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Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1)

Maggie Stiefvater (Goodreads Author)

3.77 · Rating details · 387,206 Ratings · 21,325 Reviews

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 ...more

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Hardcover, 390 pages

Published August 1st 2009 by Scholastic Press

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Jul 04, 2010 Kat Kennedy rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: Insomniacs... no, sorry, even then it's too cruel.

Recommended to Kat Kennedy by: The world. A very gender confused world.

Shelves: just-plain-bad, kat-s-book-reviews, kat-s-rants, ya-pnr-maddness

I started reading this book and a curious thing happened. Suddenly my house was sparkling clean, my bills were filed away, I started playing Farm Story and reached level 13 in one day, I did my tax, I spent two hours chatting to the chatbott, Jabberwocky...Anything, and I mean ANYTHING to avoid the boredom of reading Shiver. Shiver, the story of a girl drastically into beastiality, only to find out her wolf lover was really a boy. As I read this book I had the strange urge to lock up my German s ...more

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Dec 13, 2010 Joe rated it did not like it

Shelves: young-adult, borrowed-library, fantasy

Here's how I imagine Stiefvater's meeting with the publishing house.

Stiefvater: I want to write a book about a girl who falls in love with a vampire!
Publisher: Sorry, Maggie. That's been done before. Read Twilight. It's terrible!
Stiefvater: Oh. I want to write a book about a girl who falls in love with a zombie!
Publisher: Sorry, Maggie. That's been done before. Read Generation Dead. It's terrible!
Stiefvater: Oh. I want to write a book about a girl who falls in love with a werewolf!
Publisher: Bin ...more

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Jul 08, 2009 Heather rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2009

I read this book to the end so you don’t have to. Shiver should come with a Surgeon General’s Warning. I think all the purple prose has blacked out my eyes! Too bad the swelling didn’t prevent me from noticing the ginormous plot holes. And I need some aspirin because my head aches from clenching my jaw as I am certain all the sappy sweetness contained in this adverb infested book was injected straight into my molars. I am very much at a loss as to how this book has received so many glowing revie I read this book to the end so you don’t have to. Shiver should come with a Surgeon General’s Warning. I think all the purple prose has blacked out my eyes! Too bad the swelling didn’t prevent me from noticing the ginormous plot holes. And I need some aspirin because my head aches from clenching my jaw as I am certain all the sappy sweetness contained in this adverb infested book was injected straight into my molars. I am very much at a loss as to how this book has received so many glowing reviews. Am I missing something?

Allow me to recount the story (for mood purposes, you need to know that the setting of this book is frigid, so, well, feel cold okay?) Moving on, Grace is 17 and in love with a golden eyed wolf that saved her when she was 11 and too weak and insipid to fight back for herself as wolves were attempting to consume her flesh. Unable to think of anything but her love for a wild dog, Grace is forever seeking out her wolf, trying to catch a glimpse of him or possibly make friends with him a la White Fang, only in a romantic way. Sounds disturbing right? Well brace yourself cause this wild dog is equally obsessed and in love with Grace, either due to the fact that she looked like an angel while lying in the snow, nearly catatonic and helpless or because his wolf self likes the stink of fear and uselessness. What follows is a story about how these two characters defy lame and dare I say “borrowed” werewolf lore, meet, cuddle, spout lame poetry and construct sad song lyrics.

The best part of this book is the cover and the font, which sadly, had nothing to do with the author. There was one well done scene, and the description was able to establish the temperature of the setting which was pertinent to the plot. But the very thing that the author was good at, description, was one of the very worst things about Shiver. I have yet to meet, and I pray that I never will, a guy that describes himself as a “leaky womb”. I don’t even know what that means, I guess he felt like a menstruating uterus which seems very strange. I have never eaten in a kitchen that smells like easy survival, nor liked the smell of armpit, or heard a guy call anything “horribly cute”, much less a pom pom hat, call me crazy.

