Tahereh Mafi Reveals How Writing ‘Shatter Me’ ‘Changed My Whole Life’ and Shares Movie Updates (Exclusive)
On the day of her new release, ‘Escape Me,’ the bestselling author talks about the movie and looks back at the popular series readers can’t get enough of
Key Takeaways
- Tahereh Mafi shares 'Shatter Me' movie updates and other adaptations she’s excited to watch.
- The betselling author reflects on how 'Shatter Me' changed her life.
- Mafi celebrates the release of 'Escape Me,' the third in her second 'Shatter Me' series.
When Tahereh Mafi wrote Shatter Me 15 years ago, she never expected it to become an international sensation. But that’s exactly what happened, and now the series as a whole has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and is being made into a movie at Warner Brothers studios. Woman’s World recently caught up with Mafi to discuss that adaptation, as well as others she is looking forward to. To learn more, keep scrolling!
Tahereh Mafi discusses the ‘Shatter Me’ legacy
Shatter Me was first published in 2011. It was Mafi’s first novel and the plot followed Juliette Ferrars, a young woman whose touch can kill. Because of that, she’s been locked away at the request of The Reestablishment, but when the one person who’s ever cared about her shows up, Juliette must decide what really matters to her and if her deadly power can actually be used for good instead of evil.
Since the publication of that book, Mafi has written six other books in the Shatter Me series. She also released a spinoff series entitled Shatter Me: Series Two.
“I will never forget what it was like to write Shatter Me because it changed my whole life. This is such an uncertain career, and you can never know whether or not these books will last or if the book that you’re writing in the privacy of some corner of your room will ever reach anyone. And the fact that these books are still alive and still on shelves continues to blow my mind,” the author tells Woman’s World. “I try to remind myself how extraordinary it is that I still get to do this.”
“I’m so grateful to still have a job,” Mafi jokes, before sharing how she never thought becoming an author was even a possibility for her. “I’m the child of immigrants, and we were given very specific criteria: You could become a lawyer, a doctor or an engineer. After I graduated from college, I took a break to apply to PhD programs, but I missed my books. I missed reading, so I went back to the bookstore. And that was when young adult fiction was having this big resurgence, and I started reading young adult novels because I never had them growing up. I realized I’d forgotten what it was like to read for fun. I realized I’d lost connection with the types of stories that had encouraged me to become a reader to begin with, and I realized then that I wanted to be part of the industry that was responsible for getting young people to read.”
Tahereh Mafi reveals where the ‘Shatter Me’ world is going next
Today, Mafi will release the third book in the Shatter Me: Series Two, entitled Escape Me. It’s the story of James Anderson and Rosabelle Wolff, two opposites who need each other’s special skill sets to survive in their new post-Reestablishment world.
“I’m so deep into the second Shatter Me series and the characters there are not necessarily familiar to the fandom, and I find it really interesting,” the author says. “I love taking characters on journeys in any of the books that I write. I love when, at the end of the book or at the end of the series, the characters are so different from who you thought they were or who you thought they were going to be at the beginning of that series. So I always knew I wanted to take all of these characters on a journey, but you never know if people will follow you on that journey. I’m thrilled that people came along for the ride.”
Tahereh Mafi spills on the ‘Shatter Me’ movie
Earlier this year it was announced that Shatter Me was going to be made into a movie at Warner Brothers. It will be Mafi’s first book-to-screen adaptation and she says everyone involved is being very “respectful of the source material.”
“I’m excited for that opportunity. I think Warner Brothers has been really great, really understanding,” she adds. “So far, it’s been a very positive experience. We had a lot of lengthy discussions about the fandom and the characters and the storyline, all of that. So I’m very hopeful we’ll be able to create something that feels really cool and meaningful.”
As for who she wants to see in the cast, Mafi made it clear that she “doesn’t fan cast” but she does want “to see actors who are maybe new. I also want people who obviously look right for the role, but also feel right for the role.”
Tahereh Mafi on other book-to-screen adaptations she’s excited for
Along with the Shatter Me film, Mafi said she’s looking forward to watching The Love Hypothesis movie, which is based on Ali Hazelwood’s bestselling book of the same name and released on Amazon Prime Video earlier this month.
“I’m really excited to see that. That looks really promising,” she says.
As for others, Mafi revealed that she doesn’t “watch a lot of TV, and I haven’t been to the movies in a long time. It’s not because I don’t want to, I would love to, I just don’t have a lot of free time because I have to read. It’s part of my job.”
“I’d love to see The Odyssey. I still haven’t seen it. I never saw Wuthering Heights or anything. I think the last movie I saw in theaters was Barbie,” she adds.
You can pick up a copy of Escape Me by Tahereh Mafi now wherever books are sold.
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