It Gave Me “Shiver”s
Posted in Books and tagged with Book Review, Books, Challenges, Must Read, Young Adult on 01/20/2010 08:00 am by JennStiefvater, Maggie. Shiver. Scholastic Press. (2009).
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.
Author’s Website
I loved this book! It was so well written and I finished it in one night. The book is written from both Grace and Sam’s perspective and I have complained in the past about the difficulty of switching back and forth, but it was a breeze in this book. I liked how the author didn’t try to make it supernatural, but more based on “science”. There is a reason you become a wolf and it ain’t magic, hunny. I also liked the evolution of becoming a wolf, it didn’t happen all at once and the changes continued, just like people continue to change. Also, not all the werewolves are good and not all the people are good. Like Sam says in the book, “if you are an angry person you are going to be an angry wolf.” I like it when people are accountable for their actions, and not everyone, wolf or human, can be perfectly nice all the time.
The romance between Sam and Grace was really well written. It was typical of people their age to be so in love and obsessive (for lack of a better word) with one another. Only in this case, time really was running out, so they kind of did need to spend all their time together. I never felt uncomfortable with the lovey-dovey stuff, but felt it was totally appropriate for the book. This is a Must Read! Whether you like YA or not, some books are just well written.
The other exciting part is my new friend Sara @ Sara’s Organized Chaos told me there is supposed to be a sequel coming out this year! (You can read her review of Shiver here). I absolutely adored the ending of this book. It was a complete ending, so I am super excited she wrote another because I was not expecting it. I can’t wait to see where this story goes!
I read this towards the 2010 Young Adult Challenge.
January 20th, 2010 at 8:45 am
What a great review. My blog partner writes YA novels for Harper Collins. I’ll tell her about this. Thanks.
Mary
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January 20th, 2010 at 9:28 am
YAY for shout out!
I’m so glad you loved this book. I seriously cried at the end. And then gave my husband the stink eye for being such a loser compared to Sam. I’m PUMPED for Linger to come out. AND, there is a third book coming. Did I mention that?? All it says about Linger is that Sam is human but Grace…showing signs of becoming a wolf. NO!! So we’ll see.
And Mortal Instruments?? There is a 4th book coming out I think it’s called City of Fallen Angels, and it’s be signed for a movie. No word on where they are on that. Jace?? Is amazing. I love Jace. I need to dump hubby and find a Jace/Sam/Robert Pattinson combo.
I was so annoyed with the sister/brother thing in the first book. I thought it was going to go all “Flowers in the Attic” on us. 
LOL!!
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Jenn Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 9:42 am
I am TOTALLY PSYCHED for the next books in these series!! I, too, was disappointed about the sister/brother thing, but I was assured by the person at Mable’s Fable’s who sold me on the series that I need to keep reading. I KNEW they couldn’t be related. But when they thought they were it was a bit icky.
Yeah, I totally get what you mean about SOME people not measuring up and I love that you gave him the stink eye! However, I don’t know if I could handle all that brooding. Maybe I’ll keep MPW, but leave him hints at how he can be better.
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Sara Strand Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 9:49 am
Nope, I’ll take the brooding if it means unconditional love. I mean, it’s got to be a step up from what I’ve got now.
LOL!
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January 20th, 2010 at 9:50 am
this one time I was a wolf
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Jenn Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 9:53 am
And…?
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January 20th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Wow! Great review. Sounds like a good book and not the typical stuff that’s been coming out. It’s always good to see authors making it their own, rather than riding the coattails of popularity.
I will definitely check it out! Stopping by from SITS!
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January 20th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Such a well-written review!
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January 20th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
I’ve heard great things about this book. This confirms my needing to check it out of the library.
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January 20th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
I really don’t like supernatural werewolf books, so the fact that it is science based makes this book more appealing.
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