The Shatter Me books by Tahereh Mafi is one of my favorite YA Fantasy book series. For new readers to the series a quick glance at all the books published might leave you scratching your head. In fact, you’re probably wondering: “What is the proper Shatter Me series order?”
The Shatter Me series order is pretty straightforward. The only way to really read the books is in publication order.
The series contains six novels and five novellas. Tahereh Mafi wrote each of them in the order that you should read them, novellas and all.
That means less guesswork for you.
Hurray!
Before we take a look at the Shatter Me series order, let’s take a deeper dive into what Shatter Me is about for those who don’t already know.
What is the Shatter Me Series?
In full disclosure, it’s been a really long time since I read the the first batch of Shatter Me books.
For those unaware, Mafi wrote the first three books and then there was a very large gap before she wrote Books 4-6.
Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series has sold more than a million books. It’s a YA dystopian series centering around a girl named Juliette. Juliette has a very unique power in that anyone she touches dies.
As you can imagine this makes romance very difficult, and is a point of tension within the story. Juliette also deals with a lot of emotional baggage.
One side effect of this is that throughout the book there are crossed out lines, as if Juliette is writing in a journal and crosses out things she initially wrote, but changed her mind.
A lot of readers find this rather annoying, but you get used to it as you go along. It’s much easier for me to deal with than when an entire book is written in a different dialect, like Goddess in the Machine.
Who is Tahereh Mafi?
Tahereh Mafi is a best-selling YA Fantasy author best known for the Shatter Me series. However, she’s also written other books like This Woven Kingdom and A Very Large Expanse of Sea. The latter was named one of the best YA books of all time by Time Magazine.
Shatter Me was Mafi’s debut novel and was published when she was only 23 years old. The original trilogy went on to be translated into more than 30 languages and sell more than a million copies.
She currently resides in Southern California with her husband and fellow author, Ransom Riggs.
#1 Complete Shatter Me Series Order
We’ll just jump right into it.
Below you’ll find the best way to read the Shatter Me series in order. You should not read the Shatter Me series in any order.
The best way to experience this series is to follow the publication order. This will allow you to follow Juliette’s character development chronologically and watch the momentum build from book-to-book.
1. Shatter Me (2011)
1.5 Destroy Me (Novella) (2012)
2. Unravel Me (2013)
2.5 Fracture Me (Novella) (2013)
3. Ignite Me (2014)
4. Restore Me (2018)
4.5 Shadow Me (Novella) (2019)
5. Defy Me (2019)
5.5 Reveal Me (Novella) (2019)
6. Imagine Me (2020)
6.5 Believe Me (Novella) (2021)
Can I skip the novellas?
The short answer is Yes! You can skip the novellas. They aren’t necessary at all to understand the main story.
What the novellas do is provide extra insight into the world of Shatter Me. They’re often from a different POV. For instance, Destroy Me, the first novella, is from Warner’s POV. He is the villain of the first novel.
This allows you to see what Warner is thinking since Shatter Me is told from Juliette’s point of view. It also serves as an interlude between novels since the events of Destroy Me take place after Shatter Me but before Unravel Me.
But nothing learned within the novellas is crucial to the plot of the main series. They’ll only provide extra details that make the novels more impactful.
For that same reason, you also don’t have to read all the novellas either. The novellas are just extra content. They serve as bridges from between books with supplemental plot from a specific character’s point of view, so you can cherry pick which character interests you the most.
Rest assured, if you choose to skip them you won’t be missing out on anything.
Below is a Shatter Me reading order for those of you, like me, who don’t really read novellas.
#2 Shatter Me Series Order – Books Only
If you’re not interested in the interlude novellas, this may be the right Shatter Me series order for you. The series has two main arcs based on when Mafi published the books, so that stopping point is how we’ve divided the books for this reading order.
1. Shatter Me (2011)
2. Unravel Me (2013)
3. Ignite Me (2014)
This ends the original Shatter Me trilogy, but Mafi wrote three more novels 4 years after the completion of the first trilogy.
4. Restore Me (2018)
5. Defy Me (2019)
6. Imagine Me (2020)
What About Unite Me and Find Me?
If you’ve done any bit of searching for the Shatter Me books on Amazon you might have come across the titles Unite Me and Find Me.
Unite Me contains the two novellas Destroy Me and Fracture Me (listed separately in the full Shatter Me series order above). So if you purchase those separately, you don’t need Unite Me. Or you can purchase Unite Me instead of purchasing them separately.
The same can be said of Find Me. It contains both Shadow Me and Reveal Me (also listed separately above), the two later novellas.
Is Shatter Me Spicy?
The Shatter Me series is a YA Fantasy Romance. So let’s dissect that. First, Romance is an important aspect of the plot and it does contain romantic elements. But it’s also YA, or Young Adult, meaning that it’s meant for ages 13 to 17.
As such, the romance in Shatter Me is all very PG-13. There is no smut or explicitly sexual content.
We would call Shatter Me‘s romance Fade to Black. That means anything spicy occurs off the page and is left to the imagination.
Shatter Me Series Books in Order
Now let’s take a look at each book in Shatter Me series individually and tell you what they’re all about. This will help you determine whether you want to read the novellas or not.
1. Shatter Me
The last time Juliette touched someone she was locked up for murder. It doesn’t matter to The Reestablishment that it was an accident. They don’t understand her power, but as the world crumbles around them, they don’t care so long as she can’t hurt anyone else.
