Shatter Me: A Journey of Strength and Rebellion Against a Dictatorship (Shatter Me: Series One, 1)

I finally did it, I finally read Shatter Me. This book has been on my radar for a long, long time, but I've never had the chance to read it, until now. I'd seen the cover of the books and I was intrigued, but I never actually read the description of the book before reading it, so I was going into it completely blind. I didn't know what to expect, not from the story or the writing style or anything, beyond what I had heard, which wasn't that much. “I have a curse. I HAVE A GIFT. I'm a monster. I'M MORE THAN HUMAN. My touch is lethal. MY TOUCH IS POWER. I am their weapon. I WILL FIGHT BACK.” Shatter Me is the first book in the series by Tahereh Mafi, which welcomes you to a destroyed world governed by those who call themselves The Reestablishment, who've taken everything from the people, who want to control everything and everyone and submit them to their rules. In this dystopian story we found ourselves in a world where hope is almost entirely gone, where people live in fear, with nothing but what they're given, which isn't much. Juliette is one of those who've lost everything, but not because of them, The Reestablishment. She lost everything the moment her parents gave her away, locked her into an insane asylum and forgot all about her. Their reasons? She's a monster, an abomination. She killed someone. With her bare skin. Now, after spending 264 days locked away, completely alone, she's forced to share her room with a boy. Not any boy, but one she remembers from her childhood. One she's dreamt of all her life. Should she trust him? Should she be scared of him? Does he remember her? Now Juliette has to make some decisions. Follow him and see where he takes her, risk her life and his too, or stay where she is, and be the weapon agains the remaining hope some expect her to be. “Raindrops are my only reminder that clouds have a heartbeat. That I have one, too.” Now, here I am, writing my review. This book is something entirely different from what I've read before, not because of the story itself, but because of the writing style. I have to admit, it felt a little weird at first, because it was so different from the way authors usually write, but the more I read, the more comfortable I got around it. I started feeling like I was reading somebody's, Juliette's, diary, like I was reading her deepest thoughts and secrets, and I realized that's how someone's words would normally sound when they're describing something. With pauses. With metaphors. With questions, doubts. And let's not leave the story on the side. Everything was incredibly, wonderfully amazing. “All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.” Now, let's talk about the characters. Juliette, what an amazing girl you are. I love how good she is, even after being feared and hated for the people she's always known. Being inside of her head is definitely an unique journey, because it feels like you're part of it, the way she thinks is completely natural and easy to relate. She's scared all the time, and it can get a bit difficult to deal with from time to time, but her circumstances make it impossible for her not to be afraid, so you need to learn (and you do, at least I did) to understand her. She's strong and capable of amazing things, and not just because of her horrible gift. She has a lot to offer to the world. Then we have beautiful, and patient, and gorgeous blue eyed Adam. From the moment he showed up, he's been giving me butterflies. His goodness and sweetness is so remarkable. I love him so, so, oh-so much. He's the kind of guy that deserves all kinds of happiness. The way he feels towards Juliette, his love is pure pure pure and beautiful. And then, we have Warner. Warner who's all kinds of bad. Warner who's a monster, a murderer. Warner who's obsessed with Juliette. Or is he in love? Warner who's intriguing and frustrating and maddening. Warner. You need to read this to understand who he is and what he can be to you. This story includes a bunch of secondary characters that are as important as the main characters. Kenji, Castle, James. I love stories that make it so that without the secondary characters, the story wouldn't be the same. I just can't wait to get more of these characters and I can't wait to learn more about their stories.

