Title: Shiver
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Pub Date: June 1st 2010
Format: Paperback
Pages: 392
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Werewolves
Links: Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Author/Book Site
Synopsis: 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.
Trailer:
Source: Borrowed from a friend.
Cover Talk: I love love LOVE the cover!! I could seriously stare at it all day long! My favorite color is blue, as I have mentioned a thousand times before, and this cover is just... breathtakingly beautiful! The blue tree branches and leaves, the white background, the blue shadow of the wolf, even the title, which isn't really in a fancy font but the bloody dot above the 'i' just adds that... perfect finish to the cover. I simply love it! ♥
My Thoughts: I've heard and read a lot of great things about this book. And it has been on my "Want To Read" list for a while now. A friend of mine read it and she loved it. So she persuaded me to read it too.
I must say, I was disappointed. I mean, with all the hype, I was expecting something that would blow my mind. That would be so amazing that I wouldn't stop fan-girling about it. But it really didn't live up to the hype for me.
The book wasn't that bad. I really liked the story. It was really interesting and, honestly, it was the story that kept me reading. The writing was too detailed for my taste. And sometimes the author 'left it for the imagination of the reader' which really annoyed me. But that wasn't such a big problem either. The problem was the characters. I could not connect with the characters. I didn't feel what they felt. I just couldn't even care about them. It's not that they weren't well developed, they were. But the reader-character bond wasn't there, for me.
I like bad-boys (in books). But I could also fall for a sweet, nice guy (e.g. Sam from Speechless). But in this story, the boy, Sam, was... too good. It got pretty annoying sometimes. I started calling him Saint Sam, 'cause he was just that good. And I get what the author tried to do, making Grace strong and practical and Sam emotional and.. sainty.. but it didn't really work.
The ending was the best part. That's what made me give this book a 3.5 instead of 3. By 'ending' I mean the story after Sam changes for the last time to the end of the book. That scene was probably the closest I got to feeling for a character.
All in all, it was an enjoyable book. Not something I would read again. But I would like to read the next two books in the trilogy. To see where the story goes.
Favorite Quotes: Somehow, having a deer preside over the ceremony of a werewolf and a girl seems oddly appropriate.
“You're beautiful and sad," I said finally, not looking at him when I did. "Just like your eyes. You're like a song that I heard when I was a little kid but forgot I knew until I heard it again." For a long moment there was only the whirring sound of the tires on the road, and then Sam said softly, "Thank you.”
“What do you eat?"
"Baby bunnies." She narrowed her eyes, so I grinned and said, "Adult bunnies, too. I'm an equal-opportunity bunny-eater.”
“Books are more real when you read them outside.”
“I said uselessly, "Sam, don't go."
Sam cupped my face in his hands and looked me in the eyes. His eyes were yellow, sad, wolf, mine.
"These stay the same. Remember that when you look at me. Remember it's me. Please.”
About The Author:
All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She's made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.
Extras: How to Sharpie a Guitar by Maggie Stiefvater + Summer Girl (a song from Shiver written by Sam for Grace) by Sulaiman Azimi
Yeah I've heard quite a lot of good things about this book but I never dared to read it cuz I know I won't like it. First of, there's werewolves. Agh, I've have enough of it already from Twilight. Woudln't want to live through another nightmare.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yeah I think fans of Twilight would love this book. After the movie, I didn't want to read Twilight. I just didn't like the plot line and story. But Shiver seems a lot like how I imagine Twilight to be.
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