Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Synopsis.....


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.

My thoughts....

This book was highly recommended to me by several women who just raved about it. After finishing this book today I am undecided on my actual thoughts on the book. And after 8 hours I still am not sure if I liked it all that much. I didn't walk away from the book with warm fuzzies from reading it....it really isn't that kind of book. I didn't walk away with unanswered questions so that is good. I'm still not even sure if the back and forth switch between perspectives (some chapters are from Grace's and some are from Sam) was good for the book or just annoying. This by far is the hardest review I have ever had to do. Normally within a few minutes of me finishing a book I already know what I want to say about it. As a matter of fact, while reading a book I often am thinking ahead on what I will say about it when I am finished. This book has left me stumped.

As far as the characters go...Grace is very much an introvert which could be caused by her upbringing (her parents are more friends to her then authority figures) or it could be caused by her obsession with "her" wolves. Her character seems so much older then her actual teenage years. Sam also seems to much older which could be because he is a wolf most of the year. The interaction between Grace and Sam is....for lack of a better word...sweet. The characters are not what I enjoyed about this book however.

What I did enjoy was Sam's take on being a wolf. He struggles to retain his humanity and his biggest fears are turning into a wolf forever losing himself and never seeing Grace again. He likes being a wolf. It is part of who he is, but to be a wolf would mean giving up being Sam. Unfortunately, turning wolf forever is right around the corner. It is a part of the curse. It is inevitable.

Overall, this book was well written. It compelled me to continue reading to find out if Sam and Grace were destined to be together or if Grace would spend her life sitting in her backyard on the edge of the woods forever wondering what happened to her golden eyed wolf. I am glad I read it.

I would recommend that you get this one from the library only because for me this isn't a book that I would re-read. There was very little going on in the book that I might get confused about later. Despite this fact I am giving this book ★ ★ ★ ★. Stiefvater did a beautiful job of writing. She was able to make her wolves as real to me as they probably are to her.