Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Reading level: Young Adult
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Release Date: August 1, 2009
Language: English

Synopsis: 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.

With its poetic prose and emotionally charged characters, Shiver took my breath away with how captivating it was. I didn't know I could  love a novel this much until I started reading Shiver. Told in alternating points of view, Grace and Sam show the reader all the ups and downs of their tender courtship. The transition between narratives moves smoothly without any interruption; the reader can admire Stiefvater's wonderful writing style while also enjoying the story at its light and leisurely pace. Neither Grace nor Sam's voice overpowered each other while telling their story which demonstrates Stiefvater's ability to balance to her two main characters perfectly. Grace and Sam's personalities were markedly different: Grace, the voice of the reason and the more rational one of the pair, contrasted nicely with Sam's more passionate, artistic nature. The relationship that Grace and Sam have showed all the signs of teenage love--fragile and unpredictable--and yet it also had a somber, mature touch to it. Needless to say, these two instantly won me over; as well as Stiefvater's writing--she made even the most mundane things in life (like making food or a trip to the bookstore for example) seem adventorous and every moment between Sam and Grace, from the silliest to the most intense, was absolutely magical.

Brilliant, beautiful and heartbreaking, Shiver is one of the loveliest novels I've ever read. I adored this book so much that when I can, I'm planning on buying it in Spanish. (and if you know me well, you know that means I'm in love!) It was an absolute delight reading this book--Maggie Stiefvater's voice is a gift among the other voices in literature, and like Sam's voice in his wolf pack, hers rises above all the others.

Rating: 5.0