Ignite Me (Shatter Me, #3) in The Wide Web of Friends in YA Books

May 23, 2014 Maria rated it it was amazing

“Ignite, my love. Ignite.” Me: *explodes in fireworks*

I liked everything about this book. Character development, plot, relationships, romance – all of this was just great. This book is my favourite from this trilogy and it’s a marvellous ending to this great series.

Juliette in this book seemed to be a whole different person. After being shot, she realized she wanted to live a different life. She wanted to be free and happy, so she became determined to fight. Juliette stopped being scared, crying “Ignite, my love. Ignite.” Me: *explodes in fireworks*

I liked everything about this book. Character development, plot, relationships, romance – all of this was just great. This book is my favourite from this trilogy and it’s a marvellous ending to this great series.

Juliette in this book seemed to be a whole different person. After being shot, she realized she wanted to live a different life. She wanted to be free and happy, so she became determined to fight. Juliette stopped being scared, crying, fragile girl she used to be and became strong and brave. Her example inspired other people, gave them hope for the better future and that’s why they followed her. She also understood that what was between her and Adam wasn’t love. Both of them needed someone who would be kind to them and care about them and at that point they had each other. However, they couldn’t be together anymore because Juliette outgrew Adam and actually they’ve never loved each other in such way. Tahereh Mafi described it all so well I want to applaud her. Juliette made a really long and hard way throughout the series. This character development is truly impressive.

Kenji proved to be an excellent friend. He taught Juliette to use her power and supported her no matter what. I loved their heart-to-heart conversations and how Kenji interrogated Juliette about her feelings for Warner. He knew she was in love with him even before she realized it herself. Kenji is attentive and caring and Juliette is really lucky to have him as her friend.

~~How can I go past Aaron Warner? Right. I can’t.~~ If we compare Warner’s character from the first book with his character from this one, they’d seem like two different people as well. In the first book he seemed like a villain but it turned out he acted like this in order to survive and in this book we saw him as he is. Reminds the story of Will Herondale, doesn’t it? He too pretended to be indifferent to people around him but in fact he had a loving soul. Warner is capable of great feelings and emotions. He would do anything for Juliette and at some point he influenced her character development. He taught her to fight, thus making her stronger, he always reminded her of her immense power and what she’s capable of. So basically Aaron Warner is just a freaking amazing character.

The relationship of Warner and Juliette was the thing I loved most about this book. The development of it took lots of space and Tahereh Mafi described it splendidly. At some point these two remind me of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Firstly, Elizabeth thought badly about Darcy – Juliette thought of Warner as a cruel villain. Both Warner and Darcy turned out to be kind and loving. Both Juliette and Elizabeth got to know them better, realized they were wrong and fell in love with them. I find this parallel awesome because both these books are amazing and I like the storyline where bad characters are actually good and the main characters go from hating to loving them. This book is full of Warnette moments (chapter 55 – just call firemen) and all in all I love this couple and I think they’re perfect for each other.

I liked the writing style of this book as it reflected the changes in Juliette’s character and her feelings towards Warner. In the first book there were a lot of twisted metaphors and some unnecessary descriptions which were absent in this one, showing how much Juliette has grown. Also her moments with Adam and Warner were described differently. The description of Juliette’s time with Adam seemed kind of artificial and unnatural, while the description of her moments with Warner implied some serious feeling.

All in all, I really liked this trilogy. The idea of it is engrossing and the storyline is well developed. It shows great development of the main character and her relationships and contains an unusual romantic plot. I spent wonderful time reading this series and I want to say “thank you” to Tahereh Mafi for her amazing job. ...more

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Feb 04, 2014 Hannah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: completed-series, books-i-own

Hands down my favorite book in this series. I loved how the writing has stabilized along with Juliette's mental state, I saw some people complaining there were no strike throughs but that was done on purpose? To show that Juliette is no longer denying her own feelings, no longer second guessing herself. No longer punishing herself for her own thoughts, she's not thinking they're wrong anymore. So I think that's great.

I just want to say one thing before I get any further into it, I know people a Hands down my favorite book in this series. I loved how the writing has stabilized along with Juliette's mental state, I saw some people complaining there were no strike throughs but that was done on purpose? To show that Juliette is no longer denying her own feelings, no longer second guessing herself. No longer punishing herself for her own thoughts, she's not thinking they're wrong anymore. So I think that's great.

I just want to say one thing before I get any further into it, I know people are upset that the romantic relationships didn't turn out how they wanted, but I feel like giving the book 1 star is a little rash. If you liked the first two, you obviously like Tahereh's writing style. So you could at least give her credit for being a good writer. I think people are not really thinking about it rationally right now, I just feel bad seeing 1 star reviews just because the series didn't end how you wanted it to end. I've also seen the flip side of this where people were (view spoiler) before reading Ignite Me but then came to realize why Tahereh was writing it the way she was, and why the couple who ended up together had to end up together. She had this planned out from the beginning, she didn't just pull it out of nowhere. I know how it feels to be unhappy with an ending but I just want people to remember to be respectful. If you really think it deserves only 1 star, then I guess that's up to you, but I think the writing alone makes it worth more than that. I'm not meaning to start drama or fights, I just don't want people overcome by their emotions and giving the book a rating I don't think it deserves at all.

