| “ | I only know now that the scientists are wrong. The world is flat. I know because I was tossed right off the edge and I've been trying to hold on for 17 years. I've been trying to climb back up for 17 years but it's nearly impossible to beat gravity when no one is willing to give you a hand. | ” |
–Juliette, Shatter Me | ||
Juliette Ferrars, also known by her birth name of Ella Sommers, is the main protagonist and a narrator of the Shatter Me Series. She has a lethal touch and was locked up in an Asylum for over 264 days.
Biography
Juliette, originally named as Ella Sommers, was born to Evie and Maximillian Sommers. Her sister Emmaline was discovered to be the first Unnatural, and her parents gave up both of their daughters to the Reestablishment for scientific research for those who were Unnatural were key in the Reestablishment's plans. She stayed at a facility for one month until her memory was erased was sent to her adoptive parents Eric and Evelyn Ferrars, who were childless and informed to never tell Juliette she was adopted, from the age of five to fourteen. In Destroy Me, it has been revealed that Warner discovered in Juliette's notebook that her father locked her in her room every night and her mother would scream at her for being the abomination she was forced to raise. She also wrote in her journal that on her 6th birthday, her mother put her hand in a fire once just to see if it was a regular hand and if it would burn. When she was fourteen, she accidentally killed a little boy in a grocery store by her lethal touch when in actuality, she was helping him when he tripped and fell because he was chained with a collar by his mother. People believed that she choked the little boy to death and that she claims innocence by her touch. They have locked Juliette away since then.
Juliette, in the first installment, starts out at an insane asylum that had been her home for 264 days. She learns she will get a cellmate. She is immediately intrigued by his beauty and personality. He steals her bed and blankets that night, and the next morning he tries to grab the breakfast tray, but it's too hot, and he shoves it away instinctively. They then leave to take a shower, and her cellmate returns the stolen blankets and her mattress. He then reveals his name to her, which is Adam, and she reveals hers. The next day, Adam informs her of all the terror the Resistance has imposed upon their people, and Juliette is horrified. He tries to touch her, but Juliette refuses to let him, worrying he will die from her lethal skin. Soon later, she recognizes Adam as a classmate from when she was a child, but she keeps the information to herself.
The next morning, Reestablishment soldiers appear in the doorway of their cell, and physically harm both Adam and Juliette, forcing her out.
After two days of unconsciousness, she finally awakes and sees Adam with a gun, realizing his actual role as a soldier as well. She is then taken to a young man with blond hair and emerald green eyes, and she describes him as handsome. She reads his name, which is Warner, on his lapel. Warner tells her that he wishes to use her deadly touch as a weapon for the Reestablishment. She initially refuses, but is forced to listen to him or else she would be killed. He assigns Adam as her guard to ensure she doesn't cause havoc.
They travel outside, and she is amazed by the outside world, despite the fact that it is bleak and barren. They enter a tank, and eventually come across Warner's headquarters. She is commanded to dress nice for him for dinner, but out of defiance, she refuses, and enters the dining hall donned in her dirty, rags from the asylum. Warner is amused until she also refuses to eat any of the food provided as well, so he takes out his gun and shoots a platter of food, and finally Juliette obeys.
After the dinner, Warner escorts her to her room, and Juliette questions him of his first name, but he says he will only tell her if she touches him, and she declines in disgust. He then forces a soldier named Jenkins to touch her instead, and she tries to run away, but is horrified as her skin lands on his. She pulls away before Jenkins is killed and passes out.
Upon awakening, she finds herself in Warner's bed, and later notices that the soldiers are all fearful of her. Warner assures her he was only trying to protect her, but she doesn't believe him.
Juliette sees Adam wincing as he enters her room, and finds out that every time she defies Warner, he is whipped. Juliette, terrified for his well-being, decides to dress pretty for Warner.
When she is with Warner, she makes an offhand comment about how horrible it would have been for his mother to raise him, and it catches him off-guard, leaving the rest of the trip in silence. He brings her to his soldiers, and brings one forth, accusing him of thievery, and shoots him. When they are out of the soldiers' view, Juliette expresses her repulsion by his actions.
That night, she wakes up to nightmares, and ends up sleeping next to Adam. They try to talk, but due to the cameras in her bedroom, they go to the bathroom, turning the shower on in hopes that no one would hear them. It is here that Adam reveals his ability to touch her. He promises to get her away from Warner.
Later on, Juliette orders that Warner strip her room of any cameras, and even says she would die for her privacy. In response, he only congratulates her in her confidence to make a stand. He makes a deal. A touch in exchange for the removal of the cameras. Warner is almost successful, but then he tells her that Adam knew all along that they went to the same school together, so at the last minute, Juliette runs away. She and Adam were just about to kiss until the loudspeakers turned on.
Then, Juliette hears arguing from outside her room. She listens to Adam quarrel with a fellow soldier, Kenji Kishimoto, who wants to see her as if she is a sort of zoo animal.
Juliette is told to dress into very skimpy clothing for a test Warner prepared her for. Uncomfortable in the fact that the clothes offer almost no protection, she is placed into a room she nicknames the "torture chamber". She is forced to save a small toddler, who is threatened by spikes protruding from the ground, but it is difficult considering Juliette has no gloves to protect the boy from her skin. The boy cries at her touch, and in fury, Juliette smashes through the concrete wall, warning Warner that she will kill him the next time she is made to touch another human being.
