Shiver Review

Release Date: August 1, 2009
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Age Group: 14+
Pages: 390 (Hardcover)

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.

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This book was great. Yes, all those raving reviews you've read about it are valid. That's really all there is to it. I think I could end this review right now, but I want to continue raving about it, so I'll go on.

The plot in itself is really original-well, not the werewolf part, but how they "shift", and the entire take on werewolves. Although it's low on action until the last 90 pages or so, it keeps you reading religiously; fueled by romance, a little mystery, and an excellent storyline.

The characters are wonderful. Grace isn't the "normal girl" in most teen fiction, she's more logical, level-headed, and relatable than lots of protagonists. And Sam was more creative, afraid, and sensitive then most guy characters. The only character that annoyed me was Jack-obviously, and Olivia a little bit too. I was only annoyed with Beck until he explained himself.

Grace and Sam's romance is amazing. They're so sweet. At first I thought that they were moving too fast for only knowing each other for a short amount of time, but then I realized that they had shared a connection, an unbreakable bond for six years. And that definitely shows.

I think the writing was one of the things that made this book so great. OK, here is what I meant when I said it was taking me a long time to read it in a good way: The writing is so beautiful and poetic that I'd have to re-read sentenses to make sure I understood it correctly, or sometimes just to savor it's beauty. It was that good.

Overall, a great book! I can't think about anything negative to say about it except that the next book doesn't come out unitl 2010! I was very satisfied with the ending-but I want Linger, the next book, in what is supposed to be a series. And I want it now. I want to be sucked back into Maggie Stiefvater's wondeful world of werewolves now. Trust me, go read it this very moment.

Was it better than Blood and Chocolate? Oh yeah. This is, without a doubt in my mind, the best completely werewolf dedicated book I've ever read.