Saturday, April 17, 2010

Book review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater



What's this book about?
There's not much to say, most of you have heard about Shiver so I'm keeping it very short. A girl,Grace, who's been bitten, a sad and emotional werewolf, Sam, with scars on his body, mind and soul . A heartbreaking love story.


If you want a more in-depth book description check out the one on Goodreads.


My thoughts:
It's only been a couple of hours since I closed Shiver but I just had to sit down and write a review while the story was still fresh in mind.


The novel starts off with Grace thinking back to the time when the wolves attacked her. And with that the story pulled me in. Grace is a very lonely girl, she has friends and family(though her parents are very distant) but still she carries a longing in her heart that no one can cure. She has an obsession for the wolves that lives in the forest behind her house, not every one is too happy about that. A boy has disappeared and people want to get rid of the wolves.


The characters were nicely written and I would characterize this as a story with a character driven plot. You want to know everything that goes on with Grace and Sam.


Maggie Stiefvater's writing kept me spellbound, glued to the pages.  I read one sentence which pulled me to the next and the next(you get my drift), in a blink of an eye I had finished the entire book. Maggie can take the most trivial thing and describe it like it is one of the wonders of the world. Here's an example from the book:


I always loved going to the post office with Beck; it was a treasure cave with rows and rows of little locked boxes holding secrets and surprises only for those with the proper key.


It's almost too much but at the same time it isn't really, it is just outright beautiful. Can I share one of my favorite passages before I end this review?
Sam released all of me but my hand, and tugged me deeper into the shop. “Come on. Now the hard part. What do you want? Pick something. Anything. I'll get it for you.” I want you. Feeling the grip of his hand in mine, the brush of his skin on mine, seeing the way he moved in front of me, equal parts human and wolf, and remembering his smell  - I ached with wanting to kiss him.
I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes a great paranormal love story!


My rating of this book:
4.5 stars out of 5.

Want a second opinion? Check out the reviews written by some of my book blogging friends below:

Pages(hardcover): 400
Publisher:  Scholastic Press
ISBN 13: 978-0545-12326-6
Full disclosure: Purchased