10 Things I Loved About Tahereh Mafi's Ignite Me

 Yesterday on my personal blog I may have raved a bit about Tahereh Mafi's writing style. And next week is technically my week to post. But then I kind of stayed up until 2 am to finish Ignite Me, finishing it in less than five hours, and I was breathless the whole time so here goes. 10 reasons I loved the finale to the Shatter Me trilogy.

If you haven't read the book then I would suggest stopping at the end of point 3 as I simply couldn't say what I wanted to say without SPOILERS. You have been warned.

1. I really didn't know what to expect from this third installment. I had some vague ideas, but overall it was a revelation. I loved that it was so unpredictable.
2. Everything made sense. So even though I didn't know where everything was going or how it was going to play out nothing felt uncomfortably surprising. Everything really made sense in the world Tahereh had made and with the characters she had developed thus far.
3. Each character developed realistically. Based on what they had gone through both in the books that we've seen and in the things we've learned and learn about their lives I thought that Juliette, Warner, Adam, and Kenji acted and reacted in a way that made sense.
4. KENJI. Oh my goodness Kenji. I would have to say that he was my favorite character in this book. If Shatter Me was about the relationship between Juliette and Adam and Unravel Me was about the relationship between Juliette and Warner, then Ignite Me, in a lot of ways, was about the relationship between Juliette and Kenji. And no, there is no quadrangle so shut up. But the way their friendship developed was so sweet and made so much sense. The moment when Juliette calls Kenji her best friend had me getting teary-eyed. Really. And their shared moment on the roof. And when Kenji opened up about how hard it can be to be the "funny" one. And when James tries to hook Kenji up. And everything.
5. Aaron. Or Warner as I will always think of him. I loved that he was broken down throughout this book. He didn't change the core of who he was, but he had to shatter and unravel in order to fully ignite into the full potential of the person he could be. It honestly made me think of a line from the song "Fixer-Upper" from Disney's Frozen: "We aren't saying you can change him / 'Cause people don't really change / We're only saying that love's a force that's powerful and strange / People make bad choices if they're mad or scared or stressed / But throw a little love their way, and you'll bring out their best." If there were lyrics that described the way Juliette and Warner's relationship develops during this book I think this would be it - for both of them.
6. James. Oh James you are the sassy adorable heart of the group in so many ways.
7. The brother moment. When Warner finds out that he and Adam are brothers? SO MANY TEARS. The way he reacts. And the way Adam reacts. And the way they both just look at James. And it was just so wonderful and perfect.
8. Action! The plan and Juliette and Kenji's attack on the supreme commander's ship and blowing up things and learning to fight and ... if the emotional development wasn't enough, there was plenty of action to keep things moving and intense.
9. Juliette. Seriously. Her character developed so perfectly. I have a feeling some people will say that there's too big a difference between who she was in the previous book and who she was in this book, but personally I think (and I just reread the entire series in less than a week) that her character arc was paced very well. She is still dealing with a lot of the things that she has been dealing with throughout, but she is learning how to deal with those things and finding strength in herself. I was cheering every time that she said that her decisions were about more than who she was in love with or not in love with or who wanted her more. She began to be able to see the larger picture, and I applauded the fact that, although she does make a decision, she waits until she can make it on her terms and she is sure that it is what she truly wants and not just based on lust or physical attraction or even emotional baggage. And how amazing is she when she learns how to use her powers? Because I really want to see that in movie format. When she throws all the men off the ship!? Love. It.

   

   Brava Tahereh!

10. The ending. At first I was disappointed with the ending - not because I didn't like it, but because there are SO many things left open. I want there to be like five more books. ha. But the more I have thought about it (in the whole 9 hours since I finished it) the more I like it. I like that it's a beginning more than an ending. I like that there are all of these possibilities and challenges ahead of them. It doesn't feel like the characters' story is over this way. And I can think about all of the things that could happen. The things that needed to be resolved were resolved and everything wasn't wrapped up with a pretty bow. I also was immensely grateful that there was no epilogue of like "ten years later" or something. Tahereh leaves that up to us to imagine and I LOVE her for that!

August Book Club: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Juliette has spent her whole life on the outside. Her parents terrified of her, classmates avoiding her, teachers ignoring her. All because of something she can't control. Now she's been locked away from society in a cold, sterile room with only a tiny square of sky and her own words for company. She's been alone for so long that she can hardly cope when another prisoner is pushed into her cell. The boy scares and intrigues her and she can't help but hope that he remembers her like she remembers him. But his entrance into her solitude is only the beginning and soon Juliette finds herself swept up in a twisted mess of political intrigue, psychological manipulation, and emotional turmoil. Caught between two sides, fighting to control the power that has held her prisoner her whole life, Juliette has to decide how she wants to live her life and who she wants to live it with.

