From Goodreads,"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."
Goodreads - Shiver
Awards and Nominations:
- Georgia Peach Book Award (2010)
- Children's Choice Book Award Nominee for Teen Choice Book of the Year (2010)
- Florida Teens Read Nominee (2010)
- Teen Read Award Nominee for Best Read (2010)
- The Inky Awards for Silver Inky (2010)
- The Inky Awards Shortlist for Silver Inky (2010)
- Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee (2011)
- Lincoln Award Nominee (2012)
- Missouri Gateway Readers Award Nominee (2012)
Rereading a book or series always makes me a little nostalgic. It makes me think about when I first read it and how I have changed. This book definitely brought back some memories, especially since I read this book when I was in high school. I remember we received this book in library club just a year or two after the Twilight saga had concluded. Everyone was still on that vampire and werewolf high. While I enjoyed the Twilight saga I found this book and the rest of the series more intriguing and enthralling.
Shiver is a book told from two perspectives. One is from the human girl named Grace who was bitten by a wolf as a child. The other perspective is told by Sam who is torn between being a human when it's warm and being a wolf when the temperature drops. The two have a connection that goes back to the day that Grace was bitten. The longing question is whether they can be together when they live in two different worlds of being a human and being a wolf.
Rereading this book was an experience. There were parts that I remembered, but a lot that I didn't. One of the things that I didn't remember was how quickly the relationship between Sam and Grace progressed. I feel like ten years ago I was all heart-eyed and thinking this was what love was all about. But now? Now I'm just unsettled at how quickly they progressed and they were hooking up. Grace, of course, had seen Sam as a wolf for years, but never knew him as a human until he showed up at her house after being shot. Grace was just madly in love with him despite knowing NOTHING about him. That was bothersome. "Love" doesn't work like that. You don't just lay eyes on a human and think "We're going to be soulmates for forever." You have to get to know that person and learn about them. You don't just decide like Grace did. The fixation was very unsettling and I think the progression of their relationship was just too quick.
While I hated the quick and strange relationship that formed between Grace and Sam, I was extremely pleased with the way this story was written. The story went between Grace and Sam. I liked having both sides of this story because I was able to understand what both characters were feeling and dealing with. Most books like this do an even balance and go back and forth every chapter, but Stiefvater opted not to. Instead, the chapters could be told by Sam for a while and then it would switch to Grace. Whichever character had the more important role and thoughts in the story is the one that got to tell the chapter. I just felt it was a good way to give the reader the full picture.
I really enjoyed rereading this book even if I was disturbed by their speedy relations. While I was updating my progress on Goodreads I realized that a LOT of people despise this book and thought it was terrible. I, of course, don't know their reasoning, but I really enjoyed it and have to give it 5 stars. If you enjoyed Twilight you will probably enjoy this, especially if you liked the werewolf part of it.
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