The death toll from disease and famine continues to climb though, and it brings with it rumors of rebellion and war. Suddenly, The Reestablishment has cause to view Juliette in a different light. Now, she has a choice to be a weapon or be a warrior.
1.5 Destroy Me
Juliette managed to escape The Reestablishment by seducing Warner and leaving him with a near-fatal bullet wound. This novella from his perspective reveals more about his feelings for Juliette.
Warner is recovering at the base and doing everything he can to suppress rumors of a rebellion and keep his soldiers in line. He is determined to find Juliette and get rid of the traitors who helped her escape. But then his father arrives and it becomes apparent that he has very different plans for Juliette that Warner can’t stand back and let happen.
2. Unravel Me
Juliette thought she would be able to kill Warner with a single touch, but his apparent immunity to her powers has shaken her. Thankfully, her and Adam were able to escape from Warner and joined a group of rebels. Here Juliette’s powers don’t make her an outlier when many of the rebels have powers too.
With her new allies, Juliette finally has a chance to oppose The Reestablishment and fix her world. The rebels might also hold the answers to why Adam and Warner are both immune to her deadly touch.
2.5 Fracture Me
The next novella takes place as Omega Point is preparing to oppose The Reestablishment forces on Sector 45 with a brutal assault. It is from Adam’s perspective.
Adam can’t focus on the upcoming battle. He is preoccupied by thoughts of his recent break-up with Juliette, concerned for his brother’s safety, and scared for his best friend’s life. But battle waits for no one, and just as Adam begins to doubt if he can fight, it’s time for war.
Their forces seem to be doing well on the battlefield, but The Reestablishment won’t allow for a rebellion. Even if that means killing everyone Adam cares about.
3. Ignite Me
Omega Point has been destroyed. In the wake of its destruction Juliette doesn’t know if any of her friends, the rebels, are still alive. The only person she can rely on is the one person she thought she would never trust: Warner.
But the handsome commander of Sector 45 saved her life. He might be the only way she can take down The Reestablishment. Warner promises to help her master her powers to save their world, but he won’t stop there.
4. Restore Me
She thought she had won. Juliette became the Supreme Commander, took control of Sector 45, and she had Warner by her side. But her deadly powers are still at the tips of her fingers and now the whole world rests in the palm of her hand.
So, who will she become when tragedy strikes? Will Juliette master control over her power?
4.5 Shadow Me
This novella is from Kenji’s perspective during the events of Restore Me and full of his signature sass.
He is trying to balance his friendship with Juliette alongside his duties as a leader of the resistance movement against The Reestablishment. Meanwhile, Juliette is reeling from Warner’s betrayal when an unexpected person from Omega Point’s past reappears.
5. Defy Me
Juliette’s reign as the Supreme Commander has been a disaster. More than anything she wants to rely on Warner for support and guidance when children of other world leaders show up on her doorstep, but he has been keeping secrets from her that will change everything.
There has always been a darkness lurking in Juliette and with her devastation at these revelations, it threatens to consume her. Then an explosive encounter takes place with unexpected visitors, which threatens the tenuous control she maintains.
5.5 Reveal Me
This is the fourth companion novella to the Shatter Me series before the epic conclusion in the last full-length novel. As with the previous novella it is from Kenji’s perspective and reveals more depth to his character than what can be shown in the novels.
6. Imagine Me
Juliette Ferrars or Ella Sommers? Which one is the truth and which one is the lie?
Matters have only become more complicated as Ella learns who Juliette is and about her creation. She is struggling to understand the past while the future looks more uncertain than ever. The lines between Ella and Juliette, and between right and wrong, are blurring.
Old enemies encroach and it becomes clear that her destiny may not be in her own hands. The day of reckoning is coming, but she may not get to choose what side she will fight on.
6.5 Believe Me
The fifth and final novella in the Shatter Me series is a sequel to the explosive conclusion of the final novel. Life in the aftermath of The Reestablishment’s destruction is not easy. Juliette and Warner are working with their friends at the Sanctuary to stabilize the world with limited resources.
Warner proposed to Juliette two weeks ago and wants nothing more than to marry her, but there is not time for a wedding amidst the chaos surrounding them. Juliette is also distracted by everything else they need to do. Their future together finally seems to be within reach, but will Warner and Juliette ever be happily together?
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11 thoughts on “Shatter Me Series Order | How to Read Tahereh Mafi’s Books”
can i read shatter me series by not reading the novellas.
Sure, you can ignore the novellas and still get the full experience. The novellas just provide extra insight into events and characters, but you won’t miss anything by not reading them.
Thanks for the information ! I was worried about missing something
Since Unite me is destroy me and fracture me put together when do I read it, after book 1 or 2?
I would read Destroy Me after Book 1 (Shatter Me) and Fracture Me after Book 2 (Unravel Me)
since unite me and fine me is a merge so how do i read them? when i mean after in what order should i read unite me after shatter me then i read find me after defy me or what please help me 😔☝🏻
But I would recommend reading the novella because it gives you the perspective of other characters. How they feel and analyse things? Destroy me novella change my whole perspective about Warner and I was able to understand the unravel me better. I think novellas are must to connect with the novels more deeply.
The article is awesome! The novel only provides more insight into the events and characters, but you won’t miss anything if you don’t read them.
Thanks for the information! If i want to read the novellas can I just read one of them and not all of them? or if i want to read the novellas do i have to read them all
The novellas are just added info. I believe each one stands on its own. They aren’t like a mini-series in and of themselves, but a way to bridge the gap between novels.
Hi where can I read shatter me book series