Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Published: August 2009 by Scholastic Press

Source: Received for review

Edition: Hardcover

Number of pages: 392

Rating:

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.

At first, I was totally excited to read Shiver because I had heard and read so many good things about the book. I had presumed that the book was going to be excellent and although it was good, it definitely wasn't excellent.

The characters in the book are very likeable and charismatic but I didn't particularly like Grace. I thought that her love was rushed and that Grace was more in love with the idea of her wolf than with Sam himself but that's just my opinion. I also didn't like how Grace's world completely revolved around Sam after she had met him in person. She didn't care about her school life or her friends, all she wanted to do was to be with Sam. I like main characters who have strong backbones and can be independant, not lovestruck girls like Grace who only think of their significant other. Aside from that, I thought that they did have good chemistry and Sam's perspective of the story was great to read.

I also thought that the book didn't exactly have a plot. Sure, there were a few unsolved mysteries and it was about Grace and Sam's love but other than that, I felt like there was nothing leading to an exciting ending or any big twists in the storyline. My opinion probably differs from a lot of other reviewers but for me, the development of the book wasn't interesting or exciting enough. The beginning was intriguing and the end was great but the middle wasn't very good.

Now that all that has been said, I can say that after all I did enjoy the book as a whole. I thought that it was very well written and captivating at some points. There were a few good twists in the book and I particularly liked the ending. I wanted to start reading Linger right away. I probably made it seem like I didn't enjoy the book but I did. It wasn't a great book but it was pretty good and I recommend it to those who love werewolves, teen love and a cute, simple read. Oh and the cover is beautiful!