Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me #3)

Genres: Young Adult, Sci-fi, Dystopian, Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: February 4th 2014
POV: Female - First-person, Present tense
My Rating: 5 out of 5

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With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world... but that’s not all he wants with her.

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** spoiler alert **

This book is beyond perfection. Its beyond anything that I ever could have hoped and dreamed. It was so perfect that it left me afraid for most of the experience, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was anxious until the end. It was as if it was fanfic written by someone who was Team Warner, it had everything that we, as Warner lovers, could have ever wanted. But of course it couldn't be fanfic because only Tahereh Mafi could have ever written something so beautiful.

The absolute best thing about this series is the transformation of the characters. Although I doubted and I was afraid, I should have known that Juliette would end up with Warner all along, because after everything they both went through, they had changed so much and Juliette just could not fit in Adam's life anymore. It was so obvious. I just love the way that Mafi portrayed real struggle and realistic change. Although the story was great, it was really only the backdrop for Juliette's personal story. And Warner's. They both changed so much since Shatter Me, its hard to say who has changed more. They have become the absolutely best versions of themselves. What they had always seen inside each other.

"So the two of you--I mean, together-- you two could basically--" 

"Take over the world?" 

"I was going to say you could kick some serious ass, but yeah, that too, I guess."

Its amazing how Juliette and Warner fit into each others lives like gloves. Like two pieces of a puzzle. They don't even ever fight! They were so obviously made for each other, and by each other. The only thing I would have changed, and I am not even entirely sure that I would have, is that after Juliette shared her intent to become Commander herself after killing Anderson, her and Warner never discussed it. I imagine that if Warner had killed his father himself as he had always intended before he recruited Juliette's help, he would have taken over himself. But now Juliette is taking that from him and they never discuss it. She never reassures him that he will have a place in her new Re-Reestablishment. But, that in itself, might be a good sign. It might be a sign that Warner trusts Juliette to be a good leader, doesn't feel that she needs his help, and also knows that she will always want him in her life without her ever having to tell him. And it could mean that Juliette trusts Warner to support her decision without him having to tell her. I dunno how I feel about that. Could go either way.

And Mafi really knows how to please her fans. Wow! Everything went so well in this. The only negative things in the whole book was Adam's pouting in the beginning, which he got over, and the fact that Anderson was in it, but he died, easily. Adam moved on, Warner happily accepted him and James as brothers, none of the characters died, except Warner's mother, but we didn't really know her. Oh no! I just realized Warner is an orphan now. :( But he gained 3 new family members in the process. :) There is really nothing more I could have asked for. It included some of the most poetically beautiful sex scenes I have ever read, but somehow still clean enough for YA. I am ok with sex in my books, and although I know she had to fade to black since this is YA, if she hadn't, it all would have been beautiful. Mafi can make anything sound beautiful, but she can make something that is already beautiful sound like the meaning of life. I cant even imagine the metaphors she would have come up with for that. But the glimpses we got were some of the most incredible writing I have ever read. Honestly, my review is unraveling and has turned into me just gushing. But the ending was perfect! I cant think of a better image in my head, than the image of Juliette and Warner standing on top of a shipping container, holding each other, surrounded by cheering soldiers. I think I might cry at how perfect it was. And I even enjoyed the fact that we don't see the rest of the war. There may be more Sectors that will stand against them, but we know that together they can do anything.

"You know," he whispers, his lips at my ear, "the whole world will be coming for us." 

I lean back. Look into his eyes."I cant wait to watch them try."

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me #2)

Genres: Young Adult, Sci-fi, Dystopian, Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: February 5th 2013
POV: Female - First-person, Present tense
My Rating: 5 out of 5

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Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

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This series is shifting focus from the dystopian aspects, the Reestablishment, to the romance. There really wasn't that much of a story in this and I didn't even notice. The characters are the best thing about this series anyways.

