Review by Lauren - Shiver

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

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.

First Impression: Well, FIRST impression was simply upon viewing the cover, which is gorgeous, so right away I was excited. After reading the jacket description, I was even more excited. Although I am not keen on more Twilight stuff, which I'm sure goes for most of you guys, the ressemblances I could see did not turn me off the book. It seemed like an adorable plot.

It definitely was.

Shiver is a love story. The difference was that it didn't fall into a cookiecutter layout. We start out with love - they've both been in love with the other from a distance for years - and having it grow. I loved that there was never any uncertainty, no stressing over affections. This is similar to Twilight but it was also different. It seemed less intense, more humain. More like Bella's relationship with Jacob - which also works because the book is about werewolves. For those of you who hate Jacob, Sam is not Jacob. He is beyond adorable though.

The conflict of Shiver is that once the weather becomes colder, the human werewolves become wolves until it gets warm once again. Their time spent as a human grows progressively smaller as the years pass, and Sam has reached the point where he will no longer turn human again. The book is Grace and Sam's desperate struggle to keep him human while time runs out.

Final Impression: I loved Shiver. It was refreshing and gorgeous (as is the cover). One of those books you want to just keep with you at all times. It feels like how I felt about Twilight before the whole craze - back when there was only one book out and no one had heard of it. It was that book you absolutely adored and wanted to share with everyone. There is intensity, but it's also refreshing and light.

Add to Shelf?: Yes but it will probably be for Christmas. I'm low on money at the moment lol... A really good book for its genre.

5.5/6 shelves - I feel as though I've been too lenient with my shelves lately. I'm getting picky. This could easily be a 6/6 though so I'll tag it under both lol. I'm torn.