REVIEW: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Shiver

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publish Date: August 1, 2009

Synopsis:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellowed-eyed wolf-her wolf- is a chilling pressence 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 yellowed-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 loosing himself, and Grace, forever.

Review:

I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for this book on Goodreads, and I get that everyone has their own opinion. In my own opinion, I thought that Shiver was a good read. There were some things that if I had been writing the book I might have done differently, but it was not my imagination that came up with this story. I've also seen a lot of people comparing it to Twilight and Stephenie Meyer, and can't help but wonder when they'll stop doing that. Okay, so the guy plays an instrument, how many other guys in the world play one etc etc, you catch my drift. Just because there is some sort of paranormal or supernatural aspect to it does not mean that the author tried to jump on the Twilight train. Like I said, I really thought that Shiver was good. 

Grace was attacked, when she was about 11 years old, by the wolf pack that lives in the woods running behind her house. A yellow-eyed wolf saved her from the attack and ever since then Grace has watched the woods to get a glimpse of the wolf, her wolf, that saved her life. 

Sam has set and watched Grace every winter since the day of the wolf attack. He's always been to scared to talk to her because of the fear that she would think he was a monster. I thought he came off as being sweet both in his wolf and human forms. 

Stiefvater was very descriptive with Shiver. She was able to transport me into another world. I was able to picture the scenes, characters, and emotions so vividly. She puts a slightly different spin on werewolves. There are tons of twist and turn, loop-de-loops, action and slow moments, emotions, and ups and down on this rollercoaster of a book, but it's worth it, and you'll want to read it again.

While this book wasn't perfect, I was highly entertained and became attached to the characters rather quickly. I would recommend this for anyone who is looking for a quick read involving werewolves, and I suggest giving it a try. I, however, do not recommend it for younger pre-teens because there is one sex scene that is ''implied'' and a lot of kissing, snuggling etc, you know romance stuff.  I do think that you should give Shiver a try. 

(c) 2015 Andrea Hatfield All Rights Reserved