Overall more 3.5 stars. Shatter Me follows the story of Juliette, a 17 year old girl who possesses the touch of death. Because of an incident that happened accidentally where she killed an innocent little boy just by touching him, Juliette is thrown into an insane asylum/prison type place for almost a year. One particular day, a boy comes in and becomes her cell mate. She doesn't know why he is here and who he is but she is drawn towards him somehow. Before she knows it, she's being taken out of the prison into the home of one of the leaders of this world she lives in to find out she's going to be used as a deadly weapon against her will. With that short synopsis aside, I'm now going to focus on the characters. Because really, this book didn't have much in way of plot. Let's start with Juliette...oh man did she frustrate me. Tahereh Mafi is a beautiful writer, I just have to say that before I continue. No one writes prose and inner dialogue the way she does in the YA genre. However, when we're in the head of Juliette, whom I guess is a girl that's somewhat psychologically damaged, she can be sometimes infuriating. Juliette doubts her all the time. She oftentimes repeats things over and over again and she never says what's really on her mind. This is really creatively done in the book by striking through the text of what Juliette's really thinking and then having her say something complete opposite of what she just thought. When she's taken out of the psych ward and into the home of Warner, the sector leader, she refuses to eat! Or wear clean clothes. And I don't know why she's doing that other than the fact that she's just being a little bratty. With that said though, you know that Tahereh is doing this on purpose because we know in the course of this series, Juliette is going to grow into someone totally different and this was a means to have us start on this journey with her. Now let's get Adam out of the way. He's the boy that appears in the cell of the prison with Juliette and immediately you know he is going to be a love interest. I mean, it doesn't take long into the book before they have their first make out session. I liked Adam, I thought he was fine. But he wasn't extraordinary or stood out in any way. In fact, their story reminded me a little bit of Katniss and Peeta...except without the warm and fuzzies. Finally there's Warner. Oh Warner! He is the leader of Sector 45, one of many Sectors I'm guessing in this new world. His father is the leader of all of the sectors which I guess is called the Re-establishment. Warner pushes Juliette's buttons, makes her angry, and ultimately has a motive. He's drawn to her, he's attracted to her but does all sorts of things that are so horrible you can't even imagine. Warner was probably my favorite character in the book. He is someone I'm excited to read about in the future books because he's actually multi-layered and I think he's in here for a very good reason. Warner is probably one of the most exciting characters in the YA genre to date. It'll be interesting to see how this turns out. Like I said, not much happens in this book. And really this book is marketed as a dystopian novel, but it's really a romance novel. There is a love triangle, if you haven't guessed already. And I'm not one to dislike one...if it's done right. I feel right now this love triangle is on the right track. The world building is basically non-existent but I think people who read and love this novel isn't looking for that. The great thing about this series is going to definitely be the writing. Tahereh writes in a lot of metaphors...and when I say a lot...it's a lot. Like talking about how you can't talk or breathe because there's 400 cotton balls in your throat! Sometimes it sounds a little ridiculous and dramatic, but overall the writing was beautiful. One of my favorite series so far and I can't wait to continue on!

The first thing that grabbed my attention was the writing style. I have never experienced a visual and descriptive way to get inside a characters head as this author does with Juliette. There are several times that writing is crossed out on the pages. I think that it made the points more poignant by not only letting the reader know that Juliette is confused, not thinking straight, imagining things and cannot choose the correct words of how she's feeling. By crossing one thing out and using another in it's place in some instances was a way to show two different ideas flashing across her mind as well as her indecision and insecurity of what is really happening and what she may be imagining. Juliette has been locked up for a very long time and before that she did not have interactions with people in fear of hurting them. Hurting anybody either physically or emotionally is the very last thing she wants to do. Another factor about the writing was that it was very descriptive and visually poetic and almost demands the readers attention at all times. I have chosen some of my very favorite examples here. "I'm spinning, stranded in the middle of the ocean of my own imagination." " I can shoot a hundred numbers through the chest and watch them bleed decimal points in the palm of my hand, I can rip the numbers off a clock and watch the hour hands tick tick tick their final tock just before I fall asleep. I can suffocate seconds just by holding my breath. I've been murdering minutes for hours and no one seems to mind. " What a masterful way of portraying an idea like "killing time." "He shifts and my eyes shatter into thousands of pieces that ricochet around the room, capturing a million snapshots; a million moments in time. Flickering Images faded with age, frozen thoughts hovering precariously in dead space, a whirlwind of memories that slice through my soul." "The sun is an arrogant thing, always leaving the word behind when it tires of us. The moon is a loyal companion. It never leaves. It's always there, watching, steadfast, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do, Every day it's a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light. The moon understands what it means to be human. Uncertain. Alone. Cratered by imperfections." As the story goes on some of this imagery in the writing dissipates and we see less of it, but we also see less of the timid and indecisive girl we are introduced to in the beginning of the story as well. I saw as the story progressed there is less being crossed out and less of this descriptive writing into a more of the usual type of writing. I can only hope that the next books will still portray some of this writing style that I have come to love and we just don't see enough of in Young Adult literature today. I also have read that the writing style has put some people off from enjoying the story. I can also see why others may not enjoy it as much as I did, but nevertheless there is a fantastic story behind the writing as well. The book has action, adventure, and super humans in a highly imaginative writing style. I loved the characters and how they interact with each other. Warner has more depth than just being the bad guy and Adam is more mysterious than just a love interest. Kenji brings humor and in the end the story just would not have been the same without him and hope that we get to see more of each of these characters in the near future. As I was skimming the Amazon website I came across and advanced e-copy that stated it had audio and video. This made me very curious as what an interactive copy of this book would contain. I decided to ask the author what the "advanced audio visual" might mean for this book and she responded " it has a bunch of bonus features, plus a piece from Warner's POV" and I purchased this immediately and checked it out. I loved the added documents and the piece of Warner's POV, it also gave me a first chapter glimpse at the audio book (which I think the narrator is a little too soft spoken and I have to say I enjoyed the reading experience much more. I also did not see any visual additions to the advanced e-copy, just the sample of the audio which you can also get a sample of for free on audible.com just not as much as the ecopy offered. I will still recommend the e-copy if you are interested in some extra info and Warner's piece.

