Shiver
Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date: August 1, 2009
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 400

Rating: 4.5 stars

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.

Shiver was one of those addicting books that you cannot put down! With the first words, I was hooked. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is a perfect title, because while you read it it kept you “shivering” from the beautiful imagery Maggie Stiefvater uses. I simply fell in love with basically everything about Shiver. The writing was beautiful and flowing. Maggie Stiefvater adds so much to the story writing in alternating POVs between Sam and Grace.

Sam and Grace’s relationship was really something! You could feel the intensity of it, especially when Sam was still a wolf. The longing they had for each other was so apparant.

All of Shiver‘s characters were well-written and just seemed to click with the story. Grace was such an amiable character. She was one of those characters that everyone could relate to. Sam was just so sweet and another character you really could relate to. I also really liked Isabel as a character. She played a more minor role but she was such a strong character that she stood out among the others. The one character I would’ve liked to know a bit more about is Shelby. She is hostile and wants Sam and to be at the “top”, but I didn’t feel her as a threat as much as I think she could’ve been. At different points in the book, they refer to Shelby’s past but you never find out what that actually is.

Shiver was an absolutely phenomonal start to the trilogy. I cannot wait for Linger, and hear more of Sam and Grace’s story!