Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

Oh my goodness, I loved this book! I already knew I enjoyed Maggie's writing after reading Lament and Ballad, but I am in love with her writing now!

I finished Shiver this morning and tried to recommend it to a friend. "What's it about?" she asked. "It's a werewolf story," I began lamely. "It's about a girl and....it's a love story..." I didn't want to give too much away, and couldn't find the right words, but I really think she would love the book (she read The Twilight Saga like 6 times). "A werewolf story, hm?" She didn't seem impressed.

I probably should have just pointed her to this synopsis from Goodreads.com: "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."

I know some people may complain about the sappiness or the lack of logic to explain how the two main characters fell in love, but I love a good love story. True, I enjoy the occasional good girl + bad boy themed stories, but it felt so refreshing to have two good people who genuinely cared for and whole-heartedly loved one another with no desire/instructions to eat or kill one another as part of their dynamic.

In reading, I was reminded of a relationship I had one Spring and I totally felt myself identifying with Grace in her feelings for Sam. When she was content, I was content. All was right in Grace's world when I stopped reading Monday night and I went to bed feeling totally at peace. I woke up content & happy & excited to start the day - as if I were in the throes of young love myself. :)

Aside from creating good romance, Maggie Stiefvater is a poetic soul and crafts her descriptions - both visual and emotional - in a way that is achingly beautiful. I found myself stopping and re-reading many times so I could fully take in the feelings of a scene. Another thing I really enjoyed about Maggie's writing was her willingness to let her characters have imperfect conversations. That probably sounds funny, but I loved the fact that a character could think "I should have said something romantic" but not say it and have things still not turn out horribly because of it. It was neat viewing the story from both Grace & Sam's perspectives. Grace - very practical and independent, Sam - thoughtful and poetic. I loved the romantic tension between the two and especially loved the respect Sam had for Grace.


As with the best books, I laughed AND I cried and I am so looking forward to the next book, Linger, which, luckily for those of us just finishing Shiver, will be out this July.



Please note: There is unmarried sex between two of the characters (not at all graphic, but there), so I do not recommend this for the very young reader.  Also, contains some mild language.