Adam finds Juliette in the shower of her bathroom sobbing. He promises to protect her, and they kiss passionately. The intercom announces a CODE SEVEN suddenly. Warner dismisses Adam, and pushes Juliette against a wall, ripping her dress to form a slit. He reaches into her dress pocket to reveal her journal. Adam comes back with a gun aimed at Warner and disarms him. Warner tries to convince her to stay, but miserably fails as he is bound up by Adam. Right before Juliette escapes, Warner brushes her leg.
When they arrive to Adam's house, she meets James, his younger brother, and they spend the night at his home. The next day, Kenji appears at Adam's front door, shot and wounded. He is angered, knowing that Kenji led Warner right to them, even if by accident, but fixes up his wound anyway. After James comes back from school, Warner's soldiers have discovered them already. James is left in Kenji's care as Juliette and Adam run, but Adam is shot and dragged away.
Now Juliette is left all alone by Warner, who comments that he can touch her. He backs her up into a corner, confessing his attraction to her. Juliette plays along, kissing him, because she sees a gun in his jacket pocket. When she gets close enough, she shoots him, and runs away to find Adam, who is strung up in a building. She gets through the doors by punching it, fueled by her rush of emotions. After retrieving Adam, she reunites with Kenji and James. Kenji takes them to a place called Omega Point, a place for those who with special abilities.
Juliette meets the director, Castle, who explains everything about abilities. Juliette sees Adam, and rushes to hug him, revealing to Castle that he can touch her. Kenji reveals his own gift of invisibility to her. Juliette ends the first book with a surge of confidence in destroying Warner.Characteristics
Personality
Juliette starts off the series as a scared, self-loathing girl, having been abused, unloved, and made to feel like a monster her entire life. During her time spent in isolation, she develops compulsions to count things and write the same words over and over, only to cross them out. After she's freed, her depression, anxiety, and compulsive behaviors persist. She struggles to trust others and has difficulty making friends, though she has a deep sense of loyalty to the few people she's close to.
When first brought to the military base at Sector 45, Juliette is repulsed by the extravagant living conditions, which she sees as theft from civilians living in poverty. She reveals a rebellious streak when she refuses the expensive clothes and hot meals provided for her, proving that she's socially conscious and unwilling to sacrifice her ethics for comfort and luxury.
Juliette experiences affection and intimacy for the first time when Adam declares his love for her. Though their eventual breakup was difficult, Juliette grows more confident and independent as a result, realizing that Adam's protectiveness was keeping her from fulfilling her potential. Though the psychological damage she's sustained doesn't go away overnight, Juliette starts to overcome her trauma and becomes more brave, ambitious, and determined to take down the Reestablishment, choosing to continue fighting despite devastating setbacks.
Though her experiences could easily have made her bitter and hateful, it's a testament to her endurance that Juliette always maintains her kind and generous nature. She is compassionate, humble, understanding, and always willing to help people in need. Seeing someone vulnerable awakens a protective instinct in her. She tries to help a little boy in a grocery store who's being berated by his mother, because the situation reminds her of her own mother's cruel treatment of her. Similarly, her perception of Warner changes when she realizes he's been abused by his father.
She is also aware of her flaws, and sometimes too aware. Her confidence wavers in Restore Me, as she knows she is not well-versed in political science in comparison to the other children of the Supreme Commanders. From this stems insecurity and self-doubt, but by the end of the book, she begins to feel indifferent to people's opinions.
Appearance
Juliette is said to be hauntingly beautiful, a fact that even Supreme Commander Anderson does not deny. She has blue-green eyes and long brown hair that falls to her waist. In Restore Me, Juliette cuts her hair short, almost as short as Warner's haircut in the beginning of the book. It defines her cheekbones much more, and makes her look mature and authoritative from Warner's view.
Special Abilities
Lethal Touch: Juliette has the ability to kill someone with her touch. Her skin acts as a defense mechanism and "sucks" the life out of someone. She receives a rush of energy as she does this. Kenji thinks of her as a venus fly trap because she attracts her prey with her striking looks and then digests their energy with a simple touch. She developed this power after being adopted by Evelyn and Eric Ferrars.
Super Strength: Juliette also has the power to destroy inorganic material through her superhuman touch. She has punched through concrete and steel and she can cause earthquakes by punching the ground. Juliette demonstrates the power to also crumble objects--like metal--just by squeezing it in her hands. Later in the series, she learns to project her power such that she can crush objects and even move them simply by moving her hands without touching them.
Invulnerability: Juliette is immune to physical harm (e.g. bullets) because of the nature of her power: it is derived from her very being, her bones, her blood, her skin. As long as she is in a state of electrum, her powers "on", she is invulnerable to physical harm.
Relationships
Adam Kent
- Main article: Adam and Juliette
Aaron Warner
- Main article: Juliette and Warner
Kenji Kishimoto
Kenji and Juliette are very close friends, if not best friends. Multiple times, Kenji has comforted her with her "boy problems" or even problems in general. Although Kenji is energetic and a goofball, he can be serious when needed. Even when Juliette doubted everyone in Restore Me, he was the only one she trusted. He has provided relationship advice for her, and even though the two joke about liking each other, their relationship is strictly platonic.
Gallery
- Fan arts by © chrysalisgrey
- Fan arts by others
Trivia
- Juliette's birthday is on the 18th of May
- Juliette is claustrophobic