all characters wanted
  • Book Reviews
    • Reviews by Book Title
    • Reviews by Posting Date >
      • Book Reviews: 2020
      • Book Reviews: 2019
      • Book Reviews: 2018
      • Book Reviews: 2017
    • Rating System
  • Other Musings
    • Monthly Wrap Ups
    • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact

Book Reviews

Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi

4/17/2020

0 Comments

 
SYNOPSIS
The explosive finale to the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Shatter Me series.

Juliette Ferrars.

Ella Sommers.

Which is the truth and which is the lie?

Now that Ella knows who Juliette is and what she was created for, things have only become more complicated.

​As she struggles to understand the past that haunts her and looks to a future more uncertain than ever, the lines between right and wrong—between Ella and Juliette—blur.

Picture
And with old enemies looming, her destiny may not be her own to control.

The day of reckoning for the Reestablishment is coming. But she may not get to choose what side she fights on.
 
Synopsis from Goodreads

PERSONAL REVIEW
After a decade long wait, we are finally at the end of the Shatter Me series. Originally meant to be a trilogy (which ended when Juliette became the leader of Sector 45), this second trilogy showed readers what the rest of the world looks like and introduced Juliette and friends to the other Supreme Commanders. Unfortunately, this ended up being three books that dragged out unnecessarily and completely changed character personalities. Imagine Me gives us a final conclusion to the entire story, but it is a good one?

Everything Big Happens Off-Page 
I was incredibly frustrated that so many of the big moments in this book happen between chapters, not in the chapters themselves. There's a proposal, a massive kidnapping, a plane theft, and numerous battle scenes...but readers are only ever told about them in summary after the fact. This was so frustrating! It felt like we were getting the short end of the stick with just enough information to tell us what had happened, but not actually let us read about it and feel like we were part of it. Mafi had done this a bit in in first Shatter Me trilogy, but in Imagine Me (and the other two books of this trilogy) it often left like we were being rushed along for no reason.  

Kenji Isn't Strong Enough to be Main Narrator
I'm a fan of Kenji and really loved him in the first trilogy, but oh my goodness, this character CANNOT be one of two main narrators, especially when the other narrator is essentially loosing control of her mind or is brainwashed for almost the entire book. Yes, he's funny, but not actually funny enough to carry the book. And (sorry Kenji fans!) he seems like he can barely keep up with more powerful characters, like Warner and Nareeza, either physically or mentally, which is strange because he's basically been training since childhood (and was actually decent at battle tactics in the first trilogy). Maybe if he was one of many narrators (gives us Warner or Nareeza!), he could've helped the story, but he came off as weak and ineffectual when given this much of a voice. 

Needed a Third-Person Narrator 
As I was reading, I kept having to think about what was bothering me about the book. Then I realized it was having first-person narrators. I won't rag on Kenji again, but he and Juliette simply don't know enough about what is happening in the world, the battle, or in Oceania to give us a clear idea of what's going on! I wonder how much stronger this book, and trilogy, would've been if it was written in third-person POV, so readers could get both insight into characters but also a greater understanding of this world. These first-person POVs were missing so much. 

Overall, while I'm happy we got some kind of happy ending (although it was super rushed and didn't really go anywhere?) for these characters, this book, and its trilogy, did not feel like it connected to the first trilogy and didn't feel like it was worth my time. I really enjoyed the first Shatter Me trilogy, but I don't know if I'd ever read it again after such a frustrating experience with this second trilogy. Sadly, this isn't a book or series I'd recommend at this point, unless - like me - you need to know how a series ends. 

FINAL RATING: 1/5
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    About Me

    Hi, I'm Alexandra! I love reading (largely YA fiction, but sometimes I'll read "adult" books), playing board games, Nutella, and binge-watching TV shows on Netflix with my husband. 

    I absolutely love to travel, but home will always be in Toronto. Books come with me everywhere and I can't wait to hear if you agree or disagree with my reviews. 


    Follow Me on Instagram

    @AllCharactersWanted

    Categories

    • ​​Reviews by Posting Date
    • Reviews by Book Title ​​

    2020 Reading Challenge

    2020 Reading Challenge
    Alexandra has read 20 books toward her goal of 85 books.
    hide
    20 of 85 (23%)
    view books

    2019 Reading Challenge

    2019 Reading Challenge
    Alexandra has read 5 books toward her goal of 90 books.
    hide
    5 of 90 (5%)
    view books

    2018 Reading Challenge

    2018 Reading Challenge
    Alexandra has completed her goal of reading 80 books in 2018!
    hide
    88 of 80 (100%)
    view books

Posts

Latest Book Review

Other Musings

Reviews

Reviews by Posting Date

Reviews by Title

Author

About Me
Contact Me
© COPYRIGHT All Characters Wanted 2017. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Book Reviews
    • Reviews by Book Title
    • Reviews by Posting Date >
      • Book Reviews: 2020
      • Book Reviews: 2019
      • Book Reviews: 2018
      • Book Reviews: 2017
    • Rating System
  • Other Musings
    • Monthly Wrap Ups
    • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact