Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Young Adult

Hardcover: 400 Pages

Publisher: Scholastic

ISBN-13: 978-0-545-12326-6

My Rating: 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.

I have found yet another series that I'm absolutely in love with! 'Shiver' is an amazing book from beginning to end. I found myself compelled to read a lot. Like, I always needed to know what was going to happen. And nearly half (if not more) of the chapters ended on a cliff hanger. So you just couldn't wait to pick it back up again and start reading to find out what happened. Maggie Stiefvater does an amazing job of building tension-sexual or not. She also made unforgettable and notable characters. It's an overall amazing read. Awesome characters, and an incredible plot, equals one unbelievable read.

 Grace is easily relatable and inspirational. She's not just some no-body kid at school. She has friends, has a life, and she has amazing qualities. Her love for books, her eagerness for success. There are multiple times throughout the book when Grace has  internal struggles over something, like missing school. She reprimands herself for doing it but she's happy nonetheless. I think we can all say, if we were Grace, we'd miss school for a day to hang out with Sam. The story is told through both Grace and Sam which is refreshing. I think it's incredible to be able to read the story through both peoples perspectives rather then just one like so many other books-Twilight (Bella), Fallen (Luce), etc. You get a real feel for both characters involved and you get to know their inner workings. So you can feel the full story, and both peoples emotions, the same way the author did writing it.

So, a bit about some of the other characters. Isabel is Jack's sister. Jack is a new werewolf. She finds out about the werewolves after her brother is turned into one. At first, Isabel is the most irritating character. You almost wish she was real so you could smack her. She's your typical spoiled little rich kid. But, as the story progress' Isabel pops up more and more. And she 'turns a new leaf' so to speak. She turns into a whole new person by the ending. And, by that point, even she is likable. Olivia is one of Grace's best friends. She is bitten, in an unusual way, and turned into a werewolf. Grace doesn't find out about this till a long time later. So she's in there a little bit. And then there are Grace's parents. What is there to really say about them. They aren't the worst of the worst (as far as parents go) but they aren't great either. They neglect Grace, don't ask her questions about her life, and they just aren't interested in her but more, what she's making for dinner.

One question I had through the entire book, after finding out some explicit details about the werewolves, was; 'If they change into wolves when it's cold, why don't they move somewhere warm?' That question was answered in this book (which made me happy) but you'll have to read it to find out why. So there was a lot of things covered in this book. You get to know every little detail and there will be a lot of answered questions while reading, at least mine were. Grace and Sam's stories mesh so well together, it's like (at times) they are one person .The alternating chapters between them flow very fluidly into one another. The ending of this book, the last 40 pages or so, were very emotional. I found myself tearing up, laughing, and anything else you can think of. I think it's incredible to have those kinds of emotions come out while reading. So, the ending was incredible and it definitely leaves you yearning for more. I can't wait to read 'Linger' which I have to put off for a while because of the 5 or 6 other series I'm working on simultaneously. Definitely, go out and get this book if you haven't read it! It's an incredible story and you won't be disappointed!