Summary: This story begins with a seventeen year old girl, Juliette, who is trapped in an asylum after killing (on accident) a young boy. Juliette gets a new roommate named Adam. She and Adam get more and more familiar with each other, realizing that they had known each other long ago. However, it turns out that Adam is a soldier sent to check Juliette's sanity before sending her to the Reestablishment, a dark new government ruling what's left of civilization after the earth began to die. They send her there because she has a power they want; she can kill a person if she touches them, however she can't control this ability. Once there, Juliette meets Warner, a young man very interested in her. She is trapped there, forced to bend to Warner's will as his attraction for her grows stronger and stronger. However, Juliette falls in love with Adam. The story climaxes when Juliette and Adam learn they can touch each other without Adam getting injured. With this realization, Juliette and Adam run away. They join with Adam's younger brother and a suspicious army companion, now searching for the only good place left on earth.
Plot: The plot in the novel was superb. It was suspenseful, daring, and almost strange. It brought up many parts of the darkness of the modern society, yet keeping the novel hopeful with the way everything is told. It also offers some great romance scenes and a sort of love triangle that's well-rounded and beautifully passionate. The reader is easily swept away in the flow of the novel. Last, the action is told where it's fast-paced and scary but also slow enough to be thoroughly understood and digested by the reader.
Characters: The characters were quite well developed. The main character was flawless in development, never darkening or becoming almost frighteningly distant. No, the main character was strong, humble, and thoughtful with additions of romantic and kind to round out the personality. She never faltered in this almost literature pureness that so delights me to read. I mean, how often are the main characters strong yet realistic. It was so easy to imagine her footsteps, her image, and her choices without feeling bitter or untrusting towards the character or author. The other minor characters were just as interesting. Warner and Adam were really well done so they held very specific images so the reader forms feelings towards each with absolute sureness. No character, even the villains like Warner, were ever wasted or bitterly ignored from the novel or reader, truly filling out/smoothing out the novel. All in all, it was the characters' honest human traits while perfect fantasy development that made this novel great.
Overall Review: This novel was a fantastic read. It brought new, untested plots and events into a very "traditional" apocalyptic view. Through this, the novel really began to burrow its way into the reader's heart. Each twist, each event that occurred, was executed so well even the bad ones made the reader happily excited to move on. Of course, the author could have never have made this book so great without the great characters. They were strong, passionate, thoughtful, and (most of all) human. Each person in the novel was so relatable, it was easy to envision one's self in their shoes. However, the characters also brought a kind of strength and undying hope that is almost exclusive towards imaginary characters. In all, Shatter Me was a magnificent book with interestin