Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater
Publications Date: August 1st 2009
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 390
Overall: 5/5

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 familiar 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—and 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.

So I'm just going to go ahead and say it, I really love this book. I can't believe my luck at finding another amazing book, but here it is. Maggie Stiefvater threw a whole new twist to werewolves, and gave us such an amazing love story. I'm still clinging to the final two lines of this novel, trying to use all the patience I have until I can get the second one.

Shiver is an amazing story about a young girl named Grace, who lives in Mercy Falls Minnesota. She's spent most of her life after a horrible attack by wolves, watching one wolf in particular, that seems to always be watching her back, Sam. Sam's gotten used to the life he leads, being a normal boy in the summer, and changing into a wolf when it's cold outside for the winter. When the two are finally thrown together, the love they have connecting them cannot be denied. Now Grace and Sam fight against the coming winter to hold onto their love.

The development of these two characters is done beautifully. They each have their own voice in this novel, switching between his view and hers. I honestly love the pull I get in my stomach when reading about two characters that are head over heels in love, and that pull started early in this book. The way the two characters glide seamlessly from one to the other is amazing. I love being able to see the way Sam thinks in wolf form, and to also know what he's doing while Grace is in school, but then I love to know how Grace feels being in such close proximity to the boy she loves, and her struggle with her relationship with her parents.

I'd also like to admit something else. I cried while reading this book. Not so much like a baby, but like Grace did, which she did a couple of times, all for very different reasons. Again I feel if I say anything else I will give away anything that happens so I'll just keep it to this, I was extremely happy with the way things went in the end of the book. I don't mean just the ending in particular, I mean about the last 75 pages. I really felt a push to get through them to know just what was going to happen to all of the characters, and not feel bogged down even though they were making me cry. I also don't believe I've ever read such a cliffhanger, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it. If the whole book wasn't so fantastic  the final two lines would give any other novel a run for their money, but because the novel as a whole is so beautifully written, it's no wonder this book is such a huge hit, and will keep on being a favorite of so many readers.

For once I am actually excited to go to school tomorrow. Because, going to school means going into town, and going into town means time for a trip to the library, and a trip to the library means checking out Linger, the second book in the The Wolves Of Mercy Falls series.