Fracture Me

I raced through Fracture Me. It was almost all action. The story is told from Adam’s perspective and follows him from the the final battle in Unravel Me, to the events right after. We find out what happened to some of the people from Omega Point, and we also learn more about what is going on inside Adam’s head. I think I like Adam better now. It’s his devotion to his brother James that pulls me. Their relationship can be very much parent-child instead of older and younger sibling. He would do anything for James, even leaving Juliette to take care of herself. Also, James, what power does he have? After everything we've learned in the series so far, he has to have a power. Will it be devastating or sweet like him?

Again, I find myself falling for Kenji. He's amazing. In his own way, he also loves Juliette. I don't know if Adam understands that. I feel like Kenji sees something in Juliette, connects with something that he has yet to express to anyone. Kenji is brave, strong, intelligent and full of hope. His natural charisma and leadership draw people to him. The other characters want to do what Kenji says. Even though he was a big part of Fracture Me I still don't feel like I know enough about him. I hope Ignite Me and Restore Me will teach us more about Kenji....in addition to how everything will play out, whether people like those living at Omega Point will find freedom, and if The Reestablishment will get taken down.

Unravel Me

Unravel Me was the perfect long weekend read. The children had their games and movies, I had my book. It’s times like these where I’m glad I bought the ebook. When it is late, I’m tired, but I need to stay awake, an ebook can light up the dark.

Unravel Me was exciting. I had no problem reading this book for hours and hours last weekend. It was easy to make my way through each event, each problem, the conflict, and the explosions of power. Tahereh Mafi had me hooked. So even when we were (finally) home and I should be sleeping, I just had to read "one more chapter". I barely had time to think about the story, the plot twists and surprises. There was one surprise, in the last third of the story that I didn't expect at all. I should have seen it though. It makes sense based on other things that happened in this story and Shatter Me. 

Adam drove me a bit nuts though. I'm interested in reading his perspective in Fracture Me. Like Destroy Me overlapped with the first and second books, Fracture Me overlaps with books 2 and 3. I'm hoping to warm back up to Adam Kent. Juliette drove me even more nuts. Just when I though she had finally grown up, gotten some backbone, something happened and she would crumble. I could understand Castle's frustration. Juliette was so positive and happy at the end of Shatter Me, I was surprised at her behaviour in Unravel Me. I think by the end though, Juliette was where she needed to be. 

I'm still thoroughly confused by Warner. I love him, but hate him. I have more sympathy for him now, but he really needs to believe he can change. I have no idea what is going to happen to him. I feel like he could go either way, he could go nowhere.

Kenji was the real stand-out for me though. What is his story? What are his secrets? I can definitely relate to Juliette's curiosity for her friend. She grows to care for him deeply, knows that she can rely on him, but she knows almost nothing about him. She wants to learn more about him and so do I. I'm hoping that happens soon, and I hope he is around for a long time.

I think I am officially out of my reading slump. All I can think about right now are the characters of the Shatter Me series. I'm also still thinking about the characters of Ready Player One. I think I need more fast-paced excitement. I wonder what will be next.

Destroy Me

With Restore Me coming out soon, I thought I should actually finish reading the books I own of the Shatter Me series. I read Shatter Me two and a half years ago and for some reason didn’t keep going, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. I also follow Taherah Mafi on Twitter and I think she's fabulous. I bought Unite Me, the collection containing the Shatter Me novellas months ago (from Better World Books), and still didn’t read it right away. There are just so many stories and so little time. 

Destroy Me is the first of the novellas. It is the story of Warner, the young man obsessed with Juliette and head of Sector 45. Destroy Me is from his perspective and gives us a look into his mind and motivations. We learn so much about him. It begins right after the events of Shatter Me. Warner is recovering, not just from his injuries, but from losing Juliette. Destroy Me dives into how deep his obsession is with her. I don’t know if he can live without her. While Warner is recovering, I wonder what Juliette is doing. Is she more closely examining her time with Warner? Is she trying to dissect his motivations and her own reactions? Also, was what he saw at the end real? Destroy Me has urged me to get back into the series, one that will have more books coming out in the future. 

