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Writer's pictureLaura L. Zimmerman

Book Review: DESTROY ME and FRACTURE ME by Tahereh Mafi

This is the last week of reviews of the “Shatter Me” series by Tahereh Mafi, *Sniff, Sniff* The entire series took up a solid 2 weeks of my life, and this was one series I was sad to see go. If you haven’t seen my previous reviews of the full length novels, check them out here, here and here! Otherwise, read on for my thoughts on the ‘in-between’ novellas that helped round out the characters of Warner and Adam!

DESTROY ME Synopsis:

Perfect for the fans of Shatter Me who are desperately awaiting the release of Unravel Me, this novella-length digital original will bridge the gap between these two novels from the perspective of the villain we all love to hate, Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.

In Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of. . .

Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.

Set after Shatter Me and before its forthcoming sequel, Unravel Me, Destroy Me is a novella told from the perspective of Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.

The Review: 5 stars out of 5

This novella is told from the POV of Warner. As I stated in my review of UNRAVEL ME (find it here) I had already begun to ‘fall in love’ with Warner by the time I picked the second book up. Although this novella technically comes before Book 2, I read it after, so this pretty much just made me like him all the more! The reader finally gets to go ‘inside’ Warner’s head, and I found exactly what I suspected I’d find: He’s human! Not the monster he claims to be. Juliette’s suspicions of him throughout Book 2 were correct.

DESTROY ME follows Warner during the time period between when Juliette escapes the Reestablishment, to the time he is kidnapped by Omega Point. We see the introduction of his father, and just what it’s like for him to command his army at Sector 45.

Once again, I love Mafi’s writing style and was pulled into this story immediately. Short but sweet, I loved getting to see what it ‘feels’ like to be Warner and it made my connection to his character stronger. If you love the series, you will want to read this novella!

FRACTURE ME Synopsis:

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.

As Omega Point prepares to launch an all-out assault on The Reestablishment soldiers stationed in Sector 45, Adam’s focus couldn’t be further from the upcoming battle. He’s reeling from his breakup with Juliette, scared for his best friend’s life, and as concerned as ever for his brother James’s safety. And just as Adam begins to wonder if this life is really for him, the alarms sound. It’s time for war.

On the battlefield, it seems like the odds are in their favor—but taking down Warner, Adam’s newly discovered half brother, won’t be that easy. The Reestablishment can’t tolerate a rebellion, and they’ll do anything to crush the resistance . . . including killing everyone Adam has ever cared about.

Fracture Me sets the stage for Ignite Me, the explosive finale in Tahereh Mafi’s epic dystopian series. It’s a novella not to be missed by fans who crave action-packed stories with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu.

The Review: 5 stars out of 5

This novella is told from the POV of Adam. If you forged through my “Spoilers” warning in my review of IGNITE ME, you’ll know Adam wasn’t my favorite character by the end of the series. Again, although this novella technically came between books 2 & 3, I didn’t read this one until after I’d finished book 3. I can admit, having read FRACTURE ME, I do have a bit more love for Adam–but only a little.

In this installment, we follow Adam from the last day he’s with Juliette–as they face the unknown in the battle against Anderson–and then the day after Juliette’s disappearance. This fills in the gap that was missing for us as readers, when Juliette escaped the war with Warner, and then eventually reconnected with Kenji, Adam, and the rest, a few days later. We see just how Adam and Kenji regrouped with the others from Omega Point, and how Adam was reunited with little brother, James.

It is this reunion with his younger sibling that I feel was the final straw for the unraveling of Adam and Juliette’s relationship. Throughout book 3, Juliette confesses that she believes Adam’s feelings only ran as deep as he could allow a childhood crush to go. She saw his attachment to her as more of a savior, and that he never wanted her to break free of her victim persona. While this is true to a point, I do see that much of Adam’s disinterest in Juliette at the beginning of book 3 really came from the fact that war forced him to reevaluate his priorities. James had always been–and would always remain–his main focus in life, as it should be. Juliette had sidetracked him for a bit, but ultimately, Adam realized his main purpose was to care for the only family he had left.

Like I said, this novella did help me to understand Adam a bit better, which in turn has made his attitude in book 3 a little more tolerable. But I much preferred the novella from Warner’s POV, DESTROY ME. Both are short reads that are worth it, if you enjoyed the SHATTER ME trilogy!

Well friends! That’s all I’ve got! Hope you enjoyed this journey through Juliette’s world! Feel free to leave a comment below if you have read any of the books in this series!

Happy reading, friends!

(“Destroy Me” and “Fracture Me” by Tahereh Mafi are novellas that are part of a YA dystopian series with mild language and some suggested sexual encounters. Appropriate for older teens and young adults.)

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