Just Finished 'Destroy Me' by Tahereh Mafi - Review

--Contains spoilers for those who haven't read Shatter me--
In Shatter Me, Juliette is taken from the asylum in which she has spent over a year in isolation, only to be taken to a 'government' facility and treated as a captive to be used as a weapon for the Reesablishment. The Reestablishment is a group that controls what is left of America in this dystopian world where food is scarce and the environment is in disrepair.

Warner, the leader of the facility that Juliette is being held at, takes an interest in Juliette and tries to get her to join him on his mission. Juliette continuously refuses to be a weapon used to torture people. When Adam, one of Warner's soldiers, helps Juliette escape, they run to Adam's house in an abandoned area past town. Warner and his men find them and they escape again, leaving both Adam and Warner wounded. Adam and Juliette make it to a 'safe house', where Adam gets patched up and Juliette finds out that she is not the only one with 'powers'.
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This novella directly follows 'Shatter Me', and instead of being in Juliette's voice, this is from Warner's point of view. Readers really get a better insight of 'the bad guy', and are introduced to a new bad guy, Warner's father. This book honestly changed my opinion of Warner for the better, to the point where I wouldn't mind if he and Juliette ended up together. In fact, I may or may not ship it.

The novella begins from the point where Warner is shot, and follows him through his struggle to put on a brave face and find Juliette, while proving to his men that he is strong enough to control them.

I really enjoyed getting into Warner's mind, it was refreshing to see that he's not completely bad. Readers will finally understand his 'obsession' with Juliette, and realize that there's more to him than meets the eye.

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This novella isn't completely necessary to read if you want to read the second book, but it definitely adds some additional depth and perspective, and will help you understand Warner better. Personally, I'm really glad that I read it, because it gives me hope that people can change. Maybe I'm just a dreamer. Maybe this author isn't a complete jerk-face.
We'll see.