Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver is basically an overcome-the-odds-love story about a girl and a boy, except that the boy is sometimes a wolf. It is funny, and sad, and romantic, but far from soppy.  The narration switches between Grace and Sam, maintaining a nice balance between the two main characters. Both characters grow and develop throughout the story, and the ending leaves you wanting to know more.  The story seems to have a really earthy feel to it - there is a strong emphasis on the seasons, and many of the descriptions are drawn in sounds and smells as well as images.  You'll be yearning for the great outdoors while reading it!

I love this cover - and I love that
the blue has been carried
through to the color of the text - nice.

One of the best things about this story is that Grace is a strong female character with a backbone, not willing to be run rough-shod over by a bunch of werewolves.

The only thing I found that didn't quite gel was that Grace states she had never really been interested in boys until Sam, but she proves herself to be an accomplished flirt.  Maybe that just serves to illustrate that they really are soul mates, and totally at ease and in love, but to me it just didn't sit quite right.

Shiver is the first of a trilogy.  The second book Linger has just been released, and debuted at number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading Maggie Stiefvater's blog - check it out - she is a woman of many talents.  Need another example?  Here is her book trailer for Linger, not only did she create the stop motion herself, she composed the music too.