Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Reading Level: YA/ paranormal (crossposted from my goodreads)
I recently picked up this book and the next in this series: “Linger”, because I had heard so much about it. I had heard it was like the Twilight Saga for werewolves, so I had to read it.

Summary:

Shiver tells the story of a girl, Grace, who after an attack by wolves when she was 10-11 years old, she, somehow, feels drawn to one of them, because that particular wolf in a way saved her life from the others.
It also tells the story of Sam, a boy who has turned into a wolf, because their destinies are intertwined.
In this “mythology”, after a wolf bites you, you turn into an actual wolf, not a werewolf and you keep your own eyes, even in your wolf form.

That is how Grace knew who the wolf was, at least on a subconscious level.
Growing up, she could always sense and sometimes see this wolf, watch her from a distance, which intensified her “obsession” with wolves, an obsession that earned her some mocking comments by her best friends, Olivia and Rachel.

Grace is fascinated by wolves after her attack, due to their power, their unity and their solidarity, whereas, Sam falls in love with her and is fascinated with her, not only because of who she is – what he could have been, normal – but also, because after the bite, Grace doesn't turn into a wolf.

After, a wolf attack in the town, the people of the town decide to hunt down the wolves and Grace tries to stop them for fear of “her” wolf getting hurt.
Sam does get hurt and ends up on her front porch, naked and bleeding.
Grace recognizes him instantly and helps him.

Review:
That is when the real story starts. With Sam and Grace actually starting a relationship, on a deep emotional level and Sam going against the clock, since he is only human when it is warm and a wolf all through the cold seasons.

Apparently, the curse is that eventually, he will turn into a wolf one time, and never turn into his human form again and for some reason it is happening to Sam now, even though he is too young, only 18.

I have to say that I adored the writing style. I really loved how the story was narrated by Sam and Grace and it was really emotionally intense to read everything through their points of view.

It made you feel for them, since you saw what they saw, smelled what they smelled, felt what they felt.

I loved the description Stiefvater used. It was really delightful. I loved the adjectives and every single word, was accurate and precise and poetic.
Her words were haunting and it just made reading this book, an incredible reading experience.

Even though it was kind of weird to have a girl be obsessed by the same thing that almost killed her, wolves, while reading this book, you didn't mind, because you were in Grace's head and in her head it made sense, so you accepted it.

Of course, it is not entirely implausible for something like that to happen. A lot of people share a morbid fascination related to dangerous or questionable things such as death, knives, bodily functions etc.

I also loved how it wasn't exactly like love at first sight. I mean, of course, the whole connection started because Sam – in his wolf form- looked in Grace's eyes, so that was kinda instant, but nothing really happened for years.
They spent years watching each other from a distance and, after everything, it really was like they had known each other for years, because they had.

Sam watched her day and night, hidden in the shadows.

Their love story was very convincing and haunting and you could feel the urgency with which they tried to stay with each other. because they knew they didn't have a lot of time.Sam would turn back into a wolf in only a little while and it was uncertain as to whether he could ever come back.

I cannot wait to finish the second book now, which I have already started! XD

Notable Scene/Description:

"I giggled, completely unlike me, and Sam laughed because he knew it. I was drunk with
Sam. I let him walk me down the stark concrete block to The Crooked Shelf, a little
independent bookstore; I hadn’t been there for a year. It seemed stupid that I hadn’t, given
how many books I read, but I was just a poor high schooler with a very limited allowance.
I got my books from the library.
“This is a Grace-shop, right?” Sam pushed open the door without waiting for my answer.
A wonderful wave of new-book smell came rushing out, reminding me immediately of
Christmas. My parents always got me books for Christmas. With a melodic ding, the shop
door swung shut behind us, and Sam released my hand. “Where to? I’ll buy you a book. I
know you want one.”

Rating: 4.5 Stars: Fascinating book (wow, I did use this word a lot in this review), anyone would enjoy.

Find Maggie Stiefvater: Site // Blog // Goodreads

Buy Shiver at AMAZON // BOOKDEPOSITORY // PLAY.COM

- Kelly