Shiver [Review]

Stats: 
402 pages [Kindle]
Published 1 August 2009
ASIN:  B002JWD6AS
Amazon//Barnes&Noble


Synopsis:
Grace and Sam share a kinship so close they could be lovers or siblings. But they also share a problem. When the temperature slips towards freezing, Sam reverts to his wolf identity and must retreat into the woods to protect his pack. He worries that eventually his human side will fade away and he will left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance.


My Thoughts:





It's been a while since I have fallen madly in love with a book. I really love when it is an author I've never read before too, because this just means there are all these books that I have to look forward to reading!

Shiver takes place in fictional Mercy Falls, Minnesota. Grace, a 17 yr old, is a wolf attack survivor who is obsessed with the wolf who saved her life. Sam is her wolf. Every year when spring comes around, he turns back into a teenage bookworm musician boy. Every year when it starts getting cold, he turns back into a wolf. The only thing is that each year that passes will dwindle down the chances of a shift back to human and eventually Sam will just be a wolf. After a high schooler is killed in a wolf attack, the townsfolk take to the woods with guns to hunt down the wolves. Sam is shot in wolf form and turns up on Grace's back door as a human.

I love what Stiefvater has done with the wolf "mythology" - the temperature makes the wolves shift and their time as humans is limited. The wolves are actually wolves when they shift - they have wolf emotions, not human emotions, and remember their human memories in a wolf fashion. I really like Grace. She's not your typical whiny, annoying teenage protagonist. She is a smart, independent, brave, strong teenage girl. Sam isn't your typical douchebag, angsty male lead. He is shy, sensitive, and overwhelmingly likeable.

This one made me cry. Extra extra brownie points because this one made me cry :)
 

Previous Review:
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness {here}

[Counts toward my TBR Pile challenge: here] 

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