Shatter Me

Shatter Me is a young adult dystopian novel by Tahereh Mafi. The book was first published in 2011, and soon afterward, 20th Century Fox bought the rights for a film adaptation. Exploring the themes of The Impact of Physical and Emotional Isolation, The Importance of Resisting Tyranny, and Embracing Hope as a Form of Defiance, the novel has become a bestseller in young adult fiction. It is followed by two other books, Unravel Me and Ignite Me, and the series also includes two e-novellas, Destroy Me and Fracture Me.

Tahereh Mafi is an Iranian American author known for writing young adult fiction. Shatter Me is her debut novel, and the entire series consists of 11 books—6 novels and 5 novellas—that are set in the same universe and feature the same cast of characters. Mafi has also published a number of other works, including This Woven Kingdom (2022) and A Very Large Expanse of Sea (2018), the latter of which was long-listed for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.

Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide contain descriptions of imprisonment, physical and emotional abuse, mental health crises, and gun violence. The source text also includes frequent descriptions of situations in which the protagonist’s mental health is openly questioned by others.

Plot Summary

Shatter Me opens with Juliette Ferrars, a 17-year-old girl, being locked in a small cell of a psychiatric institution because of her lethal touch. After she accidentally killed a little boy, Juliette has been kept in various detention centers, and although she is not dangerous to society, she has been isolated for so long that she begins to question the status of her mental health. The totalitarian government that has taken over the country, The Reestablishment, keeps Juliette in a psychiatric institution because it wants to use her lethal touch as a weapon in the fight against the underground forces. One day Juliette learns that she will have a cellmate, Adam. She is stunned and confused when she realizes that she has seen him somewhere before, although she cannot remember the details. At first, she avoids talking to him, and Adam behaves aggressively, taking away Juliette’s blanket and pillow. Yet with time, the two start to talk, and Juliette teaches Adam how to survive in the psychiatric institution.

One day, soldiers storm into the cell and take Juliette to Sector 45, one of the areas under the control of The Reestablishment, where she learns that Adam is a soldier who was sent to spy on her. She also meets the leader of Sector 45, Warner, who wants to use Juliette’s lethal touch in his fight against the rebels. He tries to recruit her by promising a life of ease and abundance in exchange for her willingness to cooperate with him. In order to show Juliette what her life could be like if she agrees, Warner gives her an exquisitely decorated room in one of the compounds and assigns Adam as her guard.

Although Juliette’s room in the compound is much more comfortable than her cell, where she was deprived of even basic necessities, she refuses to cooperate with Warner. When she finds out that Adam was beaten for her refusal, Juliette decides to play along in order to protect him. One day, she finds the notebook that she used to have in the psychiatric institution and deduces that Adam must have secretly brought it for her. Realizing that Adam truly wants to help, Juliette suddenly recalls that she and Adam used to be classmates; he was the only one who protected her from bullies. Juliette also realizes that Adam is immune to her touch, so the two eventually start a secret romance. Warner continues to push Juliette to join his side, and she is horrified to see what he is capable of in his hunt for power.

Juliette and Adam begin to draw up an escape plan. When they try to run away, Warner attempts to stop Juliette and touches her, and she learns that he too is immune to her touch. She and Adam escape and find a tank that Adam hid long ago. They drive to Adam’s house, where he introduces Juliette to his 10-year-old brother, James. They soon receive a visitor, a soldier named Kenji, who explains that he ran away after Warner tortured him to get information about Adam’s whereabouts. Just as they all decide to flee, soldiers arrive at the house, and Adam, Juliette, James, and Kenji run away but do not manage to get far. Warner finds them and shoots Adam.

Warner captures Juliette and continues to push her to join his side. He expresses his excitement to be able to touch her, and Juliette begins to kiss him, pulling him close to reach for the gun in his inner pocket. She shoots Warner and searches for Adam, eventually finding him severely injured. The two steal a car and drive to a safe hideout that Kenji knows. There Adam is taken to a hospital wing, and Juliette is given sedatives to recover.

When Juliette wakes up, she learns that she is at Omega Point, a resistance headquarters. She meets a rebel leader named Castle, who explains that they have been looking for her for a long time because of her gift. Castle also tells Juliette that Omega Point harbors 56 people who have different powers, and they all use their abilities for a good cause. Thanks to their healers, Adam is fully recovered within a few days. Juliette also learns that Kenji has been secretly working for the underground for many years; he joined the army to keep an eye on Warner.

At Omega Point, Juliette receives a custom-made suit that allows her to touch other people. Wearing this uniform, Juliette revels in the fact that she is surrounded by like-minded people, and she regains her confidence and feels ready to join the resistance.