Shatter Me
Tahereh Mafi, 2011
Fantasy Science fictionYoung adultRomance
A girl whose touch is lethal is locked away—until a boy from her past appears and her own voice becomes the dangerous thing. The narrator’s voice is lyrical and pent-up, all longing and defiance, with a stylized, metaphor-heavy pace that keeps the pages tense.
Feels like longing and defiance. About power, identity and love.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy YA dystopian romance told in a highly emotional first-person voice. The deliberately ornate metaphors and crossed-out lines are distinctive, and they can feel like too much if you prefer plainer prose.
Why read it
It gives you a charged, intimate sprint through power, identity and first love, with a voice that makes the familiar dystopian setup feel personal.
A page from the book
Falling off a world that never made room for you.
I only know now that the scientists are wrong.The world is flat.I know because I was tossed right off the edge and I’ve been trying to hold on for 17 years. I’ve been trying to climb back up for 17 years but it’s nearly impossible to beat gravity when no one is willing to give you a hand. Tahereh Mafi.Mafi was in her early twenties when Shatter Me, her debut, was published; the series went on to become a #1 New York Times bestseller.
Books that feel like this
More by Tahereh Mafi
Defy Me
Tahereh Mafi, 2019
A YA sci-fi romance about a girl whose touch is lethal, the boy who loves her anyway, and the fight to reclaim their own memories.
Destroy Me
Tahereh Mafi, 2012
The Shatter Me series’ coldest character gets a first-person voice: obsessive love, power, and the terror of being seen.
Imagine Me
Tahereh Mafi, 2020
A YA fantasy romance of dangerous powers and obsessive love, told in a voice that keeps breaking into poetry and crossed-out thought.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is Shatter Me for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy YA dystopian romance told in a highly emotional first-person voice. The deliberately ornate metaphors and crossed-out lines are distinctive, and they can feel like too much if you prefer plainer prose.
- What is Shatter Me like?
- The narrator’s voice is lyrical and pent-up, all longing and defiance, with a stylized, metaphor-heavy pace that keeps the pages tense. Feels like longing and defiance. About power, identity and love.
- What should I read after Shatter Me?
- If you liked Shatter Me, try The Host (Stephenie Meyer), A Court of Mist and Fury (Sarah J. Maas) and The One (Kiera Cass).
A taste of the feed
A body built for one heart, learning to carry two.
And it wasn’t just ripping, but twisting and pulling in different directions. Because Melanie’s heart broke, too, and it was a separate sensation, as if we’d grown another organ to compensate for our twin awarenesses. A double heart for a double mind. Twice the pain.
The Host · Stephenie Meyer
Being cast as the villain and being one are different things.
He thinks he’ll be remembered as the villain in the story. But I forgot to tell him that the villain is usually the person who locks up the maiden and throws away the key. He was the one who let me out.
A Court of Mist and Fury · Sarah J. Maas
What it sounds like when someone wants the ordinary days too.
I want everything with you, America. I want the holidays and the birthdays, the busy season and lazy weekends. I want peanut butter fingertips on my desk. I want inside jokes and fights and everything. I want a life with you.
The One · Kiera Cass
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