~*~WARNING: this review may contain mild or major spoilers. I will try not to give away too much, but you may regret reading it. END WARNING~*~ My, my, my. Shatter Me is one of those books that you start by diving and finish by surfacing. Swimming through Shatter Me was really quite exciting, but the least I can say is that I have...differing feelings. Okay, so Juliette is locked up for 264 days...who am I kidding? You are smart enough to read the summary and other reviews and figure this out for yourself. So, here's my opinions. If you feel you're getting a little lost, feel free to comment, and I can clarify things up for you. The Writing: It was very stream-of-consciousness, which, personally, I love. We learn fairly early on that Juliette immersed herself in books, which I can see in the writing (which is first-person, so when I read it is as if I am reading Juliette's writing). Ms. Mafi definitely has a gift. To be perfectly honest, I think it would have been better as a novel-in-verse, but then it either wouldn't have made nearly as big of a splash (and I wouldn't have read it), or it would have made an eve bigger splash and we would all be flooded with bad novels-in-verse. Regardless, I think it was decent. I liked the strikethrough tool at first, with the exception of when it was used in dialogue), but near the end it became a bit of a pain. Juliette Ferrars: Oh, little miss protagonist, the one with the lethal touch that I'm hoping you should know about if you've managed to dig your way through to my little review. Insane is putting it lightly (at least at the beginning of the book). She also seems to get too strong, too fast. I'm not one to complain about strong female protagonists (or strong male protagonists, either--more on that later) though, so it was slightly bearable. She was willing to leap into the fray and fight, although surprisingly unwilling to use her "gift". The Gift: Speaking of which.... Well, I really wanted to like it...at first. And then we find out that Adam AND Warner (the love interest and main antagonist, respectively) BOTH happen to be immune to her touch. *spoiler* When we find out later that there are other "gifted" people (and, quite frankly, before we discovered that), I figured it was because the gifted ones were immune...and then one of the gifted ones touched her and, well, suffered. *end spoiler* It feels like a cop-out. I would have loved SO much to see Juliette go through the trauma of not being able to touch the one she loved (I bet Adam would have touched her anyway), and as a reader I wanted Warner to SUFFER. (And yes, I am rather a bloodthirsty reader). Warner, we-don't-know-his-first-name: Mr. Antagonist. In all honesty, he was the best antagonist I've read in a long, long while. I could easily see myself in his position (which, frankly, scared me a little), but I hated him, totally and completely. It's a challenge as a writer (trust me, I know), and even more challenging as a reader. Even though I hated him so much, I /wanted/ him to be good. And I'm really glad he didn't die, because he has wormed his way into my heart and settled there on my list of Top Ten Best Villains Ever. (Which does not mean I don't want him to die. It means I don't want him to die YET, and when he does die I want him to suffer). The book would be worth reading just for him. Adam Kent: Ugh. I hate love triangles, but I almost wish there was another love interest for Juliette to choose just so she doesn't choose Adam. He is all "strong" and "manly" and "masculine" and has these lovely "eyes" that Juliette just "wants to sink into". *gags*. He is also flat. Totally strong, totally undefeatable (except when he's defeated), totally handsome, totally part-of-the-resistance. Sound like Peeta, anyone? (and I never did like Peeta). In real life every girl wants the perfect guy, but in a book I want every character to be flawed, and Adam...wasn't. The one setting in which I really cared for him was when he was with his brother, James. The World: I'm not like most people. I don't like my dystopias fleshed out beyond what we need to know for the book to be decent. This...was totally perfect. I had plenty of room to imagine things, plenty of crooked, frightening paths the rest of the world could go down. (As I said before, I'm a fairly bloodthirsty reader). I would like a little more info, but I have a feeling that's coming in the next book. The Genre: Calling it a "dystopia" is a bit of a stretch. Just because something takes place in a frightening future world doesn't mean it's a dystopia. Personally, I'd call this a sci-fi/fantasy set in a future world. The Ending: Compared to The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and *fill in most recent YA series beginning here*, it wasn't too bad. Compared to the first Harry Potter, it was pretty darn bad. "Oh yes, you are safe now. Let us fight the bad guys *fade slowly to black*" pretty much sums up the last few chapters. There's more, but I won't bore you. Long story short: if you are at all thinking about writing, read it to learn both what to do and what not to do. If you are just interested in reading, make your own decision, but I would still recommend it.