Tahereh Mafi’s triumphant return to the world of Shatter Me in Watch Me delivers a potent mix of political intrigue, heart-wrenching character development, and the electric tension readers have come to expect from her work. Set a decade after the events of the original series, this first installment in “The New Republic” subseries crafts a tale of two souls caught in a web of surveillance, deception, and unexpected connection. While Mafi’s signature emotional intensity shines brilliantly throughout, the novel occasionally stumbles under the weight of its complex political machinations.
The Chessboard and Its Pieces
Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi unfolds through the alternating perspectives of two captivating protagonists:
James Anderson – The younger half-brother of the infamous Aaron Warner Anderson is determined to step out of his brother’s shadow. Impulsive, charming, and underestimated by his family, James infiltrates Ark Island (the last stronghold of The Reestablishment) on an unauthorized solo mission, believing he can gather intelligence that would earn him respect.
Rosabelle Wolff – A trained assassin coerced into obedience by The Reestablishment’s threats against her ill sister Clara. Her outward coldness masks a complex interior life shaped by years of trauma, starvation, and the desperate need to protect the only person she loves.
The novel opens with Rosabelle slitting James’s throat—yet this gruesome introduction evolves into one of the most compelling slow-burn romances I’ve encountered in recent dystopian fiction. Their dance of attraction, mistrust, and gradual understanding forms the emotional core of the narrative, even as larger political forces manipulate them from all sides.
World-Building: A Tale of Two Societies
Mafi demonstrates impressive skill in constructing two contrasting worlds:
Ark Island emerges as a chilling surveillance state where:
Citizens are monitored through “the Nexus,” a neural network directly connecting minds
Resources are weaponized as control mechanisms
Blind loyalty is rewarded while questioning is punished
Science has evolved in disturbing directions, particularly through the AI entity “Klaus”
The New Republic, meanwhile, represents the hard-won freedom after revolution:
A society struggling to rebuild after overthrowing The Reestablishment
Led by familiar faces from the original series (Warner, Juliette, Kenji)
Flawed but fundamentally more humane
Still vulnerable to infiltration and subterfuge
The contrast between these worlds creates a fascinating backdrop for exploring questions of freedom, security, and the human cost of both.
Emotional Intelligence in a Surveillance State
What elevates Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi beyond standard dystopian fare is Mafi’s nuanced exploration of emotional survival under oppression. Rosabelle’s internal mantra—”I’ve been dead inside for years”—reveals the psychological armor required to endure in a system designed to break you. Her ability to mentally disconnect becomes both her greatest strength and vulnerability.
James, meanwhile, represents the privilege of emotional freedom. His charismatic exterior masks deeper trauma, but he’s never had to suppress his humanity to survive. Their collision creates a fascinating study in what happens when someone who’s never had to hide meets someone who’s never been allowed to reveal.
The novel’s title takes on multiple meanings as the story progresses:
The literal surveillance state watching citizens
The protagonists watching each other for signs of treachery or truth
The reader witnessing characters’ true selves emerge when no one else is looking
The Prose: Beautiful Brutality
Mafi’s prose remains one of her greatest strengths. Her writing flows between brutally efficient descriptions of violence and lingering, almost poetic explorations of emotional states. Consider this passage from Rosabelle’s perspective:
“I’ve been craving this kind of closeness with him for so long I can’t tell the difference between pleasure and fear. My skin is hot, my head is hot. I can’t catch my breath.”
This lyrical quality enhances the emotional impact without ever feeling overwrought. Particularly effective are the contrasting voices Mafi creates—James’s narrative bubbles with humor and self-awareness, while Rosabelle’s perspective carries a detached, almost clinical quality that gradually fractures as her walls come down.
Connection to the Original Series
For fans of the original Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi, Watch Me offers both nostalgic connections and fresh territory:
Familiar faces – Warner, Juliette, Kenji, and others appear in supporting roles, their characters matured by a decade of leadership
The world expanded – We see how the revolution’s aftermath shaped society
Thematic continuation – The exploration of power, control, and humanity’s resilience continues
Generational perspective – The focus shifts to characters who were children during the original conflicts
Impressively, the novel functions well for new readers while rewarding longtime fans with deeper context and meaningful callbacks.
Where the Watch Falters
Despite its strengths, Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi isn’t without flaws:
Pacing issues occasionally surface, particularly in the middle section where Rosabelle’s rehabilitation at the facility stretches longer than needed. Some readers may find themselves impatient during these chapters.
The antagonistic force represented by Klaus (the AI entity) sometimes feels too abstractly menacing rather than concretely threatening, though this may be intentional setup for future installments.
Some character decisions strain credibility, particularly James’s rapid emotional attachment to Rosabelle despite her attempting to kill him multiple times. While their chemistry is undeniable, the timeline of his trust feels accelerated for plot convenience.
The rehabilitation facility subplot, while providing crucial character development, occasionally verges on cliché territory with its group therapy sessions and stereotypical secondary characters.
Thematic Depth
What ultimately elevates Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi is its thematic richness. Mafi explores:
The Nature of Control
Physical control through starvation and imprisonment
Psychological control through surveillance and isolation
Emotional control through threats to loved ones
Technological control through neural networks and AI
Identity Formation Under Oppression
Rosabelle’s disconnection from herself as survival mechanism
James’s struggle to define himself outside his brother’s shadow
The question of who we truly are when no one is watching
The Ethics of Resistance
When violence becomes necessary
The moral compromises required to survive
The human cost of both compliance and rebellion
These explorations give the novel intellectual weight beyond its romantic and action elements.
Comparison to Contemporary Dystopian Fiction
Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi stands apart from many dystopian novels in its psychological depth and refusal to offer easy moral certainties. While books like Suzanne Collins’ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Marie Lu’s Skyhunter similarly explore authoritarian regimes, Mafi’s approach feels more intimate, focusing on the personal devastation of living under such systems rather than just their political machinations.
The novel’s closest spiritual siblings might be Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series and Veronica Roth’s Divergent books, which similarly balance political intrigue with interpersonal relationships. However, Mafi’s prose carries a distinctive emotional intensity that remains uniquely her own.
Final Assessment: A Promising New Chapter
Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi successfully opens a new chapter in the Shatter Me universe while maintaining the emotional core that made the original series so beloved. It rewards longtime fans while welcoming newcomers to its complex world of power, resistance, and unexpected connection.
The novel’s greatest achievement is creating two protagonists whose psychological depth makes even their most questionable choices understandable. In Rosabelle particularly, Mafi has crafted one of her most compelling characters—a woman whose exterior coldness masks a lifetime of impossible choices and fierce protection of what little she has left to love.
While the pacing occasionally falters and some plot elements strain credibility, these flaws are overshadowed by the book’s emotional resonance and thematic richness. The cliffhanger ending—with Rosabelle imprisoned in The New Republic, still possessing the knowledge of The Reestablishment’s devastating plans—perfectly sets up future installments while leaving readers emotionally invested in the characters’ fates.
For anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction with emotional depth, complex political intrigue, and a romance that develops against impossible odds, Watch Me proves a worthy addition to both Mafi’s bibliography and the dystopian genre as a whole.
For Fans Of:
The original Shatter Me series
Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series
Marie Lu’s Legend and Skyhunter series
Veronica Roth’s Divergent series
Enemies-to-lovers romances with high stakes
With its compelling blend of political intrigue, psychological depth, and forbidden attraction, Watch Me reminds us why Tahereh Mafi remains one of the most distinctive voices in young adult dystopian fiction.