quinta-feira, 29 de dezembro de 2011

Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi

I'm submitting this book to the 2011 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by The Story Siren.


Review: Reading books' descriptions and the expectations we build on them is a b**** deceiving. Not that it made me enjoy this book any less (I read it in less than a day, devouring the pages), but rather that I got a different story from what I was expecting.

Juliette has been locked away for almost a year. She hasn't talked or seen anyone for that amount of time. She committed a crime unvoluntarily, and because of what she can do with a touch, she has always been ostracized from normal human interaction.

But then she gets a cellmate, and everything changes. The Reestablishment, a shady organization that took over when the world almost destroyed itself, is interested in her, and in what she can do. But can they really own her, make her do whatever she does not want to do?

The first thing that people mention when talking about this book is the way it was written. Some may like it, some may not. I enjoyed it. Tahereh Mafi manages to convey the way Juliette must be feeling, a bit mad and incoherent, from her imprisonment. The "stream of consciousness" style translates well what must be going on in Juliette's mind, with all that self-censoring, and lack of commas, and how she gets lost in rambling about inconsequential things. It is toned down as the novel progresses, and as Juliette regains her freedom and reconnects with mankind.

I wish Juliette was a stronger character, though. She had her moments of awesomeness, but sometimes she just came across as whiny. That's what we get for being privy to her thoughts, I guess. Her and Adam were adorable as a couple, but their hormones! They were always ogling each other and making out in the most inconvenient moments. Besides, I wasn't a big fan of how they knew each other before, and were secretly in love with each other. It still felt like insta-love.

As for other characters... Warner was an interesting villain. His way of thinking almost made sense, despite the fact he wants Juliette to do horrible things. I wonder whether he will be somewhat redeemed or fall deeper into the pit of villainess and madness. One can hope for the first, if done right, but his actions suggest more the second. James, Adam's little brother was adorable, and Kenji had some interesting remarks, filling the role of smart alec quite nicely.

The ending... well, the X-Men vibe was nice, but I hope these books don't turn out into a comic knock-off, since I had already thought that Juliette's abilities resembled Rogue's. And Castle was like a Charles Xavier of sorts. Please, lets end the similarities end there. This could have a very cool (and hopefully unique) superhero angle, especially with what happens in the last chapter.

In a nutshell, this was actually very entertaining and enjoyable. I found myself flipping through the pages as fast as I could. The story is engaging, despite its minor flaws. I am interested to read the next installment and see where this is going.

Pages: 352

Publisher: Harper Collins

4 comentários:

  1. Anda há nnnnn a querer este livro, mas parece que sempre que o vou a por no basket leio uma opinião menos boa (Quem me manda ir ler opiniões sempre que vou às compras, não é?), mas tu gostaste!

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  2. Sim, gostei bastante, devorei-o aliás. Lolol, as opiniões também nos ajudam a evitar compras menos boas. ;)

    Acho que o que afasta mais as pessoas é o modo de narração, estilo "stream of conciousness", com frases inteiras sem vírgulas, ou pequenas divagações sobre o sol e outras coisas que a Juliette vê da sua cela, ou frases inteiras riscadas, que são comentários que a Juliette auto-censura antes de lhe sairem da boca. Este estilo vai diminuindo à medida que a história avança e ela se vai rehabituando a interagir com os outros. Curiosamente a minha parte favorita do livro foi a que tinha este estilo de narração. ;)

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  3. Já tinha ouvido falar desse estilo "estranho" de narração, mas acho que vou arriscar :)

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