This review is of the final book in the Shatter Me series, and is mainly for those who have read or are familiar with the five previous books (and 4 novellas), or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT
Juliette Ferrars.
Ella Sommers.
Which is the truth and which is the lie?
Now that Ella knows who Juliette is and what she was created for, things have only become more complicated. As she struggles to understand the past that haunts her and looks to a future more uncertain than ever, the lines between right and wrong—between Ella and Juliette—blur. And with old enemies looming, her destiny may not be her own to control.
The day of reckoning for the Reestablishment is coming. But she may not get to choose what side she fights on.
We all thought this was going to be a trilogy, then it turned into two. I already went through an ending once, am I ready to hang up the series for good? Yes and no...
First off, I've always had a hard time reviewing the last book of a series. I think it's because I feel like I'm reviewing the series as a whole instead of just the final book. Because isn't it the point of the last book to wrap up everything that's come before? With that in mind, I'm going to do my best to keep my review vague about events from this book, but the rest of the series is completely fair game. If you haven't read the series by now, you either won't (thanks for reading my reviews anyway) or you just want to know if it's worth your time before starting in. For those of you in the latter category: yes, if you like the first book, I think you'll enjoy the rest. Now, on to the review proper.
This time around, I didn't read the entire series over again, as I usually try to do. I did re-read book 5 and the following novella (5.5) since I wanted to reacquaint myself with the exposition being revealed in the last book and a major cliffhanger in the novella, so at least that much going into the finale. And after that fairly quick reintroduction to Juliette and company...
This was not the ending I was expecting. I know it's hard to predict anything when you've already had one ending handed to you, then ripped away and replaced with a completely different framing for everything we thought we knew, but, after everything that's come before, I hesitate to call this ending organic. Then again, it's hard to call much organic after the series pulled a 180 after the original trilogy was complete. From a series about rebellion and self-discovery with super powers on the side, we transitioned to a series about memory wipes, world-wide mind control, and star-crossed loves ripped apart and reforged over and over again.
If you remember much from book 5, it's probably that it was a huge exposition dump. The characters wake up, get a majority of their wiped memories returned to them, escape from their captors (in all of a chapter or two), and decide to begin planning the real takedown of the Reestablishment. But for all the new information that was given to us that reshapes and re-contextualizes the books that have come before, not much is done to expand upon it in Imagine Me.
I feel like so much was revealed about the world, about the Reestablishment and their plans, and then nothing happened. Sure, the books have always hinged on Juliette and her inner thoughts, struggles, and triumphs, but you'd think that after such an exposition dump of the villains' plans—using Emmaline, Juliette's sister, to mind control the entire world—there would be more focus put on them and dismantling the hierarchy. The stakes just got raised exponentially, only for the resolution to come swiftly and (relatively) easily.
For having (nearly) completely taken over the world, I wouldn't have thought the leaders of the Reestablishment would be so dumb. It's one thing to have a headquarters, and another thing to hold an enemy captive. But why on earth would you gather all your leaders at said headquarters, AND house your enemy there when she's already successfully escaped and killed one of you with more countermeasures than you are currently employing?!? I mean, we've seen Anderson repeatedly brought down by his arrogance, but he's supposed to be the newest, dumbest, and least important of all the leaders. I just don't understand why or how the bigwigs became so shortsighted and stupid at the last minute. Why did they need to all be in one place? Why did they allow Juliette's treatment after what she accomplished in the last book?
Speaking of her treatment, I hated how the story as a whole handled Juliette. Whereas last time she was kidnapped she still had most of her agency thanks to interference from Emmaline, this time around she seems more a damsel in distress. It is only through outside interference that she can escape her predicament. Okay, I guess Emmaline was outside interference last time, but it seems less trope-ish when it's a sister messing directly with her brain, than a boyfriend coming in for the rescue.
Maybe I'm being too hard? Maybe I just don't want it to be over. I think I just want more. There was a lot of information dumped on us in reference to Juliette/Ella and the Reestablishment as a whole, yet the only resolution we got was in regard to Juliette and her romance. What happened to Warner's mom? Where's more information about the mutations/super powers? What was the actual timeline on the Reestablishment taking power? What are the rest of the leaders' kids doing? What the heck just happened?!
You'd think that after 6 books and 4 novellas we'd have all the answers, but I feel like we have less answered for than at the end of the original trilogy. I guess I feel like since the series expanded so much further in books 4 and 5, we'd have even more answers and resolution for the world as a whole. Instead we just got a doubling down on why Juliette and Warner are meant to be together. Which would be fine if there wasn't a whole dystopian revolution going on!
Okay, okay, don't get me wrong, the romance was pretty great. Not only Juliette and Warner's but also Kenji and Nadeera's. Whereas Juliette and Warner had a lot of baggage getting into their relationships, Kenji was much more relatable with his awkwardness and confusion of being found attractive, let alone by someone he's insanely attracted to. The emotions have always run strong in this series, and Imagine Me was no exception. Though Warner didn't have narration duty this time around, reading about his heartbreak during Juliette's issues was hard. There's a point where he's not convinced that she's the same after Emmaline's brain manipulation, and we don't really get much resolution to that...
I really, really don't like ragging on this book, and by proxy the series, so hard. I really did enjoy the book as I read it, and I even had some tears on my cheeks by the end. Mafi does emotions, especially star-crossed loves really, really well, and you feel so much for these characters. But, like my issues with The Memory Thief last week, I'm having a hard time letting go of things that were introduced and then left hanging. Whereas I felt like the original trilogy had a satisfying conclusion to Juliette's journey of self discovery and the revolution she helped bring to fruition, this time there's so much more information that came to light, yet none of it was resolved satisfactorily.
Case in point: Adam. Adam comes back into the story after his disappearance at the beginning of Defy Me in a couple ways; one directly linked to the Juliette plot, and the other in flashbacks. Now, the flashbacks don't seem to have any relevance to the story whatsoever. We see Adam as a child, possibly meeting Juliette for the first time, but nothing is ever done with them. There's no callback, no revelation from them, no reference made to them in the present. Why, then, did we need them at all? Adam doesn't even play much of an active role in the story, so neither the characters, nor the audience gained anything from knowing those snippets. I just don't understand.
Overall, I enjoyed this book much more while reading it than I did analyzing it. As a continuation it works well to progress the characters and the storyline, but it fails to deliver a satisfying conclusion to many of the threads the series has generated, particularly in the last couple books. If it were truly just a continuation (instead of "the explosive finale"), I might not be as harsh in my critique, but having spent the last eight years (wow!) with these books, to have it end so abruptly and with so many loose ends introduced and just dropped... But I've already droned on about that long enough.
The series is great for romance, both complex and sappy, and it has a unique look at mental health. The characters are and will always be some of my favorites for their wit, loyalty, and kindness. The super powers and rebellion as a whole are interesting flavors, but when it comes down to it, they aren't the focus. If for some reason, Mafi did choose to continue the series, I would pick it up in a heartbeat. As it is, it was a fun ride while it lasted.
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