I had a love/hate relationship with this book ... unsure if I wanted to keep reading or hurl the book across the room. But something in the book kept luring me back in and, once I passed the halfway mark of the book, I couldn't put it down and I'm so glad that I finished it. Tahareh Mafi is an extremely talented writer and tells a wickedly wonderful story.But let me back up a bit. I was immediately drawn into Juliette's world, fascinated by the way that she saw herself and her surroundings. Enter Adam on scene, and the book started to drive me crazy. I just wanted to reach into the story, grab Juliette by the shoulders (although, in hindsight, that may be a little too dangerous) and tell her to get a hold of herself. At the same time, Tahereh's writing is so beautiful, that I kept reading. But then the over-exaggerations of the story started to annoy me a little (i.e. a million years passed before he spoke). But then I remembered that Juliette is only seventeen and I admitted to myself that I used to write like that when I was a teenager. Every emotion is felt so profoundly at that age. I can recall writing in my journal that my heart broke a little more each day because the boy that I yearned for didn't even know I existed. Once I realized this, I was able to enjoy the remainder of the book. In fact, I applaud Tahereh for being able to so perfectly capture the voice of a teenager, without sounding like an adult who vaguely remembers what it's like to be a teen.So, I flip flopped back and forth between loving and not loving the book, but finally settled on enjoying it. The last half of the book positively flew by and I think I read the final 100 pages this morning, in one sitting, with my morning coffee. I'm very excited to see what Unravel Me, book 2 in this trilogy, will entail. And I also feel disappointed that I missed my chance to meet Tahereh Mafi when she was at Chapters in March. Please come back to BC!!!!! Review also posted at: http://writergrrlreads.blogspot.ca/2012/05/shatter-me-tahereh-mafi.html