On The Extra Stories In A Series

I read my fair share of Young Adult Fantasy and Science-Fiction series. They're fun, entertaining and some full of interesting ideas. I ready Adult Science-Fiction and Fantasy too, but I'm going to stick to YA right now. I'm thinking about all these series that have companion short stories. Some are prequels, some are re-tellings of scenes from another character's point of view, some are about what has happened in between novels. Not all series have them, The Hunger Games, for example. It's three novels, that's it, the end. Then there is a series like Delirium with so many extra tales, that though originally published as ebooks (as all these extra tales first are), they published a paperback edition too, though most leave their companion tales as ebooks, like the Grisha trilogy.

Though there are other series that leave out the extra bits (like Uglies from Scott Westerfeld), I feel like there are more who have at least one ebook tale (like Legend, by Marie Lu) and an increasing amount of others who are publishing their multiple ebook shorts in paperback form (Shatter Me, by Taherah Mafi). Why am I thinking about this?  Recently I read Red Queen. It was great, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm itching to read Glass Sword. I own both novels. I picked them up recently (at a very good price). However, Cruel Crown was not available to purchase. If it was there, would I have purchased it? Probably, yes. While I have skipped companion ebook short stories in the past, when there is more than one, I feel more of a pull to get them. What might they reveal about the characters I love, the ones I hate, the history of the world? With Red Queen a recent read, I'm left wondering if I should buy the paperback, the two ebooks separately (a cheaper deal) or just skip the stories.

As I type this, read what I've written, I think I might be feeling companion story burn-out. Why do the majority of series (at least the ones I've read lately) have these extra bits floating around? Some of the short stories I've read have been brilliant, like Leigh Bardugo's The Witch of Duva and Little Knife. Others I've been less fond of, like alternate perspectives, where I know what's going to happen (I like a little tension or mystery in my stories), especially if they don't tell me anything I didn't already know. I have a similar problem with prequels, a story is nice, but I want to learn something. The Assassin's Blade was a collection of prequel stories done right. They had their own plots and we learned a lot about the main character and even had hints about what could happen in future novels. I guess I am just wondering, why can't their be more series like The Hunger Games? A bunch of novels I loved. I'm not saying just trilogies either. Uglies is a series of 4 books. I just... I don't know... There are just so many... I want to be able to pick up the books and read them, without having to search online to see if any other stories exist. (I have to say, I do appreciate the ones that are free.) But why can't it be bam, bam, bam, done? If I hadn't joined Goodreads, I probably would have missed most of these stories (Thanks, Goodreads, for links on where to read them too.) It's just burn-out, that's all it is. Right? Bah! Whatever.

Shatter Me

I could not stop reading Shatter Me. Tahereh Mafi created a story was exciting, fun and full of energy. I liked the unique writing style. I enjoyed those "secret" crossed out sentences, like we were really being immersed in the main character's minds, being involved in her thought process. I loved Juliette. She was such a different protagonist. She was observant, clever and a fighter. She was kind, but fierce. She can also manipulate. She had a lot of time to think and observe, to learn how to manage people and time, I think only now has she had the opportunity to put this into practice.

I enjoyed the relationship between Juliette and Alex. I like how involved, complex, yet simple it is. I like the special aspect of their relationship. I like the twist with Warner. I like that Alex has more than just Juliette to care about. I like when Juliette takes control. There are other characters I found really interesting, but if I talk about them, I think I'll give away too much of the story.

I like that you start reading Shatter Me thinking it is dystopian, but then it is not just that. There is a supernatural, X-Men kind of element. Juliette very much reminds me of Rogue. That can only play in the novel's favour for me. The inability to touch, but the goodness. The bad influence, but choosing what's right.

I have had Shatter Me sitting in my Kindle app for ages. I saw it and had to have it, but then I didn't read it. I mentioned recently that I wanted to read all these first books that I own, to see if I want to buy the rest of the series. I will be getting everything from Mafi.  I want all the Shatter Me books, plus she's working on something new, due out next year, I already want that too. This very much reminds me of how I felt after reading Lauren DeStefano's Wither. I don't know what it is about these specific books, maybe it's the love. I have always enjoyed a good love story, mixed in with something otherworldly. It isn't just love that drives the plot in either book, but in Shatter Me, it's the desperation, the fight to get something more.

Watch out for The Reestablishment. I feel like someone, a group of someones, could come up with this, promise a better future, then hold the world in their grip. 

I am very happy that I finally read Shatter Me and I am excited to read the rest of the series.