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi is one of the best books that I have read in a long time, and I read quite often! This book had me hooked from the beginning because the main character, Juliette, is a very vulnerable girl who just seeks to be understood and wanted. However, she has a barrier that keeps her from what she desires most; she cannot touch people without causing them harm. Put in an asylum at a very young age, she was forced into isolation and wanted nothing more than to touch and love another human being. This book mixes the perfect amount of post-apocalyptic science fiction, and young adult romance together to challenge the reader while remaining pleasureful. The plot of the story is very complex and contains much internal and external conflict. The setting of the story is in a post-apocalyptic American city. Juliette, the main character telling a first person, present-time account of her life to the audience, has been put in an asylum because she cannot touch another human without causing them pain. She does not know why or how she has been cursed with this power, but it has resulted in a lifetime of solitude and rejection. Almost a year after from when she was placed in a room with no outside contact, Juliette received a roommate named Adam. Adam, however had been placed in the asylum for a different reason: he worked for the government and was there to collect Juliette and take her to his base. The government saw Juliette as an inexpensive human weapon that could be used to their benefit as a tool for torture. There was only one problem with this governmental plan. When Adam accidentally touched Juliette, the only thing either of them felt was butterflies in their stomachs. Juliette could not hurt Adam. Adam was a soldier, but he had a soft heart and knew that he needed to help Juliette. The story continued to develop the relationship between Adam and Juliette while Juliette had conflicting emotions about her self worth and purpose in life. Although she may be supernatural, she still wanted all of the same things from life that any other seventeen-year-old wants. I would recommend Shatter Me to a young adult audience ranging from ages around 16 to 25. One reason that I believe people should read this book is because of the language and ideas presented within the complex plot. As the story is a first-hand account, the reader is able to visualize exactly what Juliette sees. However, because Juliette has been in solitude for so long, the only thing that keeps her sane are her thoughts. Because of her deep thinking, Juliette interprets the world in a different way. Mafi uses figurative language, anywhere from metaphors to personification to describe the smallest attributes of something. She does this in such detail that by the end of the page, you feel the exact same way toward something that Juliette does. I feel that this is a poetic way of writing and can be better appreciated by an older and more mature reader. Another reason I would recommend this book is because of the style of writing. One thing that intrigued me from the start was the way that Mafi was presenting her words. The structure of the sentences led to an assumption that Juliette was mentally unstable. She had many mid sentence changes in tone and attitude, crossing out words and rewriting them in a more sane matter. For example, on the first page while talking about why Juliette was to receive her room mate Mafi wrote, "'We hope you rot to death in this place (crossed out) for good behavior (not crossed out),' they said to me". I found this style of writing to be very entertaining because the story is already composed of Juliette's thoughts, but it is as though she is ashamed of having them and rewriting them is her way of taking words back. This shows how insecure Juliette is when she can't even admit to herself what she is truly feeling. Lastly, a great reason that someone should read this book is because of the ironic love story. Juliette is destined to die alone because of her power, however she can touch one person: Adam. Adam is not supposed to fall for Juliette, but cannot help himself when he realizes that he is the only one that can make her truly happy. The childhood of each character only gravitates them closer to each other as they reveal secrets that only a trustworthy person could ever know. Shatter Me is part of a young adult series by Tahereh Mafi, so, you can't be too sure of the fate of the relationship in the future books!