Obviously considering this is the last book in a trilogy it's hard for me to say too much without spoilers, if you've never read this series you can probably tell there are some pretty intense ship wars. The story has always revolved around the characters more than the dystopian setting. It's a story about a girl finding herself and using the power within her to make a difference. To change things. I loved Juliette in this book, she was fantastic and headstrong and was not taking shit from anyone. When I closed this book I was so proud of how far she had come from the scared, timid girl who hadn't spoken to anyone in almost a year and was generally out of her mind. It's so nice to see the progression of her character, and I was extremely happy with her ending. Romantically as well. Not only because they have amazing, sexy, and adorably touching moments but also because she doesn't rely on him for strength. He makes her feel powerful on her own, makes her believe she's capable, doesn't treat her like she needs to be looked after. So I think it was the best ending for both of them. Now I shall ramble in a spoilery fashion. Serious spoilers to follow.

(view spoiler)[Wow where do I even start? Uhg Warnette though, okay they were absolutely perfect in this book. The build up was flawless and painful and oh my god, they made me so happy. I keep wanting to talk about all. the scenes. But that would take forever. I'll just say I'm so thankful for Tahereh taking a big risk in making Juliette end up with Warner. This is so not the typical thing to do in YA books. Making the lead character be with someone who was initially introduced as an antagonist is relatively unheard of in this genre, and if anyone knows any other I would love recommendations. The typical thing to do would have been for Juliette to be with the 'nice guy' but really Adam is not a nice guy. He's an asshole.

I've never been someone who likes Adam as a character. I didn't mind him in Shatter Me. He got on my nerves in Unravel Me (to be fair Juliette did too, mostly because of how fucking whiny they were together). I was surprised by how crass he was in Fracture Me. But in Ignite Me I really was shocked as to how big of a dick he was. And I don't think it was out of character at all. Adam's always been an angry guy. I always thought that was pretty apparent. In this book he basically loses his shit. He's constantly shouting at Juliette, telling her he wishes she was dead and all these horrible things. I know Warnette is a somewhat controversial ship but the things Adam was saying to Juliette were, in my book, abusive. It's verbally, emotionally, and bordering on physically abusive. He tried to emotionally manipulate her. Sometimes it was very hard to read. And I think this is ultimately one of the big glaring reasons they do not work. Adam is a bomb, he's always at the risk of exploding. He needs someone gentle and quiet and calm to settle him. Juliette is no longer that girl. Because to Juliette those qualities represent her weakness, her lack of strength. For some that's just who they are, it doesn't mean they're not strong. Juliette was repressing not only her abilities but her true self in the process. People like Alia don't do that, they are a quiet strength. So Adam needs someone like her to balance him out. I don't think Adam is a horrible person who's not capable of redemption, I think he has a lot of things he needs to work on with himself.

I do wish we got to hear Adam and Warner's conversations after Warner found out they were brothers. I would have liked more elaborated on that. But I am happy they'll be spending time together, I think that'll be good for Adam too. I think Warner's reaction to finding out he has brothers was the only point I almost cried in the whole book. Other than when Warner was crying over his mom but shhh let's not talk about that. I'm so glad he has family now, he has James and Adam and they can all work to build those bonds in the future. I know Warner wants that. I think Adam does too.

Hmm what else. Oh, Kenji! He was fabulous as always. I absolutely love his friendship with Juliette. I like how he asks her questions, and is actually interested in what she has to say. I like that he wants to get her real feelings and thoughts on things and he never really judges her. I loved all their conversations about Warner. When Kenji said Warner was sexy I was dying, or when Juliette was watching Warner work out and Kenji was just like "so this gets you going, huh?" ahhh so funny and great. Warner and Kenji had some great moments too, I think they could go on to be great friends. They obviously seem to find each other highly entertaining. Kenji should dump Adam and adopt Warner as his new friend, because Adam was just a piece of shit to him the entire time. You know what would be amazing? A post IM novella from Kenji's POV. Seriously, I would sell my soul.

There are a few things that I did have some issues with:

So I think one thing that bugs me is that Juliette is going to be running the country now? I just don't think that she has the proper knowledge and training to do that. I think Warner would be much better suited as a leader, and I know he would be by her side helping her with everything but it just seems ill advised to put her in that position. Yes, she's strong and hardcore and awesome but she's spent the majority of her life hiding, being weak, trying to seem timid. She has no leadership experience at all. Also, she's 17 years old. I'm not saying she couldn't do it, it's possible she could have some untapped qualities at being a leader that we haven't seen. The point is, we didn't see it. Juliette is my girl but I just don't trust her to run a country. I don't think Warner taking over for this father would have diminished her strength at all. It would just make more sense to me since Warner has experience leading soldiers and looking after civilians.

Another thing is that the ending seemed sort of rushed and anticlimactic. I never thought Anderson would be a real match for Juliette, and that random guy he had with him (another son perhaps?) definitely made it more interesting but it was still so easy. Bang, Bang. Anderson's dead. I wish he had more presence in the book because he made such a great villain. I'm glad the time was spent on characters and relationships but I wish the ending battle was more of...well, a battle. Also I could have done with an epilogue. Even if it was just a few weeks or months in the future. But you take what you get with these dystopians. They never really wrap up in a 100% satisfying way. This one came very close though and aside from those few issues I thought it was a perfect end to this great trilogy. I cant wait to see what Tahereh Mafi does next. (hide spoiler)] ...more

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