With gorgeous, poetic prose and a story line that pulls you into its grip and won't let go, this is a book you don't want to miss.

Want to own it?

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AND the paperback version (with the new absolutely fantabulous cover) comes out October 2nd, just a month away! and at the same time a between the novels novella called Destroy Me  from Warner's perspective comes out in e-book! All this to hold us over until the release of Unravel Me in February of 2013 (so far away!)

Here's what we thought about it

Rachelyons: I loved Shatter Me because it was different from a lot of other YA dystopian novels. Juliette's words were like poetry and allowed us to feel her pain and elation. I also hate/love Warner and can't wait to see where the story goes.

Jenn N: Tahereh does a wonderful job of putting you inside the mind of Juliette. You feel her fear and the confusion of her wrongful imprisonment right along with her. Her recovery from the ordeal is well paced and realistic. You'll cheer as Juliette learns to fight back and builds her self-esteem. The book's conclusion is a great surprise that sets up what is sure to be a fantastic sequel. Tahereh also does a great job of layering her characters - can Adam really be trusted? Is Warner truly evil? Read the book and decide for yourself.

Rebecca T: I got to know Tahereh via her blog and Twitter accounts pretty much as soon as she burst on the social media scene. She was (and still is) one of the funniest, most inspirational authors I've had the pleasure to meet (both online and in real life). So I was a little nervous about reading her book. There's always that fear that, no matter how much you love the author you might not like their books. But I was very happily proved wrong. From the first page I was sucked in and at times actually breathless wondering what would happen next. I've since read it at least twice more and each time I love it even more. The characters are vibrant and realistic, the prose gave me shivers, and the plot was filled with so many twists and turns that I am dying to get my hands on Unravel Me!

Eileen: I loved this book. It was refreshingly different from other dystopians. The prose was what really got me. The strange metaphors, incomplete thoughts, and strike outs made me understand Juliette's psyche more than I would have without. Overall the most engaging read I've encountered in quite some time.

Next month we're going to be taking a step away from fiction to read Kevin Clash's memoir My Life as Furry Red Monster. Looking forward to something a bit different and to find out about the life of the man who brought Elmo to life.

Laydown Lowdown

Welcome to your Laydown Lowdown for the week of May 1, 2012.  Yikes - how did it get to be May already?

Not only does May symbolize Winter's farewell for me, it also ushers in the arrival of yet another Sookie Stackhouse novel.  "Deadlocked," the 12th and penultimate novel in Charlaine Harris' beloved series finds Sookie in the midst of vampire politics with a murder to solve.  If you're a Sookie fan, you'll want to check out our site on Sundays in the summer as some of BW/OB bloggers will be doing "True Blood" related group posts and vlogs.  We'll keep you posted on the fangtastic details as they develop.

Other new releases in Sci-Fi/Fantasy today include "Invincible," by Jack Campbell, "Aurorarama," by Jean-Christophe Valtat, and "By the Blood of Heroes: The Undead War," by Joseph Nassise.

Meanwhile over in Young Adult, you'll find another much anticipated release, "Insurgent," the sequel to the best-selling "Divergent," by Veronica Roth hits shelves today. "Destined," the latest from Aprilynne Pike, "Sweet Evil," by Wendy Higgins, and "Bitterblue" by Kristin Cashore are also available today

There are dozens of new releases in Romance today but the highlights include the latest releases by best-selling authors.  Nora Roberts is sure to have another hit with "The Last Boyfriend," as are Sherlyn Kenyon, "Born of Silence," Carly Phillips, "Karma," and Mary Balogh, "The Proposal."

Over in mystery, Ace Atkins picks up where deceased author/creator Robert Parker left off, and continues the adventures of Spenser with "Lullaby."  Other capers today include "Dead Level," by Sarah Graves, and "Body in the Boudoir," by Katherine Hall Paige. 

Finally, for those of you that entered our raffle to win a copy of "Shatter Me," signed by Tahereh Mafi, we are please to announce the winner is MARTHA (I'm shouting your name in Oprah's excited sing-song tone).  Congratulations, Rebecca will be emailing you for your mailing address and I'll send it out ASAP.  If you didn't win, don't fret.  We plan on having more giveaways in the future so stick with us !

Happy Reading Everyone !! Remember to support your local bookstores whenever possible.  Just because our blog is online, it doesn't mean your shopping has to be.

Spring Into the Future Recap AND Giveaway!

Rebecca, Jenn, Rachel
Posing in front of the display!

