Ignite Me

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ignite Me is the final installment in Tahereh Mafi's dystopian trilogy. In this finale, Juliette has had a revelation and is ready to take down the Establishment and its ruthless leader. Once enemy, now tentative ally Warner is by her side and just as ready to see the world take on a new beginning. But battles, with enemies and friends alike, must be fought and won before victory can be declared.

This book can best be described as a rush. It could also be described as incredible, jaw-dropping, heart-racing, and genius.

Before I go into details about this book, I'd like to applaud Tahereh Mafi for her incredible talent, not only at writing in general, but for her construction of one of the best executed story arcs I've ever witnessed. None of the books in this series are similar to one another, and they don't fall into the common expectations of a trilogy arc. Each installment was a different and exciting chapter into the story of these characters and this world. Each responded to the other in the best possible way, and I don't know what sort of effort and talent it took to pull it off, but I know that I certainly don't have it.

But on to the book itself. We went into this knowing a few things that led us to believe this was not like its predecessors. There would be no strikethroughs in the text, which meant that we were in for a completely changed Juliette. I can honestly say there was no point in the story where I felt frustrated with her. She's finally stepped up to the plate and embraced herself, and figured out what it is she wants out of life. What's more, she's chomping at the bit to go after it.

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of depth we got from Kenji. In the past, he's been the wisecracking smartass who knew when to tell Juliette to quit her crying and start doing something about it. Here, however, we got to see his vulnerable side, and we also got a lot more development in he and Juliette's friendship. He doesn't always agree with her, and doesn't hide his emotions from her when he's upset, but he makes it clear that she can come to him and tell him anything, and that's incredibly refreshing.

I was...surprised by the way I found myself viewing Adam in this story. He above all the other characters has gone through the most change in my eyes, at least in how I viewed him throughout the novels. There are definitely moments in this book where I wanted to tear him a new one and smack him across the mouth, but we also get a lot of observation and perspective from Juliette, and I was able to make myself see why he was doing certain things. I like where the book left him.

By far the best part of this book, and the greatest amount of development, was with Warner. Oh, this boy. We've seen in Unravel Me that he's willing to be vulnerable with Juliette, but at the beginning of Ignite Me he's still incredibly guarded, even around her. And while he was not necessarily changed, as he feared, he finally broke down the walls that closed him off from everybody else, though he may not have enjoyed doing so at the time. I won't spoil things for you, but let it be said that I love Warner and I love seeing him develop as a person.

Those going into this book for the dystopian aspect won't be disappointed, but it should be said that the dystopian setting of the book is not the main plot. This story, and the series as a whole, is about Juliette and her journey from the mentally damaged, terrified girl in Shatter Me, to the fierce, confident, strong woman we leave in Ignite Me. What's going on with Sector 45 is not as highly developed as, say, The Hunger Games or the Divergent trilogy, but those are stories about a dystopian world and how it's changed by the people in it. The Shatter Me series is the story of a girl in the middle of a dystopian world, and how she changes for the better within it.

The last five or so chapters rocketed by, and were largely what made this book feel like such a rush. You read through with Juliette's adrenaline in your viens, and it ends feeling like there could be more, but still ending in the best place for the story itself. I absolutely cannot wait to see what Tahereh Mafi has in store for her readers next, knowing that I'll devour it just as readily.

I also might even be meeting Tahereh, and a few other authors, next week! If I can swing it,  I'll be attending the Dark Days tour stop in Tennessee. Let's hope I don't pass out from being too starstruck.

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