Shiver

Title: Shiver
Author: Maggie Stievater
Pages: 400
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc
Source: Barnes and Noble







Back of Book Summary:
      -The Cold
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf, her wolf- watches back. He feels deeply familar to her, but she doesn't know why.

     -The Heat-
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

      -The Shiver-
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human. Grace must fight to keep him. Even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present , and the impossibility of the future.

 My Review:
Characters:
    Ms. Stiefvater crafts her characters in a delightful manner. Grace the main character is practical and self-reliant. She is an intelligent female role model who has been neglected by her mother and father. Graces' counter-part, Sam, is a mysterious young man with appealing yellow-eyes and a dedicated loyalty for Grace. These two characters, their flaws and strengths captured my heart. The supporting characters were less interesting and more difficult to identify with. For example- Olivia- while toward the end I gained some insight into her character, I never really understood the argument Olivia and Grace had. I got the desire to be a wolf- the pull for the solitary independent life, but not the disagreement between the two.

Plot/Conflict/Theme:
    There are several conflicts threaded through this novel- all of them enjoyable and creative in their own right. The tension that Maggie Stiefvater creates as Grace and Sam strive to stay together, and the ache the reader experiences when they are ripped apart is masterful. Ms. Stiefvater also is a craftsman when she provides subtle reassurance to the reader throughout the novel, piecing their (Sam and Grace as well as the reader's) shattered hearts back together.

Quality of Writing:
     This story was most appealingly written. Maggie Stievater does an amazing job incorporating the sublties that make the story shine. Letting the reader piece together the trail of clues the characters reveal as they too piece together the mystery behind the wolves and the development of the Were. 


Rating:
Book: B for Basically Brilliant 
Cover: B for Basically Brilliant