Literature

Book Report Form

How to express your opinion about a book.
Teachers don’t like it when you say you “liked the book, because it was nice…”, or when you say something like: “I
hated that book, because it was stupid”. It may all be true, but we like to hear more from you. It may be difficult to pick
out exactly what it was that irritated you, or what kept you reading for hours on end. So here is a list of things that
might be helpful to express your likes or dislikes about the book you have just read:
A. Tick the boxes and/or fill in:
Theme

 Which theme(s) can be found in the book?

Examples of themes: father-son relationship, drug addiction, guilt, betrayal, racial discrimination,
forbidden love, terminal illness, totalitarianism, World War 2, reality TV, immigration, etc.

Main theme: The idea of power

Sub themes: totalitarian government, environment disturbance, powers, romance, insecurities
Time
 When does the novel take place?
They do not name an specific year when the story takes place, but it is clear that it is in the future.

Setting
 Where is the novel set?
The story is set in an part of north America what they call sector 45. Before they named it sector 45 it was described
as southern California, LA.
What is your favourite scene/chapter/part? And why?
 Everything Kenji ever said, because it is just iconic.

The Plot (in 2 sentences)

 Shatter me is a dystopian fiction that tells the story of a 17 year old teenage girl who has an lethal
touch and so never touched anyone. Called being a freak, she finds herself locked up in an asylum
where she is let in complete isolation with the outside world, until The Reestablishment decides that
they want to use her as a weapon.

What actually happened in the book

 Is the book realistic?

Did the author convince you that what he wrote about

o Could never ever have happened. Juliette has the power to kill people with just her
touch and break through a wall. In the world we currently live is this to my knowledge
impossible.
 Did what happen in the book, ever happen to you?

o No
 Do you know about other books or films with the same theme or subject?

o Yes, namely the maze runner had a similar vibe.

 Was this a book that made you stop and think about certain problems/issues?

o Yes, namely, child abuse and the hatred some parents have for their children.
Characters in the book

 Did the characters seem like

o Real people
  Which character did you really like, who did you not like at all?
Also explain WHY you did or didn’t like him/her.

o Like Kenji, because his humour is amazing and he can be super serious one moment
and the next make a stupid sex joke. He is also a super big flirt, but like in a funny
way which I love.

o Dislike Aaron, because he is kind of crazy and has a weird obsession with Juliette.
This makes him even crazier, but I also kinda sympathize with him, because of his
father.
 Which emotions/thoughts did you recognise in the main character?

o How she is afraid of herself and his so scared to hurt others, because she can be
lethal. She has an very soft side, but she cannot show it, because people will take it
to their advantage. She has a strong will power and will not let her be used as an
object.

Structure of the book

 Which structural elements could be found in the book:

o Chapters
o Flashbacks
o Climax
o Closed ending
o First person narrator
o Tension
o Prologue (a part that comes at the beginning of a play, story, or long poem, often
giving information about events that happened before the time when the play, story,
or poem begins)

o Epilogue (a section or speech at the end of a book or play that serves as a comment
on or a conclusion to what has happened)

Language that was used in the book

 The writer used:

o Easy words and short sentences

o A lot of long descriptions
o Funny words and expressions:
“Son of a motherless goat!”

“You're naked?" Kenji is suddenly studying my sheet and not bothering to be subtle about it. I flush despite my
best efforts, flustered, frustrated.

"Blondie said they destroyed my clothes."

"Blondie?" Blond man is offended.”

 Genre
 To which genre does the book belong:

o Science Fiction
o Psychological novel
(a novel that focuses on the complex mental and emotional lives of its
characters and explores the various levels of mental activity)

B. This part is not compulsory but we strongly advise you to add a summary to your literature file! Write
a summary (in English or Dutch) of the story. Or you can download a summary. Please quote the
source.

Shatter Me opens with Juliette Ferrars, a 17-year-old-girl, being locked in a small cell of an asylum 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 for the society, she has been isolated for so long she begins to doubt her sanity. The
totalitarian government that has taken over the country, The Reestablishment, put Juliette in an asylum 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. She is stunned and confused when she realizes that her cellmate is a boy named Adam
and he is of the same age as her. Juliette has a feeling that she had seen him somewhere before by she can’t
remember exactly when and where it happened. 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 asylum, while Adam, seeing that Juliette is cold, gives her his blanket.
One day soldiers storm into the cell and take Juliette away. They take her to Sector 45, one of the areas under
control of The Reestablishment, where she finds out that Adam is a soldier who was sent to spy on her. There 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 the compounds and assigns Adam as her guard.
Although Juliette’s room in the compound is much more comfortable than her cell in the asylum, 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 asylum and deduces that Adam must have secretly brought it for her. Realizing that Adam
truly wants to help, Juliette begins to remember that she and Adam used to be classmates and that he was the only
one who protected her from bullies. Juliette also realizes that Adam is immune to her touch, and eventually the two
secretly start a romantic relationship. 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 a long time ago. They drive to his house where he introduces Juliette to his 10-year-old brother James.
Soon after they arrive at the house, they receive a visitor, a soldier named Kenji, who explains that he ran away
after Warner had tortured him to get information about Adam and his whereabouts. Just as they all decide to flee,
soldiers arrive at the house and Adam, Juliette, James, and Kenji run away, but they don’t 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 and pull him close to be able to reach for a gun in his inner pocket. She shoots
Warner and starts looking for Adam, eventually finding him severely injured. The two steal a car and drive to a safe
hideout 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 man
named Castle, who is a rebel leader, and he explains that they have been looking for her for a long time because of
her gift. Castle also tells Juliette that at Omega Point there are 56 people who have different powers, and they all
use them for a good cause. Because of their healers, Adam is fully recovered from his injuries within a few days.
Juliette also learns that Kenji has been secretly working for the underground for many years now and he joined the
army to keep an eye on Warner and his plans.
At Omega Point Juliette receives a custom-made suit that allows her to touch other people. Wearing the uniform
and surrounded by like-minded people, Juliette regains her confidence and feels ready to join the resistance.

https://www.supersummary.com/shatter-me/summary/

Adapted from Metropool, literatuur voor HAVO/VWO bovenbouw, basisboek, published by Wolters Noordhoff
Groningen, edited by Corrie Joosten, Elout Roeland, first published in 1999. ISBN 90 01 20565 8