I just want to start by letting you all know that, at first, I was listening to the audiobook of Shatter Me. However, due to the different writing style Tahereh Mafi uses, I had a hard time following it. Shatter Me is written in a stream-of-consciousness narrative, almost like reading from the main character (Juliette's) diary. Mafi uses a lot of strike-throughs in her writing that didn't translate well to the audio version. What would happen would be the narrator would say a sentence (or more), then there would be a scratching noise, and then the story would continue. At first, I couldn't even figure out what the noise was supposed to be, but after a while, I was able to guess. However, in looking at the sample for the Kindle version, I realized that just hearing the scratching noise didn't always get the point across. I never knew whether she was crossing off one word, a few words, a whole sentence, or more. However, I found the story itself interesting enough, so I decided to DNF the audiobook and try again with a print version. I ended up borrowing the hardcover from the library. The print version was much easier to follow, but it still took a little while to fully absorb it. Once I got used to the strike-throughs and run-on sentences that illustrated Juliette's unstable state of mind at the beginning of the novel, I really began to enjoy the story. I immediately was interested in Juliette and her gift/curse/power and even found her likable very quickly. I was also intrigued by Adam. I immediately sensed that there was more to him and his story than I originally suspected. I loved watching Juliette's journey throughout Shatter Me. She goes from being locked up in isolation to locked up with a cell mate to locked up with interaction with several people, many curious about her, and one seeking to use her as a weapon. I was very interesting seeing how she changed along with and reacted to her different situations. I also thought that Warner was an intriguing villain. He seems so heartless and cold throughout the entire story, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt/hoped that there was more to him than what the reader is shown. What I loved most about Shatter Me was the mix of genres. I love both paranormal and dystopian, which are usually seen separately, but Shatter Me combines them in a very interesting way. There was also plenty of mystery and some romance. The ending had some surprises that I totally didn't see coming, which I really enjoyed. I also felt that the ending had great set-up to make me want to read the next book in the series, but it also tied up enough of the storyline that I wasn't left feeling frustrated or anxious. Overall, I thought that Shatter Me was a great read, though I would probably avoid the audiobook. Well, I'd avoid the audiobook for a first read. It would probably be okay for a reread. The writing style takes some getting used to, but once you do, I think the story takes over, and it really makes sense!

Wow! This book left me with my mouth hanging open! I really, really LOVED IT! The author has created an AMAZING world in "Shatter Me"! Truly an original storyline with twist and turns, you've never seen coming~! I mean as soon as I thought their couldn't possibly be anymore surprise, then BAM, it's a slap in the face with something incredible! Okay so I have to keep it real in this review, So I have to be honest about how felt about the authors writing. When I first open this book and started reading I was tempted to put it down an start something else. But then I remembered that a lot of the reviews I read said that the writing might throw you off at first, but to stick with because it gets truly amazing! So that's what I did. I held on until about chapter 3, then I was really hooked! The author writes in a way that I have NEVER read before. At first it was annoying, an driving me up the wall. But then as the story progressed and plot thickened, I actually started to enjoy the writing and the way Juliette process information. The author had this annoying habit of repeating herself over and over. She would also write a sentence then cross it out and write something new. At first I didn't really understand the meaning of this because I've never experienced it. But after I got to know Juliette as a character, I started to enjoy the way she expressed herself. Then the writing actually became enjoyable and understandable. By the end of the book I adored the writing and the difference of it. It really is a one of a kind. Not just the storyline but the writing itself. And when combined it truly makes an original and AMAZING book/series! Okay so with that out of the way let me tell you about the storyline: "Spoiler Free": So we follow a girl named Juliette. But she's no "Normal" girl! Everyone thinks she's a freak! An Abomination to her people. They don't want her near them! They don't want her to touch them! They want her locked up and the key thrown away! But Juliette just wants to be "Normal"! To have friends an someone to love her for her! Juliette has the touch of Death~! Yeah, you heard me right! Her touch is lethal! One touch by her and your Dead OR Serious hurt! So she goes through her whole life alone, shunned by people in society! Even her parents treat her like an outcast, like she's not worthy of love and compassion. Juliette is the sweetest and most caring person, but the people don't see her that way. They see her as