I have a curse.
I have a gift.
I'm a monster.
I'm more than human.
My touch is letal.
My touch is power.
I am their weapon.
I will fight back.
Juliette has been locked up for 264 days. She hasn't touched anyone in 264 days. Her touch is lethal and deadly, powerful enough to kill. When Adam comes to her cell, all she wants is to be touched. By anyone except him. Because they used to know each other, before she was locked up. Then Juliette is taken from her cell. Taken to Warner, who wants to use her as his weapon for the Reestablishment against the rebels. Then Juliette learns that Adam CAN touch her without her hurting him, but just him. Keeping it a secret, Adam and Juliette fall in love. When they run from the Reestablishment, they run to a place Juliette didn't even know exist. Or that it was where she belonged.
I LOVED Shatter me. It's so bloody good yall. Juliette is such a strong character, even if she is shy, afraid/nervous, and unconfident. And Adam is a romantic hero if I ever read one! (get it? saw one, read one, okay?) I'm excited for the sequel, and I must say I like Shatter Me better than the Hunger Games. I'd compare this to Ally Condie's Matched/Crossed trilogy books. Juliette narrates the book, so we get to know her best. While details are left out about the Reestablishment and the rebels, the story is interesting, and all the characters are particularly intriguing. Juliette grows a lot in this novel, with Adam's help, and learns to realize that freedom IS a right, and that she deserves it. Ultimately, she learns how to be comfortable in her skin, make her own choices, and live her own life with the man who loves her and who would do anything for her.
I give Shatter Me 4/5 stars.
Ms. Mafi is holding a giveaway of her books at:
http://stiryourtea.blogspot.com/2012/02/contest-and-winning-and-free-books.html
She's also on twitter at ATaherehMafi. I'm on twitter at ARachelRooneyr. Feel free to follow both of us, please, por favor.
Shatter Me is also my S in the A-Z challenge. 1 down, 25 left to go.
Moonglass is by Jessi Kirby, and is her first novel. It's the story of Anna, who has always lived with her father, since her mother killed herself in the ocean when she was seven. Now they've returned to that place. Anna, surprisingly, makes friends with Jillian (top runner on the cross country team), and Ashley (a dance/fitness/aerobics/exercise & health guru), as well as Tyler, the cute lifeguard Anna has a crush on, his history-buff friend James, and the beautiful woman Joy who always walks the beach alone, looking for sea glass. The weight of Anna's loss is heavily felt on her shoulders, and she must confront her grief, sorrows, and guilt she feels under the fragile moon, surrounded by crashing waves.
I LOVED Moonglass. It seems I love every book I read nowadays. There's lots of wisdom in this book, too. This book is about letting go, but it portrays everything in such a way that is so down-to-earth and abstract at the same time. I'm sure that makes no sense, but if you read it, you'd understand (hopefully). The title comes from when Anna and her mom used to walk the beach at night. The glass they found in the light of the moon, they called moonglass. It's really just sea glass, but that was their special word for it. Anna is a brilliant character, and I absolutely loved her. She's a cross country runner, like me, and very realistic, yet tries to run away from her problems. I guess, that's one of the great wishes of the human heart, to be at peace.
My favorite part of the whole book was when Anna jumps off Crystal Cove AB (Ab Rock) during the rookie dive. Chapter 8. There's also the story about how her father did it, and when he was done, he kissed her mother, and that's how they met. I forgot to mention, it's tradition to do it stark naked. I'm sure yall will enjoy that part.
Now to the wisdom part. "Nobody had ever told us we were to blame. We just decided we were guilty." At the core of Moonglass, is this theme. We put blame on ourselves, when it's not our fault. We have to set it down and let go of it. We are not meant to live beneath guilt.
"I read once that water is a symbol for emotions. And for a while now I've thought maybe my mother drowned in both."
