Review: Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

Goodreads Summary:

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 be left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance.

Release Date: August1, 2009
Series? #1
Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance
Pulisher: Scholastic Pres




LONG STORY SHORT:

I loved this book if only for the amazing writing style. The characters were all very likable and the plot is the perfect example for those kinds of books that you just glide through without really noticing and then in retrospect ask yourself why it went by so fast although it was actually rather slow. The ending makes you longing for the sequel but is no cliffhanger, so that the book comes to a decent conclusion.

REVIEW:
I bought this book basically because everyone is raving about Maggie Stiefvater and her writing style and because I felt left out. Also, this was some kind of a challenge. I hate werewolves and I was interested if Stiefvater could actually make me love them. She couldn't.

The best thing about Shiver was the writing style. Oh man, it was amazing. So lyrical, so fluent so fairy-tale-ish. Somehow soft and sweet and wonderful! I don't know how Stiefvater does it but she makes the story of a normal girl preparing breakfast in a kitchen sound like a centuries-old myth.

The writing is the base for everything else I loved about Shiver. The characters were described in just enough detail, just enough emotion to identify with them and to understand how they feel. The proof for that is that I actually understood how Grace felt. The thing is that I don't like any kind of animal very much. I mean, I treat them well and stuff. I am a vegetarian, by the way, as I think that every being on this planet has the right to live, but I don't like touching them, I don't find them cute and stuff (maybe a really cute puppy would make an exception...), so I don't understand how one could fall in love with a wolf. Even if he's part human. I still don't. But Stiefvater made me understand Grace - and like her, too. She was such a nice girl , dealing with some issues but throughout the whole story she's never whiny. She also goes through some typical teenager problems that I could relate to very well. The other characters were very well developed, as well. Alex was amazing, a great love interest but also a good friend. The story turned even better in my opinion when Isabel started to play a bigger role in it. She was the funny part somehow, although we do get to see some more serious sides of her, too. All the characters impressed with their depth and variety, no stereotyping at all!

The plot itself as I said was rather slow, but enjoyable. Grace and Sam's relationship developed slowly and in a very sweet way. Credit to the realistic way everything fell into place - never forced, never cheesy.

I could go on and on about how much I loved this book, but I'm just going to stop now by telling you to read this book, but read it slowly, carefully. Read it like you eat your favorite dessert!

RATING:

3 out of 3 Smarties