Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Shiver

Shiver


Author-Maggie Stiefvater
Pages-400




Rated a 4 on a scale of 1-5


I haven't really heard any bad things about Shiver. To start I loved the atmosphere Maggie created I honestly felt cold while I read the book. I felt like I was standing in Grace's backyard scanning the woods for wolves. The two main characters Grace and Sam instantly connect when he is a wolf and she is a young girl. I am an animal lover so I understand the bond one can have with animals, but I can understand why it might be hard for some readers to grasp how she "loves" a wolf. Grace is attacked by wolves when she is very young, and she recognizes Sam as the wolf who saved her. Granted she has no idea his name is Sam yet because he is always in wolf form when she sees him. Maggie put a new spin on the lycanthropy disease. The wolves change to wolves when its very cold, and back in the spring. However they only get so many years then they are just plain wolves forever. It makes the love story a little tragic. One of Grace's classmates (Jack) gets attacked by wolves and is believed to be dead, so hunters go into Grace's woods to hunt "her" wolf. She has to save him so she runs into the hunter infested woods to protect him. I really found the love story to be refreshing. I just had one problem with it. I felt like possibly Grace's personality shifted of bit. I mean before she met Sam in human form she seemed different. Then boom he comes into her life, and she is braver and a little more romantic. It could possibly be she was never truly attracted to any boy before Sam, and possibly her animal instincts just take over when it comes to him. She just knows what to do because of the animal attraction. I still found the chemistry between the two cute though. Then Isabel Jack's sister starts asking questions because she thinks Jack isn't really dead. Just have to say I love Isabel I might even like her more than the main characters. Jack becomes obsessed with finding a cure and even bites Grace's friend Olivia to force her to help. They all have to work together to try and solve the problem. Isabel cracks me up with her attitude, and I'm not huge fan of Grace's friend Olivia. I don't hate her she just isn't my favorite. All through this entire book Grace's parents annoy me greatly. I think there total lack of parental knowledge is sadly very common. It was a good touch to make Grace have "head in the clouds" parents because many teens can relate to that. They were both frustratingly selfish individuals, and it sort of breaks your heart. Also Shelby she is scary, and completely insane. She seems a bit delusional, and given her sketchy dark past its explainable. She is scary in both human and wolf form. Also to me she is more of a villain than Jack. Jack is just desperate now Shelby she is creepy. The ending of the book confused me a little, but nothing to major. I like the direction the story went, and am greatly anticipating Linger.


Grace
I picture Grace as very clean cut, and independent. She is basically an adult who still goes to high school. Then she meets Sam, and I feel like she changes a bit and becomes a little less serious. She connects with the wolves, and they are what she looks forward to. Everything in her life was just waiting. All her normal routine was just things to pass the time while she waited for her real life to start. That started when she met human Sam. He was the missing piece in her life. I like the smiley fun Grace she turned into she became so brave and sure of everything. She fell into such a routine with Sam everything was so natural. I love how she found a family in Sam, Isabel, and Olivia. She needed that she was neglected to long.

Sam
Sam is unlike any character I have ever had the pleasure of dissecting. He is so broken however not in a normal way. He is a hero, but also a brooding poetic soul. He is extremely fragile like a deer he could be spooked into running easily. Your not quite sure if he is real. Like if you reach out and touch him your hand might go right through. I was waiting for Grace to wake up and realize she was dreaming. He lives in his head, and comes out just to talk with Grace. When he talks to other people its just going through the motions. He cares about Beck (his stand in Dad) but I feel he truly opens up only to Grace.

Olivia
Olivia is a shy and backward type of girl. She connects with the wolves to, so she can relate to Grace. I however never really connected with Olivia. I felt she was to quick to dismiss Grace, and her fascination with the wolves. She isn't that great of friends with Grace yet, it does come the bond is strengthened it just takes some time. Olivia goes through a lot, and I think learns from it.

Isabel
She is the diva of Mercy Falls. She is a strong popular girl, and full of hilarious attitude. She is blunt, brave, and a snappy dresser. She will put you in your place, but you don't hate her for it. She is a bit intimidating, but I think she has a good heart. She is a quick thinking snarky girl, and I hope a vital character in Linger.

2 comments:

Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...

This book is on my list to read. I am hoping to get to it next year and be ready for book 2. Don't know if I will be able to but like to think it is possible. Great review!

Katy said...

-It took me a while to read it I kept getting sidetracked its a pretty big book lol.