio? I read this book and LOVED it. I loved Juliette, the writing... Yeah, it was a bit repetitive, but, like you said, the nice thing about reading it is having the ability to skip that particular bit (no reading the same line when she mentally repeats it over and over). Maybe try again with book two, but read instead of listen?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not sure. I have to really love the book in order to continue the series. We'll see what happens though.
DeleteI think this book is a victim of being over-hyped. When you read it, it can't live up to it. I liked this book because it was unique in it's writing style. I can understand how the metaphors were annoying, but I actually liked some of them. They helped me "see" the story.
ReplyDeleteI was bias because Mafi is so awesome in her interviews. I liked her so, I felt like I had to like the book too!
I liked many of the metaphors. But sometimes there were SO MANY that I got overwhelmed. Also, Juliette just seemed really dramatic and everything that happened to her got an explosive reaction.
DeleteOh! And I totally agree that Mafi is so very awesome. I like her a lot. Just wasn't a fan of the book.
DeleteI was weirded out at first but then I ended up really liking the book but I'm not sure if I would have liked listening to it. Just something about the way it's written to me makes me think all the annoying stuff would stand out more.
ReplyDeleteI liked it okay. I just wanted some more from the story, and a little less from the writing.
DeleteOhnoes! It's a shame that you didn't enjoy it. I really really need to read this book!
ReplyDelete=^.^= ComaCalm's Corner =^.^=
I agree with you about this one, I just didn't enjoy it. I kept thinking I would get drawn in eventually, but it never happened.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad... :(
DeleteWhat a really interesting premise! I've never tried audio books, I think for the reason that I like to imagine how the characters sound in my own mind. Great review!
ReplyDeleteSometimes audiobooks allow me to just relax and allow someone else to read me a story. It's really soothing. I love reading no matter how it's done!
DeleteThe metaphors weren't for me either, I'll admit I skimmed them a bit so I can see how that would be difficult on audio. I liked the book as a whole, but parts of it were slow.
ReplyDeleteHow did they do the strikethroughs in the audio book ?
The strikethroughs were actually really cool! At the end of a passage where they used one, there was a sound effect like scratching a pen on a piece of paper. That was one of the things that I really liked about the audio.
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