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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.
SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater is one
of those books I thought about for a long time after
finishing it. The characters continued to invade my
thoughts, they were so real. Grace is a practical girl,
used to taking care of herself, and Sam is a rather
passionate songwriter. Their love story is the focus of the
novel, and what a love story it is! Kept apart by the fact
that Sam is a werewolf and Grace isn’t, not to mention the
unique take on werewolfism that keep Sam a wolf all winter
and a boy all summer, there’s plenty of tension to go
around. Stiefvater captures the need, desperation, and
longing of first love, sure to connect with the YA readers
it’s meant for, as well as anyone who’s ever been in love.
At its heart, SHIVER is a love story,
pure and simple. However, though the main action revolves
around their effort to stay together, it is driven by added
danger from the very beginning, so expect some action! In
addition to the several external complications there are a
handful of well drawn
secondary characters. I was particularly fond of Grace's quirky friend Rachel and the
snob-turned-ally Isabel, both of whom were very good for
some moments of comedy and very realistic girlfriend
interactions.
Although I loved the characters and
simple story, what made SHIVER glow was the writing itself.
From the first words to the last, I was rather swept away by
the haunting and lovely prose – and laughing at the
occasional bursts of fun dialogue. Several images from the
book stick with me for their sheer angst, their beauty, and
their subtle magic: a golden forest, a summery song, a
bathtub, and an achingly lonely trip outside to feed the
birds, just to name a few.
Lastly, it’s quite possible that the
final page of SHIVER is one of my all time favorites. I
read it several times, out loud even. I'd put this book
into anyone's hands. It left me clutching at my heart in
all the right ways. It’s perfect for fans of Audrey
Niffeneger’s THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE – a romance, with just
a hint of the supernatural. |
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Tess Gratton
Tessa Gratton wanted to be
a paleontologist or a wizard when she was a kid, but the
lack of opportunities caused her to turn to writing about
magic and monsters instead. Though she's lived all over the
world, she finally settled in the liberal mecca of Kansas
with her partner, two cats, and a mutant mutt named
Grendel. There
are very few flying monkeys. She's had several short stories
and a few book reviews published, and is working with her
agent to sell her debut novel. Until then, she publishes
free fiction every other week at
www.merryfates.com. |
