SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater

SUMMARY

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 never read anything by Maggie Stiefvater. I have read great reviews on her previous book Lament and I am intrigued by the premise of the "sequel" Ballad. But when I saw Kristin's review of Shiver, I knew that I had to check this book out.

When I went to the book store, I really wanted to buy more than one book because I had enough money for two. I was going to wait to buy Shiver because I had two books that I wanted to read and then I just sat there and looked at the cover. That one red dot in the mist of the blues and the whites drew me in. So long story short, I left Borders with Shiver in my hand and I could not wait to get home to read it.

I had a lot of Pre-calc homework to do and I usually am one to do my homework before I do anything else, but the book was staring at me. So I opened the book, felt the crisp pages between my fingers and began to read. And I kept reading and reading, until I realized that I seriously needed to do my homework.

It became a routine. I would do some of my homework and then I would read some more. Soon, it became impossible to put it down. While I was reading Shiver, I laughed at how cute Sam is, I cried because of his past and because I wanted these two characters to be together. I cried at how beautiful the words were, like poetry, smooth and rhythmic, how they touched my soul even though they had no hands or fingers. I love how the book itself made me shiver. It made me want to curl up under the blankets and stay there.

And when I finished, I cried. I finished Shiver last night before I went to bed. The tears wouldn't stop streaming down my face because this book was so beautiful. I've never read anything so touching, so real.

I love the new outlook on werewolves. I love that Sam isn't your typical male love interest. He has flaws and he isn't afraid to feel.

But I felt that his side of the story was more developed than Grace's. I found myself quickly reading through her parts, just so that I could be with Sam. This beautiful, golden-eyed, lyric-writing, sensitive, boy-who loves deeply. Ah, I love Sam, seriously I do. His past makes you want to hold him close and never let him go. And when I was reading his side of the story, I felt like he was truly there and you might think I'm crazy for being in love with a fictional character, but Sam, he is truly a gem. And I think it's going to be hard for anyone to cast the right guy to play him.


Another thing I liked about this book, was that it wasn't predictable. I could not pin down how it was going to end and when I reached the last page...wow. I've seen a lot of reviews where people are saying that this story is much like Twilight. No. I have to disagree. The only similarity I see is that a human girl is falling for a not-so human guy. That idea has been used so many times but Miss Stiefvater has done an amazing job making this story her own.


In honor of Music Monday and my book review of Shiver, here is a song that I think fits the book: