Katya's bookshelf: howl-like-the-wolf (showing 1-6 of 6) (sorted by: date added) (cover view)

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cover

title

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1)

author

Stiefvater, Maggie *

isbn

0545123267

isbn13

9780545123266

asin

num pages

392 pp

avg rating

3.82

num ratings

155,124

date pub

Aug 01, 2009

date pub edition

Aug 01, 2009

Katya's rating

1 of 5 stars

my rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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review

This book has everything that bothered me about Twilight. The one-dimensional characters, the romance based on nothing (except how good Grace smells -...more This book has everything that bothered me about Twilight. The one-dimensional characters, the romance based on nothing (except how good Grace smells - sound familiar?) the absentee parents, the over-the-top romantic chivalrous boy, the girl willing to abandon everything for her all-out love. I understand that this was written before Twilight, but it doesn't bother me any less. Sadly, being published after Meyer's books, Shiver reads like 'Twilight: Team Jacob Version'.

Grace was probably the worst part of the book, and since the majority of the book is told from her perspective, it made it nearly unbearable. Her character just makes. no. sense. She's pragmatic, yet obsessive, stoic, yet angsty, a loner by choice (and a seeming introvert) yet sex-crazed. Her entire obsession with Sam and the way she kept calling him 'her wolf' in the first quarter of the book drove me insane. Any normal eleven year-old girl, upon being attacked by wolves, would probably develop a severe phobia of them. This one tries to save their lives after they attack another teenager. She's so happy that Sam actually turned out to be a werewolf (probably relieved that she didn't turn out to be into bestiality) that she's completely blase about the very existence of werewolves. And for all her 'bookishness', she's far too comfortable with Sam, too quickly. Her entire persona is one big oxymoron. Makes. no. sense.

There's not much to say about Sam, except that his voice sounds no different from hers, save the times he sounds like a forty year-old woman when he exclaims things like "Oh my God, that is horribly cute". What eighteen year-old boy does that? Oh, and he writes laughably bad poetry, or makes up lyrics in his head, or something. I'm not really sure, but they're terrible.

This book is in terrible need of better editing. There are numerous continuity issues, like Sam picking up a book and slouching down in his seat twice in two paragraphs, or sitting in the front seat of a car in one paragraph, being stretched out in the back in the second, and somehow appearing back in the front in the third. Either he can teleport in addition to being a werewolf, or Stiefvater should find a better editor.

The problem of wolfing out in the wintertime... it seems like an interesting explanation for the 'werewolf disease', and having it be caused by science instead of magic is a nice change. Unfortunately, the explanation for the wolves' inability to live in warmer climates is flimsy and seemed tacked-on at the last minute. If the wolves can't control wolfing out in the cold, why wouldn't it be the same for heat? It just reads as a desperate plot device indended to throw a spoke into the wheels of Sam and Grace's relationship.

Now, can we talk about the problem of Shelby for a second? She was grossly mishandled, as a character and as a catalyst for Sam and Grace's relationship that was nonchalantly pushed aside so they could be together. For all that Sam claims that the pack takes care of each other, they certainly did not take care of poor Shelby. She was abused in the past, and it was presumed that Beck rescued her - except he didn't. Instead of trying to help her overcome her issues and helping her heal, Beck and the rest of the pack let her problems go unchecked and even amplified them - threatening to send her back when she went berserk on precious Sam was possibly the worst thing they could have done to a traumatized girl. They just let her problems get worse and worse and villified her so horribly so then they just had to try and kill her after she reached the point of no return from letting her problems go unchecked. So much for taking care of each other. Disgusting.

And... why did the cure work on Sam and not on Jack? Did Jack die because he was a jerk and deserved it, while Sam was the hero and needed to live? It makes no sense, especially because Jack was actually human when he was given the cure and Sam wasn't. This entire book just makes no sense. I doubt I'll be reading the sequel.(less)

notes

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comments

18

votes

2

# times read

1

date started

Jun 2010

date read

Jun 08, 2010

date added

Jan 12, 2010

date purchased

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format

Hardcover

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