We got to understand Juliette, and Adam, and Warner, Kenji, and Anderson, and even James better in this book. I was really unimpressed by Adam in this book. He has become the love interest who is there just to be a love interest, and really has no place in the story. He may later, due to the revelation we found out about him in this book. It may become more of an issue in book 3. But besides that, he was just there to confuse Juliette and make her feel guilty, and, I suppose, to push her towards Warner. I honestly think the fact that she managed to forget him for most of chapter 62 is a point against him. Juliette felt guilty afterwards, but she has no reason to. If she already moved on without having even noticed, then really, what is there left keeping her attached to Adam? But she still has feelings for him, however inexplicable.

 

I feel like I know Warner even better now. Even better than I did after Destroy Me. Destroy Me told us more about his past and his immediate present. About what he thought, how he went about his day, and how he felt about Juliette. But Unravel Me really revealed him as a character, who he was, what he wanted. Every conversation he had with Juliette revealed more about him. About his dreams for the future. And I honestly feel like he and Juliette have far more of a connection than Juliette and Adam. And I am not just saying that because I am biased-ly in love with Warner. As much as I love Jem, I think Tessa would be better off with Will. I don't think she deserves Jem anyways. But I can see the way that Juliette and Warner understand each other. The way they make each other stronger, just like his fatherly mockingly said.

Although I still have some reservation about Warner's intentions. Would he still end up trying to use Juliette as a weapon? What would he do in terms of a war against the Reestablishment? I don't think Juliette is a monster, but she undeniably has a certain propensity for violence. I don't know if it is because of her gift, or if she would have been that way anyways. But not everyone would naturally think to try to break the earth when they get angry. Not everyone would think to shoot their enemy in all their limbs before killing them. Juliette and Warner would have to be willing to accept each other before having any sort of successful relationship. If Warner ever pushed her too hard in the wrong direction, I think she could become the monster she fears.

I cannot wait to find out what Juliette will do next. In the end of the book she was angry, and wanting to protect everyone she cared about. Does that mean she will run back to Omega Point? Or will she stay with Warner, try to take down his father together? This is a series that I know will continue to surprise and impress me.

"I want to be the friend you fall hopelessly in love with."

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me #1)

Genres: Young Adult, Sci-fi, Dystopian, Paranormal, Romance 
My Rating: 5 out of 5

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Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

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This was fascinating. I loved the story, and the characters, and the writing, and the message. I loved how the writing mirrored Juliette's state of mind and her image of herself. As her life became more stable and purposeful, so did she and the writing. It was a unique insight into the MC's mind which we dont usually gain through traditional narration. And I would not be surprised if Juliette was actually OCD or bipolar. I dont know much about those two conditions, but Juliette does seem to struggle with something besides her surroundings.

"Hope is hugging me, holding me in its arms, wiping away my tears and telling me that today and tomorrow and two days from now I will be just fine and I'm so delirious I actually dare to believe it." 

Juliette is a remarkable person. Being mistreated, abandoned, and imprisoned at such a young age, I am surprised she didnt turn out more like Warner, although they do have far more in common than she seems willing to admit. They have both been written off by their parents (in Warner's case just his father), are feared for who or what they are, they both have remarkable power of some kind, and they are both prisoners in their own lives. It seems clear to me that they are also both looking for love and acceptance. 

"All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart." 

I enjoyed Adam's character in the beginning. I found it really interesting how he used to know Juliette when they were children, and that he joined the military to find her. Its an interesting backstory. And he was a sweetheart. But as time went by and we saw more of him and met other, more interesting characters, I realized that he was just a Gary Stu. There wasnt really anything special about him. 

"In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together." 

The story seemed to be a lot about identity. About learning who you are, not letting other ppl tell you who you should be, and also not labeling others, or judging them by the face they show the world. I suspect as the series progresses, we will also see a lot of growth, from Juliette as well as other characters, as their true identities continue to be revealed to us, as well as to themselves.