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A review by jen1804
Believe Me by Tahereh Mafi
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I could probably take or leave this final novella of the Shatter Me series. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either.
I didn’t really like all the secretive wedding planning and keeping that from Aaron so that Juliette could surprise him. But I also kinda understand what Mafi was trying to portray by writing it this way. Aaron is a tortured soul who thinks nobody likes him and that everyone is better off without him, so by everyone mucking together and planning this wonderful surprise for him it sort of demonstrates that he’s maybe more liked than he thinks he is, even if he does treat everyone other than Juliette like an ass.
It just felt as though Aaron only had two moods during this which were overly worried about everything and then overly mean to everyone. And it makes me sad because I feel that he is far more complex that just those two emotions and it wasn’t in keeping with Aaron’s character that I’ve loved throughout the series.
I’m not 100% sure what I’m trying to say, I just felt that this was not a fantastic ending to the series and I probably could’ve stopped at Imagine Me with no epilogue. Sure it’s always nice to know what characters are up to after saving the world, but really I only want to know as long as the character development is good and I just didn’t feel like this novella was it.
Not a great deal actually happened, which is fine, as long as the writing is good and the things the characters say and do make sense and add dimension to them. But I’m sorry Mafi, aside from Kenji (who was a dream as always) this one just fell a little bit short for me.
I didn’t really like all the secretive wedding planning and keeping that from Aaron so that Juliette could surprise him. But I also kinda understand what Mafi was trying to portray by writing it this way. Aaron is a tortured soul who thinks nobody likes him and that everyone is better off without him, so by everyone mucking together and planning this wonderful surprise for him it sort of demonstrates that he’s maybe more liked than he thinks he is, even if he does treat everyone other than Juliette like an ass.
It just felt as though Aaron only had two moods during this which were overly worried about everything and then overly mean to everyone. And it makes me sad because I feel that he is far more complex that just those two emotions and it wasn’t in keeping with Aaron’s character that I’ve loved throughout the series.
I’m not 100% sure what I’m trying to say, I just felt that this was not a fantastic ending to the series and I probably could’ve stopped at Imagine Me with no epilogue. Sure it’s always nice to know what characters are up to after saving the world, but really I only want to know as long as the character development is good and I just didn’t feel like this novella was it.
Not a great deal actually happened, which is fine, as long as the writing is good and the things the characters say and do make sense and add dimension to them. But I’m sorry Mafi, aside from Kenji (who was a dream as always) this one just fell a little bit short for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders