Her Lethal Touch: A Shatter Me Review

 By: Emma Tong

If you’ve been anywhere near the book community side of a short-form content platform, you’ve most likely seen a trope similar to this: An all-powerful (meaning rich and probably serial murderer), mean yet very attractive 6’6” (ish) dude and a small girl who’s most likely had a tough past. And of course one of ‘Book-Tok’s’ most famous novels is in line with this arch-type. Book one in Tahereh Mafi’s series of the same name, Shatter Me, entails the story of a young girl, Juliette, with a catastrophic power ability. 

The world is in ruins. Humanity has created its own downfall, and Earth is on the verge of dying. “Shatter Me” takes place in a world similar to that of Disney’s animated film, Wall-E. But unlike the morbidly obese humans living aboard the Axiom, the humans still left on Earth are starving, slaving away for food under the control of the Reestablishment. The Reestablishment is a tyrannical government, killing rebels and taking the remains of the old world for their own greed. They aim to create a world where everyone is equal. There will be only one language, one religion, one way of life, one way to survive.  

Juliette Ferrars is stuck within the webs of the Reestablishment. She has been jailed in an asylum for 264 days, starved of (edible) food, human interaction, and sunlight, though it’s safe to say practically no one has seen the sun in a long time. Why? She’s a murderer freak. Capable of inflicting the greatest pain upon one without a weapon in hand. Her secret lies in plain sight. Juliette’s touch is lethal, dangerous, and capable of bringing horrors upon whoever is unlucky enough to lay a hand on her. 

Juliette Ferrars hasn’t touched a human in 264 days. Not since she murdered killed a small boy (purely accidental!) and was taken to be hidden away. So when she ends up with a cellmate, who happens to take the form of a tall, mysterious man with blue eyes, brown hair, and a very sharp jawline, it brings up more questions than in the past 264 days. 

Juliette Ferrars dreams of a bird, a very specific bird, every night. And this stranger, who goes by the name Adam Kent, has that very bird tattooed on his chest. She grows closer to him every night until everything is upended. Adam isn’t who he seems to be, Adam is a liar. 

Adam Kent is a soldier. A soldier for the Reestablishment (and most definitely not the rich murdering hot dude whom readers from Tik Tok often encounter as the main male lead.) And so when Aaron Warner, the vicious, and gorgeous, 19-year-old son of the supreme commander of the Reestablishment, comes by to collect a report from his trusty soldier, both Juliette and Adam are whisked away from everything she’s known (at least for the past 264 days), and are taken to the heart of the Reestablishment. 

Aaron Warner is a very pretty horrible man. He struts across his base, decorated with electricity, extravagant garments, and food as far as the eye can see. It’s heaven hell for Juliette. And worst of all, he’s obsessed with Juliette. 

Juliette is living in a world with sharp contrasts. Aaron is bad. The Reestablishment is bad. The people affected by them are (for the most part) good. Juliette is good. Adam is good. The world is starving, the world is dying. There’s no questioning these things. There’s no way to refute these claims. Everything is black and white. 

But soon, Juliette finds that things aren’t just black and white. Everything she’s ever known is falling apart. Simple facts turn into two-faced illusions and the basic question of morality grows more complex with every page she turns. “Shatter Me” entails the story of Juliette, her journey to freedom, and perhaps the story of how Juliette finds her Romeo. 

If a thrilling yet romantic dystopian novel is your poison of choice, then I would highly recommend “Shatter Me”. The frantic and chaotic style of writing offers personal insight into Juliette’s mind, and basic truths about her world are questioned and debated. But be careful if you do choose this book to slide out of your bookshelf because if you pick it up, you’ll most surely be entangled within the series for weeks to come.