Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

4 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Grace and Sam share a kinship so close they could be lovers or siblings. But they also share a problem. When the temperature slips towards freezing, Sam reverts to his wolf identity and must retreat into the woods to protect his pack. He worries that eventually his human side will fade away and he will be left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance

Review: 

I read this a while ago, so I am probably forgetting some things. Plus, I've read the second books, so that one's more clear in my head than the first.

I did really like it, though. It was the first book of Maggie's that I read, and I was caught from the beginning. I was intrigued by the synopsis on the back and that didn't lessen any when I started reading it. I love her writing style. It's very lyrical and pretty, calm and exciting. I've read more of her books now, and it just gets better, prettier. Her characters are very different. I usually like reading from different points of view, and she does it very well. And she creates such interesting worlds in her books, and I love how she created her wolves in this one.

I like how her wolves are actual wolves when in that form and actual people when human. It kind of bothers me that they supposedly turn into wolves in the winter and are affected by weather. It is kind of believable, and it bothers me as it should because of how it doesn't work for Grace and Sam. Mostly, as I usually do with books, I accepted it and moved on. The end, though, didn't make much sense to me. It seemed like a cheesy, cop out type of ending. I hadn't really processed that there was going to be a second book, though, when I first read it. I thought of that as the actual ending. Now that I've read the second book, I realize and understand that there's more to the story and am very happy about it.

I didn't get much of a feel for Grace or Sam in this book, actually. Not that I can remember, at least. I enjoyed reading them, and I'm pretty sure that I wasn't paying enough attention and not that the author didn't write them out very well. I remember that Grace was interesting, and I did like what I read of her. And Sam I might have actually enjoyed more, because how he thinks and with his wolf problem on his mind, I know that I liked his chapters. I don't particularly remember any of the side characters, none of them stuck out, and they got mixed up in my mind.

I did feel their connection even from the beginning of the book. I felt why Grace was attracted to Sam, was pulled to him and wanted to be close to him. It made sense to me and I liked it. I never got the creepy feeling that other people apparently did. It seemed very sweet and natural to me.

Even with it a little blurry in my mind, I really enjoyed it and it got me sucked into reading more. My review of the second book, Linger, will be up soon. Probably later in the week.