Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

119 reviews

spatterson7's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Medical content, and Murder

madi_reads13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sundragonscrolls's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Tropes:
*enemies to lovers
*dystopian society
*broken heroine
*love triangle
*superpowers
*rebellion

Triggers:
*emotional abuse
*trauma
*violence

Themes:
Power and Control
Freedom vs Opression
Identity and Self-Worth

Language: mild
Spice: 2/5

Shatter Me, the first book in Tahereh Mafi's dystopian series is a gripping story about a girl named Juliette Ferrars, whose touch is lethal. In this dark future, the world is crumbling under the control of the Reestablishment, a totalitarian regime. Juliette has been imprisoned because of her dangerous ability, which she can’t control. Her loneliness and isolation are palpable, making her character both tragic and relatable.

The story takes off when Juliette is given a chance at freedom but under dangerous conditions. She’s forced to live under the watch of Warner, a ruthless leader who wants to use her as a weapon. Meanwhile, Juliette reconnects with Adam, a boy from her past who may be her key to escape. This sets up the book's central conflict—Juliette’s struggle to choose between being controlled by others or learning to control her own power.

Mafi’s writing style is unique, using strikethroughs and fragmented sentences to reflect Juliette’s fractured mental state. At times, the prose reads like poetry, which makes the book feel deeply personal. However, the story also has moments of high tension and action, especially as the relationships between Juliette, Warner, and Adam unfold. In my opinion, there is a lack of world-building with more of the focus being on character development. 

The themes could be explored a bit more, but I believe will be dove into a bit more as the series progresses. Juliette’s journey is not just about survival; it’s about self-discovery and learning to believe in her own strength. The romance adds another layer to the story, as Juliette is torn between two very different men, one who makes her feel safe and the other who sees her power.

Overall, Shatter Me is a fast-paced, emotionally intense read. It combines dystopian elements with personal drama, and the unique writing style adds an extra layer of depth. 

Rated 7.5/10 or 4/5 stars
Plot 1
Themes .5
Pacing 1
Setting .5
Originality 1
Charcters 1
Writing Styel 1
Ending 1
Emotional Impact 0
Overall Enjoyment .5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Violence

evarinya's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Good:
It was a quick read - I managed to get through the book with surprising speed, it never felt like it dragged too much or got boring, which was very refreshing after just having read a bunch of books that just felt "too long".
Also the plot itself was... fine? Not too much yet, clearly setting up something bigger, but... it does make me want to read more!
And (spoilers for the last few chapters)

I rather liked the whole Omega Complex X-Men style idea, even if there wasn't too much done with it so far. And Kenji was fun, admittedly.

The Bad:
Some actions felt a bit contrived, like how there always seemed to miraculously be something around Juliette that would help her solve her current issue.
Also - but that's a very personal thing for me - I just don't like dystopian settings too much. Especially those that (spoiler for the last few chapters)

end up becoming "big evil group of people/fascists has all the power but small team of heroes will fight to take them down!" - too many similarities to certian space operas, I presume.

The Ugly:
I, for the love of anything, cannot understand how people hype up Warner that much. I know that there probably will be something up with him in later books, but in this book? He's just a horrible human being. With some depth, sure, and probably his own family trauma, but... That doesn't mean he should get a free pass as to how he constantly manipulated Juliette to turn into what he believes/wants her to be!
And that she partly even accepts this already just because he's good-looking and she sometimes feels sorry for him - just to then in the next paragraph be absolutely disgusted by him again... I don't know. Doesn't really make me want to root for them at all, so far.

I worry how this will turn out in the later books, as a proper redemption arc is really difficult to pull off, but I'm willing to at least check out the next book to see how things will develop.

And again, I didn't hate this book, not by a long shot - I just, perhaps, expected something a little different based on what I have seen fans of this series discuss online... But oh well. I'll see how it goes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

greenknightemrys's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

thelaurajay's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping

embodyingmysticalmac's review against another edition

The writing style was not done well enough to warrant it imo and appeared like the author was trying to be stylistic but came across as simply gimmicky. A book that does what this tried to do but actually succeeded is Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. I have also seen who the love interest was gonna be (thanks book tok 😅) and he is irredeemably abusive which I am just not interested in. Unless the abuse serves an actual purpose for a redemption arc it simply didn’t need to come from the love interest, even if it is necessary, then it’s up to the writer to not create a character that is genuinely irredeemable. I am over YA books encouraging young women to end up with their abusers. This series can stay far away from my romance shelf 🙅🏻‍♀️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization

guy who ends up with her sees her as an object and as a means to an end. He is endlessly creepy and predatory towards her and even incites violence against her but they end up together anyway 😒

hoops_literary_library_life's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

sharlapeggy's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I enjoyed this book a lot! I look forward to reading the next one in the series and learning a bit more about the characters. My only criticism is that I didn’t really rate the ending (but I appreciated why it needed to be this way to lead into the next book). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Stalking, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

anjh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i had high hopes for this book considering how popular it is. it was really good, the writing is incredibly poetic and i think that’s part of what makes it so good. 

i’m not usually that into fantasy and dystopian books but this wasn’t bad, i did enjoy the magical element and didn’t find the world too confusing which i often do. 

i was kind of surprised how much smut was in this lol. as someone who is generally incredibly bored by smut and romance n such i kind of skimmed over it or skipped it but if you are into smutty stuff i def recommend it lol. 

but omg the writing. the crossing out of sentences really added to the poetic style - i loved it. i think the main highlight of this book was the writing style. it was just beautiful 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic