Some spoilers ahead! I honestly can't even review this like I normally do. This is more like a rant to get things off of my chest. Let me start off by saying that I love Tahereh Mafi. Shatter Me was written so beautifully as was Unravel Me. But this book is just a huge problem. To start off, it seems like her quality of writing has gone out the window. Gone are beautiful, poetic sentences and phrases that Mafi would deliver to us with ease and grace. Gone is the voice of Juliette, the main character, that we listened to for two books. Instead we're given basic lines and a voice that makes you cringe and roll your eyes. Juliette became this basic girl who only worried about who she loved and didn't love. Her conflicting thoughts, her pained thoughts, just everything was all gone. We no longer see her cross out a thought and word herself differently. Her depth was gone.
And it seems like she wasn't the only one who changed. I literally stopped reading and checked to see if I had the right book. Out of nowhere, it's like every character did a 180 and became the opposite of who they were. Her boyfriend, Adam, who was this kind guy, who cared for her so much, became this psychotic, delusional maniac. Out of nowhere he became abusive, emotionally, mentally, and physically. And then the âbad guyâ the one who treated her like crap and messed with her head, became this sweet, loving, misunderstood person, and it was complete bull! I feel like Mafi had no direction to go and decided to add some âtwistsâ in there that made no sense.
All the other characters were pushed to the back. We didn't get to know about anyone minus Kenji, and that was barely. She had no interaction with anyone else. There are eight other survivors or so, and we know nothing about them. We don't know who they are, where they came from, and what they really want. Also, one problem I had with Juliette's power, is that if her power has to do with not touching anyone because she causes pain, how is it that she now has super strength? I was fine with that, but then out of nowhere she can move things? It started becoming too much and too perfect. It's like there were no weaknesses for her to have because she had everything covered. She was told she had these powers and then out of nowhere she was able to use them. It became too convenient, especially when out of nowhere she was able to withstand âHundreds of bullets.â and take out three hundred plus soldiers all by herself. Unrealistic.
And I honestly feel like she had no direction or that she lost her direction because nothing happened in the book. I spent at least 300+ pages on why Adam is now the bad guy, why Warner is now the good guy and misunderstood, and why Juliette whining about not knowing what she wants. Meanwhile, everyone she knows just freaking died in a battle, and she's worried about who's going to be her boyfriend? It's crap. There was no world building. We're told there's The Reestablishment. We're told that people have powers. We're told that the world isn't doing good. But we never got to see it! You don't give us people with powers and then not use it! It doesn't make any sense. You don't give us a revolution and then not play it out.
Something must have happened that Mafi probably decided she was tired of this story, or she didn't know what else to do, or I don't know. I put the book down several times in frustration because nothing was happening. Several times. Once we got to the end of the book and the âbattleâ came, it was a few pages worth and then things just became easy. She killed the Supreme Commander of the Reestablishment, and the Reestablishment gives up and then Juliette ends up running the nation and becoming the leader? It was bull. Not to mention we don't even see the battle, we see nothing! I felt robbed of a good story and honestly don't see how everyone loves this book. Kind of afraid of checking out anymore books by Mafi, to be honest.
And it seems like she wasn't the only one who changed. I literally stopped reading and checked to see if I had the right book. Out of nowhere, it's like every character did a 180 and became the opposite of who they were. Her boyfriend, Adam, who was this kind guy, who cared for her so much, became this psychotic, delusional maniac. Out of nowhere he became abusive, emotionally, mentally, and physically. And then the âbad guyâ the one who treated her like crap and messed with her head, became this sweet, loving, misunderstood person, and it was complete bull! I feel like Mafi had no direction to go and decided to add some âtwistsâ in there that made no sense.
All the other characters were pushed to the back. We didn't get to know about anyone minus Kenji, and that was barely. She had no interaction with anyone else. There are eight other survivors or so, and we know nothing about them. We don't know who they are, where they came from, and what they really want. Also, one problem I had with Juliette's power, is that if her power has to do with not touching anyone because she causes pain, how is it that she now has super strength? I was fine with that, but then out of nowhere she can move things? It started becoming too much and too perfect. It's like there were no weaknesses for her to have because she had everything covered. She was told she had these powers and then out of nowhere she was able to use them. It became too convenient, especially when out of nowhere she was able to withstand âHundreds of bullets.â and take out three hundred plus soldiers all by herself. Unrealistic.
And I honestly feel like she had no direction or that she lost her direction because nothing happened in the book. I spent at least 300+ pages on why Adam is now the bad guy, why Warner is now the good guy and misunderstood, and why Juliette whining about not knowing what she wants. Meanwhile, everyone she knows just freaking died in a battle, and she's worried about who's going to be her boyfriend? It's crap. There was no world building. We're told there's The Reestablishment. We're told that people have powers. We're told that the world isn't doing good. But we never got to see it! You don't give us people with powers and then not use it! It doesn't make any sense. You don't give us a revolution and then not play it out.
Something must have happened that Mafi probably decided she was tired of this story, or she didn't know what else to do, or I don't know. I put the book down several times in frustration because nothing was happening. Several times. Once we got to the end of the book and the âbattleâ came, it was a few pages worth and then things just became easy. She killed the Supreme Commander of the Reestablishment, and the Reestablishment gives up and then Juliette ends up running the nation and becoming the leader? It was bull. Not to mention we don't even see the battle, we see nothing! I felt robbed of a good story and honestly don't see how everyone loves this book. Kind of afraid of checking out anymore books by Mafi, to be honest.