a demon! A demon that needs to be dealt with and locked away Forever~! So while Juliette is locked away and forgotten about the world around her falls apart! People aren't the same. Food is hard to come by. Animals are few to none. And Birds don't even fly anymore. The world they knew is GONE! So what do you do when everything you ever known is gone~! You stand up an fight for a new way! BUT the WRONG people fight to start over! The Wrong people are given control of the world they knew. The wrong people now control what little people are left. Juliette rots away in a cell day in an day out. Losing hope a faith by the minute! That is until hope walks into her cell one day and everything changes! Juliette is proposition with a chance to start over, a chance to be free! Well that's what she's told anyway! But how can she believe that when the very person telling her that is the very person who is killing an destroying the world she'd known~! So Juliette is faced with many lies, many heartaches, and many obstacles to find her way through the life that is put in front of her! She is lucky to meet a good guy named Adam along the way to help her throughout this mess. But what do you do when your heart is telling to go for it but your hands are telling you STOP, you can't touch him! Or can she....??? Truly an AMAZING storyline! I really enjoyed it! I can't wait to read "Destroy Me" from Warner's POV and see how he really feels about Juliette and the world he helped create! This one was REALLY HARD to rate because I loved it very much but I also did not enjoy the book/writing in the beginning. Even though I did enjoy it later. But after thinking it through I decided either way it deserved 5 Stars because this story ROCKED ME! This a MUST-READ!

Book review: Shatter Me Page 40, 11% - I like this story so far. It's earth after some kind of tragedy that effects the whole planet. POV is Juliette in a prison who ends up sharing her cell with Adam whos about her age. She shows him how the system works while he in turn provide her with he comfort of a friend, a companion who she hasn't had in 200ish days. The writing style is descriptive and very artistic in a way it paints the picture clearly whether it be the weather, the four walled cell, her emotions and her thoughts. It's painted so vividly clear and imaginative. Little objects have bigger impacts, bigger meanings. Simplicity is rare. "I wish I could stuff my mouth full of rain- drops and fill my pockets full of snow. I wish I could trace the veins in a fallen leaf and feel the wind pinch my nose." 13% - A girls who's hiding herself, blocking her emotions, her feelings, yet desperately reaching out for someone, Adam, to touch her to make her feel whole, feel human, feel normal, feel wanted. Probably to be loved, feelings she never got once her parents knew about her. 17% - A spy, betrayal, choosing sides. A boot in her spine. It's all too much all at once but all I can think of is what does Adam really think n feel? Does he remember Juliette from school? Because she does. Does he feel anything from her? Because her body aches his touch. 21% - All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart." She's so emotionally wrecked! AllI had to do was open a book—to see the sto- ries bleeding from page to page. To see the memories etched onto paper. " .. "I spent my life folded between the pages of books. In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in his- tory; I experienced adolescence by associ- ation. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a be- ing comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction. They want to delete every point of punctu- ation in my life from this earth and I don’t think I can let that happen." I wanted so badly to reach in n calm her soul and tell her everything will eventually be ok, it's ok, shhhhh. 4/21 10:50pm DONE If I were to just read to title and expect an awesome read. That's impossible! But that's exactly what I got! An awesome read! The cover image is pretty n interesting. I'm awed by the writing. It's easy to read with a good flow. The story line is smooth with unexpected turns from one alley to the other. If I read the first few chapters and the last few and try to fill in the middle? I'm screwed because they don't seem to exist in the same story let alone the attitude and flow of both ends. My feelings for this book? My thoughts? Just two words, shatter ME! Book two please! In honesty I had mixed feelings for this read. I've read a few comments /reviews about this book and had mixed thoughts of what I wanted to do. Buy or not? Trust reviews? But decide a review should not determine my choice of dropping the book but read it with an open mind. And I did! And I'm dumbfounded by why some of the haters even attempt to read fiction if their mindset wasn't ready. The way of the writing isn't difficult at all to read but actually tells you and takes you straight into the mind of the characters, of their type of style. It's lends you a type of shadow where you can understand the characters better through their thought process. The writer may create a character but the characters themselves are a separate entity of the writer and this author does an awesome job with character development and giving each character their own set of personality that bleeds through the pages. I'm still so stuck on the image of Warner and Juliette but I'm rooting for Adam no matter what.