It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Ignite Me

Title: Ignite Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Publication Date: February 4, 2014

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: Fantasy, dystopian

Pages: 416

Age Rating: Readers over 13

My Opinion: 8/10

Hi, Readers!

       I just finished the Shatter Me series, by Tahereh Mafi, and I've decided to share my thoughts about the final addition to the trilogy, Ignite Me, as well as the series overall for It's Monday!  What Are You Reading?  This blogging meme is hosted by Teach Mentor Texts, Book Journeys, and Unleashing Readers.

       Juliette has faced a lot of issues in the past two books (Special powers!  World war!  Boys!), but there is even more excitement coming in Ignite Me.  Juliette wakes up in a Reestablishment compound, which is an army base that houses soldiers of the world's evil dictator.  Then, she discovers that her enemy/lover, Warner, saved her from the mass destruction that just occurred at her previous rebel base and home, Omega Point.  Now, Juliette is not sure if any of her friends are even alive.  As soon as she finds the lone survivors of Omega Point, they join up with Warner to overthrow the Reestablishment.  However, Juliette has to put her thoughts ahead of her feelings to save the world, a task that is easier said than done.

       Ok, so I was absolutely in love with Shatter Me and couldn't read it fast enough.  Then, I got my hands on its sequel, Unravel Me, which was also phenomenal. Ignite Me definitely had some big shoes to fill, and it succeeded in a number of ways.  First of all, I love how the entire book is about girl power!  Juliette manages to get over herself - she was pretty obnoxious in the second book - and puts others before herself more often than not.  Also, she harnesses her inner strength and can now control her powers.

       I finished reading Ignite Me a few days ago, and I am still trying to decide whether or not I liked Tahereh Mafi's conclusion of Juliette and Adam's rocky relationship.  Through the first two books, I was totally Team Warner, but now I just feel bad for Adam.  He gets the short end of the stick because he really likes Juliette and she completely blows him off for Warner.  On the other hand, I am so pleased with how Juliette realizes that she wasn't actually in love with Adam to begin with.  I mean, the girl was locked up for an entire year and had never touched another human being - of course she got excited to see a boy for the first time.  Luckily, she discovers in Ignite Me that she does have options and she never lets any guy get in the way of saving the world.

       Overall, the Shatter Me series is one of the best YA series I've read in a while.  It is definitely up there on my list of favorite books, and it was published at the perfect time because teens are really getting into dystopian novels right now.  I wholeheartedly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys reading YA fantasy or dystopian novels such as The Hunger Games, Divergent, and The Testing.  Now I can't wait to read Unite Me, composed of two novellas from Warner and Adam's points of view. 

Happy reading and have a fantastic Monday!