On Sunday, Rebecca, Jenn, and Rachel met up and took the train into New York to go to the Spring Into the Future book signing at Books of Wonder. We were so excited to get to meet these fabulous authors!

Tahereh Mafi was signing her novel Shatter Me, Anna Carey was signing her novel Eve, Veronica Rossi was signing her novel Under the Never Sky and special guest Lauren Oliver was specifically touring for Pandemonium the sequel to her dystopian Delirium. It was definitely a dystopian bunch and it was great to hear them weigh in on why they write about the end of the world and why they think the genre has gotten so popular.

First off, Books of Wonder is the cutest little book store ever. And all those kids books had the three of us practically drooling. We each said "ooh! I should get this!" about 4,000 times. Unfortunately we could not buy that many books, but we managed to spend a bit more than we probably should have anyway.

Delicious burger and fries!

We got there pretty early and managed to get good tickets. Jenn was 007, which made us all dorkily happy. After grabbing lunch at a yummy burger place we returned and found a spot of floor where we had a good view of the table. It also happened to be at a spot where we could see into the back room where the authors were waiting and it was really tempting to just act nonchalant and wander back there and then fangirl. But we didn't want to get thrown out, so.....

The Authors! (and emcee - whose name I cannot remember! eek!)
L to R Lauren Oliver, Anna Carey, Tahereh Mafi, Veronica Rossi

Tahereh and Veronica

Anna and Tahereh - and Lauren's ear :)

Each of the authors read a snippet from their book, which was really fun and then they did a Q&A. These women are hilarious.

We found out that Tahereh would like to be her antagonist, Warner, for a day, even though it would be awkward... since he's a boy, that Anna Carey loves reading survival manuals so she will be able to take care of herself during the apocalypse,

Lauren

Anna, Tahereh, Veronica

that Veronica Rossi once lost her sketchbook on a plane (I think it was) and it got returned to her, but she was miserable for the month it was missing, and that Lauren Oliver is all for using boys as slave labor.

We got SWAG!
Showing off our Shatter Me necklaces :D

We also learned that, while we may act like crazy adolescent girls, we are not and sitting cross-legged on the floor for so long is not a pleasant experience anymore. Yes, we were the ones staggering to our feet and trying to work circulation back into our legs when the Q&A was over :)

It was really nice to talk to each of the authors during the signing and how giddy were we over Tahereh's swag?!

AND, because we're super nice, we even snagged a signed copy for one of our lucky followers! Jenn also picked up an extra one of the Spring Into the Future tour posters, plus we're throwing in a Hunger Games bookmark. We would have loved to give away a book from each author, but it just wasn't feasible this time, so we had to choose one. And since Rebecca found out about the tour because of Tahereh, we decided to give away a copy of Shatter Me!

Here's what we thought of the book (we'll stay clear of spoilers for you!):

Jenn N: Tahereh does a wonderful job of putting you inside the mind of Juliette. You feel her the fear and confusion of her wrongful imprisonment right along with her. When Juliette learns to fight back, you'll be just as dazed and amazed as she was. Tahereh also does a great job of layering her characters - can Adam really be trusted? Is Warner truly evil? Read this book and decide for yourself.

Rebecca T: Juliette is an outcast a menace to society a lonely, broken, seventeen year old girl. She can't touch anyone because of her curse gift and now the Reestablishment wants to exploit utilize her talent. So Juliette has to fight for her life, for freedom, for love, and for the very soul of humanity that is being destroyed. With characters that live vibrantly on the page and in your mind, a premise that's intense and a little too real, and a style that will suck you into the story and not let go, this is a book you don't want to miss.

Claire: Such a good book. I thought that the crossing out would bother me at first, but the more I read, it was either the less I noticed or maybe the more it helped. Either way it was so different from anything I have read. So good!

Rachel: This book was a breath of dystopian fresh air. I was prepared for another fluffy YA book but found a love story that made my bones ache and an adventure that made my heart race. Tahereh was so inspirational and approachable and I feel privileged to have met her.

Stay tuned - You could very well see some reviews of the other books from the tour once we've had a chance to read and think about them! For now you can check out Stacey's review of Lauren Oliver's Delirium, the first book in the series!

To enter you just have to leave a comment on this post, letting us know what extra power you would want to have, and fill out the Rafflecopter so we can contact you if you win! (In some views there is a "view more" link below - you'll have to click on this to view the Rafflecopter and to enter the contest) This is our first time using Rafflecopter so if there are any problems please let us know! There are also chances for extra entries :) We love all our readers, but we have to limit this drawing to the US and Canada for shipping reasons. The contest will run through the end of the month - April 30th - and we'll announce the winners during our May 1st Laydown Lowdown! May the odds be ever in your favor! (oh wait, wrong book!)

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