Tag Archives: Tahereh Mafi

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Book of the Week – The Shatter Me Series

Hello gentle reader,

if you’re looking for a great YA trilogy to read this summer, I recommend the SHATTER ME series by Tahereh Mafi.

ShatterMeSeries

It’s a YA Sci-Fi series which was published between 2011 and 2014 by Harper Collins. It comprises three novels (SHATTER ME, UNRAVEL ME and IGNITE ME) from the main character’s point of view (Juliette) as well as two novellas (DESTROY ME from Warner’s POV and FRACTURE ME from Adam’s POV).

Here is the blurb for SHATTER ME (from Goodreads):

I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I’m more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

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.

What makes this series quite unique is Juliette’s voice and Tahereh Mafi’s writing (with the now well-known crossed-out words and lines). The character development of Juliette is one of the most impressive I’ve read, and Warner remains one of the most complex characters you’ll be likely to read in a YA book. Even if there’s quite a lot of action (especially in Book 3), the characters’ journey and the love story are what these books are about. These books explores themes such as the line between good and evil, as well as what makes a person a hero or a villain.

This is an amazing series and I do hope you’ll pick it up this summer (all books are available as paperbacks, both in the US and overseas).

Have you read the SHATTER ME series? What did you think?

What are you reading this summer?

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YA New Releases – December Edition

Hello gentle reader,

this month I have decided to highlight a few novellas that I’m really looking forward to reading…

forged

Forged by Jennifer Rush (Altered #0.5)

Expected publication: 3d December 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Before Anna and Sam, there was Dani and Sam.

There’s one rule that all Branch operatives must live by: No attachments. When Dani O’Brien entered the Branch, she planned to trade her freedom so that her family could have a better life. But joining up with the mysterious organization is more than she bargained for. Branch head Connor watches over her closely–too closely. The training is brutal, the experiments are secret, and the missions promise to be anything but ordinary. The only thing getting Dani through each day is the hope that she’ll run into Sam–a young man, about her age, who wears the world on his shoulders.

This short-story is the prequel to Jennifer Rush’s thrilling and suspenseful Altered series.

The Last Stand of the New York Institute

The Last Stand of the New York Institute

by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson (The Bane Chronicles #9)

Expected publication: 17th December 2013 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

Magnus meets Valentine in battle as the Circle attacks the Downworlders of New York City.

In the time of the Uprising, Valentine’s Circle goes after Downworlders in New York…and the Shadowhunters of the Institute must decide whether to join him, or fight with Magnus and his kind. This is the first time Magnus sees Jocelyn, Luke, and Stephen—but not the last. It is not long before Jocelyn seeks him out…

FractureMe

Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me #2.5)

Expected publication: 17th December 2013 by HarperCollins

In this electrifying sixty-page companion novella to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, discover the fate of the Omega Point rebels as they go up against The Reestablishment. Set during and soon after the final moments of Unravel Me, Fracture Me is told from Adam’s perspective.
Fracture Me sets the stage for Ignite Me, the explosive finale in Tahereh Mafi’s epic dystopian series.

LITTLE, BROWN BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS DANGEROUS DREAM

Dangerous Dream by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Dangerous Creatures #0.5)

Expected publication: 17th December 2013

“Beautiful Creatures” authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl are going back to Gatlin for an all-new spin-off series called “Dangerous Creatures”. The series follows fan favorite characters (and on-again-off-again couple) Link and Ridley as they embark on fresh adventures. The series kicks off with the enovella “Dangerous Dream,”, followed by the release of the first book, “Dangerous Creatures,” on May 6, 2014.

Which books are you looking forward to reading this month? Let me know below!

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YA Sci-Fi

What’s on my bookshelf? 8

Hello gentle reader,

Yesterday my Critique Partner asked on Twitter if people could recommend YA Sci-Fi books to her. I don’t read a lot of Science Fiction, but here are my favourite books in this genre…

Proxy

Proxy by Alex London (published in  June 2013 by Philomel)

My favourite 2013 release so far. It’s action-packed, it’s thought-provoking, it’s clever and gripping. It’s about friendship, social justice, consumerism and technologies. It’s also a dual male POV. What more can you ask for?

Shatter Me

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (published in November 2011 by Harper)

Original and so well-written, this is the story of a girl whose touch is lethal. What she does with that power in a futuristic dictatorship is up to her.

Altered

Altered by Jennifer Rush (published in January 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Reader)

A debut novel pitched as Dollhouse meets Prison Break, with one girl and four genetically altered boys on the run from a mysterious organisation. Don’t mind the eye-catching cover, it’s a thrilling and multi-layered story well worth a read.

That’s it for the YA Sci-Fi books on my bookshelf. I did tell you I don’t read this genre a lot. Any book you’ve loved and would recommend? Feel free to leave me a comment below!

And don’t forget you can still enter my 500 Blog Followers Giveaway here (and win a copy of Shatter Me!).