Review: SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater

TITLE: Shiver
AUTHOR: Maggie Stiefvater
AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.maggiestiefvater.com
GENRE: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance
PARANORMAL ELEMENT: Werewolves
PUBLISHED: Scholastic (August 1, 2009)
MY RATING: 4

FIND ON: Amazon


SYNOPSIS:


For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

REVIEW:


I had put off and put off reading this book but seriously I shouldn’t have, it is a cool story. But seriously how can anyone have doubts about a book when the author’s website has a mile long list of acknowledgements about it!?

The story, intriguing. The characters, endearing. The narration volley’s back and forth between Grace and Sam. It was interesting and made it more personal. Maggie’s writing is absolutely magical. It made me want to write poetry and songs as I read the novel. I love when books “sound” beautiful. It adds an extra layer of thrill and significance to it all.

Grace is an independent teen with absent parents. She is believably obsessed with the wolves. The story twists and turns around her and every moment is filled with the classic over-feeling teen emotions with an underlying current of wolf sensations. I loved it. But what was weird is the absolute lack of parental presence. The story acknowledged that fact so it wasn’t like it was unrealistic.

Sam is damaged goods, but a true gentleman and physically fragile. Every moment is spent keeping him from changing back into wolf form, adding an extra layer of immediacy. I loved his passion and conflicting fears of going too far with Grace.

RATING:


I’m seriously rating this at a 4: Very Good, and worth the time to read. If this is in your reading pile, shuffle it to the top. Seriously. It’s that good—partially because of storyline, partially because it’s beautifully written. I’m itching to get the second book to see what in the world happens next.

RECOMMENDATIONS:


So there is some questionable content, and I’m categorizing this as SPOILERS. But it’s worth mentioning that they spend a lot of time sneaking around behind Grace’s parents’ backs and in Grace’s bed and eventually go all the way. (It is assumed and not directly narrated.)

SERIES REVIEWS:


Book 1: Shiver
Book 2: Linger
Book 3: Forever

OTHER BOOKS BY MAGGIE:


Books of Faerie: