I finished reading Shatter about a month ago and immediately wrote a review for Goodreads. Before sharing it on my blog, I wanted to take some time to see how I felt about the novel after the effects of the end-of-book-hangover wore off.
Nothing changed.
Shatter (by Charisse Moritz) is, hands down, the best YA romance novel I have ever read.
The only thing I didn’t like about Shatter was that it ended.
A lot of recent YA romances make the ethical adult parts of me cringe in horror. They pull on and glorify the darkest parts of adolescence and humanity in general. Now, that isn’t to say that these themes aren’t in Shatter, because they are. They are just so perfectly portrayed.
It took me a good few chapters to appreciate Tia after the way the story opened, but it happened and before I knew it, I adored her. My initial concerns about yet another shallow, superficial female MC were blown away to reveal a young woman worth of the title of the novel’s heroine.
Both POVs are distinct and heartbreaking in their own ways, and I WISH it was possible to reach through the pages and just give both of them a reassuring hug.
There are times when they each face tough situations that no one their age should have to deal with, and even though their responses aren’t always perfect or sensible, they learn and grow so beautifully throughout the story and that makes the novel that much more powerful.
Charisse Moritz’s writing style is sublime, and there were some lines that were so good that I had to stop and re-read them over and over again. If I had to go back and share them all, I’d wind up in court for plagiarism, but if I had to pick one to share, one that sums up the message I think everyone should get out of this book it is this: “Some secrets need to be kept and others need to be told. Deciding which is which can be tricky.”
In a world where young people are shown glorified versions of bad decision making, this book gets it right every👏damn👏time👏
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