Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Shatter Me

i loved this book. I loved the writing style, how it reflected so well on Juliette’s state of mind, how it evolved throughout the book, her relationship with Adam, i just loved everything. The plot was good, it had a fast pace and short chapters, it kept me hooked. I’m left with SO many questions unanswered so it lowers my rating a little bit.

i don’t get why Warner is so loved throughout this series and Adam is so hated on. I don’t understand Warner’s motives and his actions, he’s an enigma for me. I don’t understand anything he does or says, like when he said he loved her i was like ????? since when. I’d like to see him explain more in these next books.
Adam is so sweet, i think he is a little overprotective though but he’s still my n1 ship with Juliette. It really intrigues me how Tahereh Mafi is going to make me love Warner and hate Adam, because at this point i feel it the other way around.

i’ll read destroy me to have a warner pov because i need it and then i’ll read unravel me.
Juliette <3 she’s so strong and amazing, i love her. I love that she has a weak state of mind, her chain of thought is so disorganized but she’s still questioning things about the people and places around her.

Content Warnings

sweetsxrrxw's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

[this review was written after a re-read, so spoilers of this book and the rest of the series are included]

the first time i read this book i was in a reading slump of about two years. a-levels and the pandemic had messed up my mental health. those two factors plus my lack of money had killed my motivation to pick a book. but, one evening summer i felt sad and desperate to bring back my love for reading. luckily, i bumped into the shatter me series; my slump was cured and, to celebrate the anniversary of that i decided to re-read it.

during this whole year i have not only finished the series but also read several opinions about this first book: people who love it and people who think it's awful or, at least, the worst book in the saga. now that i have re-read it, with all of this new information, i was allowed to view things from another perspective.

let me start talking about the writing style. i get why many people disliked it. i really do. but i can also understand why the author chose it, and i think it was mainly to show how fucked up juliette was. of course it is weird to see numbers in every page and and how she expresses herself. but, think about it, she had been locked for eight full months. she was isolated and convinced, since her childhood, that she was a monster and a terrible human being and deserved nothing (for something she could not decide or control).
personally, if i were in her place, i would have gone nuts and i wouldn't stand being alive. juliette, instead, decided to entertain herself by counting and daydreaming. that was her only escape. the only thing that kept her sane and the only way she had to give herself a break from her intrusive, depressing thoughts. so i would like to believe that the narration was meant to express juliette's state of mind.

now, if we talk about the characters... can i just say i love them all? im not trying to make this review super long so im just going to try to focus on their personalities during this book.
juliette is just very small and fragile during this book but she slowly grows into a more confident person who, for the first time in her life, feels like has control over her choices and can make bonds with other people without being scared. her traumas and backstory are heartbreaking but i am just so happy that she is able to overcome everything.
kenji is just the love of my life, lmao. he was the first man who made me realize i have a thing for funny and sarcastic side characters ;) i love the fact that, even if he's introduced like kind of a sneaky, womanizer character, he is actually very loyal and trustworthy.
it was nice to read again about warner with the knowledge i have now. i had context for some of the things he did (such as giving clothes to juliette or getting upset when she mentioned his mom). overall, i think he was a good villain in this book!
my unpopular opinion about adam is that i dont really hate him. yes i am aware of everything he does in the next books but i feel like tahereh just gave him a radical personality change so aaron could step in. i refuse to believe that shatter me adam would act the way he did in the other books just because of jealousy. he has always been in love with juliette and, even if she's not his girlfriend anymore, i don't think he would ever do something to hurt her.
AND JAMES !!! this kiddo owned my heart since the first book, fr.

on the other hand, i have lots of blue underlined quotes in the book. as i said in the beginning, this feels like an excerpt of how juliette felt like at her worst. so i just emphasized and felt so sad for her during the book. but there's this one quote which, even last year, made me think "bro, i really love this book". and it's the conversation juliette has with winston, validating kenji's anger and asking winston not to be a hypocrite and to learn how to pronounce kenji's "difficult" last name. as someone with a difficult name, i will always appreciate reading that dialogue <3

i have not re-read the other books from the series yet but i'd just like to say that this one is very special to me and i really hope that, with time, it becomes one of my comfort bookish series. <3

Content Warnings

ratherreadrandi's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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

3.5

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novelisa's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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alexiab's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

I think I may be rating this a little high, because overall not much happened and it really felt like one big set up for the rest of the series - because it ended just as things were finally happening - but I really enjoyed the unravelling of the story regardless. I had so many questions constantly popping up and it kept me eager to see what would happen next.

I think Juliette is probably the most dramatic narrator in history, I’ve never seen so much over exaggeration in a book before, but I think it added to her naivety and the result of her being locked away from the world for so long, so I surprisingly didn’t hate it. Despite how Extra™️ she is I’m still rooting for her, and the rest of the characters are equally as enjoyable.

Overall it’s very YA (obviously), the instant love is hilarious and silly, but the vibe for the story itself is “daaaamn okay, not bad” so I’m hoping the story opens up a lot in the rest of the series.

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lauritbh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense fast-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

5.0

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