Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Pages: 390

Intended Audience: Teens

Genre: Supernatural Sci-Fi

Notes for Parents: Some mature themes.

The Back Cover

The cold.

Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn’t know why.

The heat.

Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace…until now.

The shiver.

For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it’s spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human – and Grace must fight to keep him – even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first in a trilogy.

What’s good?

It has a different take on werewolf lore and I always admire when someone is courageous enough to step outside the box. The author’s use of language is beautiful. The story had the feel of a classic romance with a supernatural twist.

Best Part: Wolves. I love wolves.

What’s not so good?

I have to admit that I didn’t particularly like the characters. It felt a little too Twilight to me. While I admire the outside-the-box thinking when it came to the werewolves, I didn’t like what she came up with. Also, the romance bloomed too quickly, relying on that mystical I-love-you-deeply-even-though-we-barely-know-each-other emotion (a la Twilight), which I find juvenile. A convincing relationship should have, at least, a little time to develop. It all seemed a little campy.

Worst part: Some of the poetry is very cheesy. (Although, some of it is quite good.)

Recommendations þþooo

I think this is one of those love it or hate it kind of books. I didn’t like it, but then, I didn’t like Twilight either.

Stiefvater, Maggie. Shiver. New York: Scholastic, 2009