Novella Review: Fracture Me



Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi
(Shatter Me #2.5)
December 17, 2013
Harper Collins
68 pages
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Source: Personal purchase

Book Blurb:

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.

My Review:

*Contains spoilers from previous books*
I just finished reading Fracture Me, and it is a little difficult to wrap my head around it. Reading from Adam's POV is completely different from Juliette's and Warner's. He's not as poetic. He's real and you can sense the years he's spent as a soldier on him. But you can also sense what has changed in him since being in the compound and discovering more about himself and since his break-up with Juliette. Something has changed in Adam and he doesn't feel the same as he did in Shatter Me. But does that make me like him any less? No. Does it make me think he's the guy for Juliette? Hmm. Because, just like everyone else, he's been through a lot and he is still young and he's got a little brother he's responsible for. He has more personal responsibility that Juliette and Warner do, since he has James. And the way he expresses himself about James really touched me and rang true to me as a parent. Looking at everything in context, I can understand why Tahereh wrote Adam the way she did. I may have been expecting something different from Adam, but as I contemplate what I've read, I can understand it. And I think it will play a big part in Ignite Me.

Plus, we finally get to find out what happened to everyone else when Juliette was dealing with Anderson at the end of Unravel Me. The heart-breaking truth. The ending to this novella was quite eye-opening as it really sets the stage for Ignite Me. Since both sides don't know the complete truth, I'm both excited and nervous to see what measures they will be taking next and how all things will turn out. Does this novella resolve the Team Adam vs. Team Warner debate? Time will tell. But this does establish where Adam's priorities are and gives us a little more insight into where Adam and Juliette really were at in their relationship by the end (especially since we get the first two chapters of Ignite Me at the end of the novella). Though this is the least exciting of the series, I still really enjoyed getting in Adam's head and getting more insight into all the chaos that was happening. I will also say, by the end of this, I liked Kenji and Jamie even more. Kenji was definitely the hero and I'd love a novella for him as well.

4 STARS

 

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