Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book One

Publisher: Scholastic

Format: Paperback

Published: 5^th October 2009

Number of Pages: 448

Book: Bought

Genre: Paranormal, Dark Romance, Urban Fantasy, Magic, Action, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Violence, Mild Swearing

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Blog: Maggie Stiefvater

“The pack circled around me, tongues and teeth and growls.”

When a local boy is killed by wolves, Grace’s small town becomes a place of fear and suspicion.  But Grace can’t help being fascinated by the pack, and be one yellow-eyes wolf in particular.  There’s something about him – something almost human.

Then she meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away…

A chilling love story that will have you hooked from the very first page.

Review:

Grace was attacked by wolves as a child.  One saved her.  The wolf with the yellow eyes.  She found herself obsessed with the pack after her attack, obsessed with her yellow-eyed wolf.  And he seems obsessed too.  He watches her from the woods, all winter long.  Only, now a boy has been killed, and the town is out for the wolves’ blood.  Knowing she has to find a way to save them, Grace hurries home.  And finds an injured boy in her kitchen.  A boy with yellow eyes… 

But is love enough to keep the cold away…?

I picked up this book, expecting it to be like all the other werewolf, dark romances out there.  God, was I wrong.  Shiver was amazing, unlike anything I’d read before.  The plot, the characters, the world…  I just fell in love.  I was addicted, from start to finish.  And I was left desperate for more.

Grace was a brilliant main character: strong, brave and sweet.  She was obsessed with the wolves, and she knew that there was more to them.  She never gave up on her wolves.  I loved her for that.  And for her reaction to Sam…  Plus, I felt so sorry for her: her parents were never there, and she couldn’t think of a way to make them love her.  But them not being there made her so strong and independent, which were two of her best qualities. 

Sam was amazing.  He was a werewolf and he loved Grace so, so much.  He was just such a sweetheart and incredibly strong.  My own heart honestly ached for him, and everything he’d gone through.  All he longed for was to be human – he wanted him life back, his family.  I loved him.  And I loved that he had an egg fixation as a kid.  And, God, he was so, so romantic and very artistic.

Grace and Sam’s relationship was wonderful and completely believable.  It also had to be the sweetest thing ever.  They knew one another.  Sam watched Grace in wolf-form, protecting her.  Grace knew that he would never hurt her, that he would die for her.  Sure, it wasn’t a traditional start to a relationship.  But it was perfect and truly beautiful.  They were both so adorably obsessed with one another!  And so funny.  And so cute.  Sam the “delicate flower” to Grace’s “stoic” personality!

Even better: the ‘supporting characters’ were just as amazing!  Grace’s best friend, Rachel, was wonderfully hyper, and took to calling Sam “The Boy”: she was awesome!  Isabelle was kind of mean, lost and sarcastically funny; a character you start of not liking, but slowly change your mind about.  I could go on, but that might bore you all.

The mythology in this book was incredible, unlike anything I’d ever read about before.  The detail stunned me, the new facts stuck in my head and still haven’t left.  I’ve never read anything like Shiver before, and shudder to think how much thought and time must have gone into the details.  But the work paid off!  The mythology was what truly made this book stand out from the crowd.

What helped, also, was the writing.  The wonderful, wonderful writing.  It was breathtakingly beautiful, yet also insanely simple and fun to read.  Plus, it had my favorite narrative: dual POVs!  Having both Sam and Grace talk gave me a full insight into both their worlds.

Now.  I have read many a wolf books.  But this one was special.  Because, while I read, everything else just dropped away.  I felt the love, the sadness, the pain, the heartache.  I felt everything.  I could feel the wolf’s coat, the breath on my neck, the cold…  How many books can do that?

If you hadn’t gathered, I adored Shiver.  I did so many things whilst reading: laugh, grin, jump, smile at the sweetness, and I cried.  I loved the mythology, the romance, the friendship: everything.  I fell in love with Maggie’s writing.  I was left desperate for more.  Wild for more.   I’m just thankful I have Linger, ‘cause otherwise I’d be fearful for my mental health.

Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

Finding Sky by Joss Stirling

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

Off the Shelf Challenge (Hosted by BA Reading Challenges)

Happy Reading

Megan