Also, I am sure this author doesn’t like having her book compared to Twilight, but it seems as though she was attempting to cash in on its success. Aside from the whole temperature angle, the werewolf lore in this book reeked of Stephanie Meyer’s werewolf lore, which was ludicrous, not to mention a major bore fest. Grace might as well have been a Bella cutout, though somehow not as interesting, which is a whole new low that I never would have thought possible. And Sam, well he is the werewolf version of Edward, only lacking in confidence, swoonworthiness, and talent.

I’m not going to lie, I had some aww moments, I’ve already mentioned there being one very well done scene, and sometimes I would catch myself nearing a teary eyed state when Sam would talk about his dread of the impending winter. But those moments were usually massacred by extreme ridiculousness, childishness, pretentious poetry, and random outbursts of nonsensical song lyrics that were impossible to ignore.

So YA readers, do yourself a favor, and avoid this book like the plague otherwise you may experience bruising of the retinas, sore teeth, and burnt fingers from turning all those frosty pages. Other side effects may include side stitches from laughing at extreme ridiculousness, random eye twitching and scratchy throat from asking WTH? more times than I can count.
...more

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Jul 30, 2009 Tatiana rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: Twilight fans, especially those on Team Jacob

Recommended to Tatiana by: YA Book club pick

Shelves: 2009, ya, why-the-hype, romancelandia

To sum it up, this book should have been called "Twilight: Team Jacob Version." Why? Well, while I understand that the author wrote her first draft of "Shiver" before "Twilight" came out, still, the similarities are striking. A boring girl whose only personality traits are obsessing about her supernatural boyfriend, doing homework and cooking dinner for her parents - check; an emo supernatural boyfriend whose life revolves around his human flame, who plays an instrument and writes songs for his ...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: fans of A Certain Slant of Light

Shelves: favorite-ya, favorites-all-time, pn-shapeshifters, young-adult, gorgeous-prose, read-2011, crush-worthy-boys, made-my-heart-hurt, series-with-disappointing-endings, snowy

Lovely, lyrical, and achingly sad. Shiver is more introspective than most YA books and is sometimes criticized for being too slow or wordy, but I found it to be beautifully written, tragic, and a gorgeous take on werewolf lore. Sam's desperate struggle to hold onto his humanity is incredibly poignant, and his heartrending relationship with Grace is deeply emotional and sweet. It's a book that makes me cry every time I read it.

Sam cupped my face in his hands and looked me in the eyes. His eyes we ...more

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Oct 09, 2009 Penny rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: Nobody. Not even my worst enemy.

Shelves: paranormal-romance, stalled, ya-fiction, disappointing, werewolves, should-never-have-been-published, reviewed-books, wish-i-could-unread, i-think-i-m-gonna-be-sick

Who is publishing these horribly written YA novels? Who? (every publisher, ever) And more importantly, why? (for tons of cash)

First off, I didn't finish this book. I couldn't finish this book. I couldn't get 1/4 of the way through, even though I have the audiobook. Actually not only is this book boring as hell but the audiobook was poorly cast (more on that later). This is another book I picked up because of the pretty cover. *kicking self, a lot*

I have to admit the premise sounded interesting ...more

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Feb 07, 2010 Cory rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: Idiots

Recommended to Cory by: No-one

Trolls: You are welcome to comment on my review. I won't delete your comments. Curse my name, curse my mother, I don't care. But please, don't forget to leave a comment. And make sure to send my review to all of your friends.

And the award for worst book of 2009 goes to: Shiver

What makes this book so bad, you may ask? Well, in layman's terms, I'm going to give a logical, detailed explanation as to why Shiver sucks--alliteration unintentional.

1. Grace

Grace has to be the worse heroine ever. Excuse ...more

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Sep 16, 2009 Miss Kim rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Miss Kim by: YA PR fans

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult, 2010, favorites

This is a different take on werewolves, and I really liked it. Grace and Sam first meet when she is eleven, and attacked by his pack of wolves. He was a wolf and for some reason he didn’t understand, he saved her and took her away from the attack. Grace has been fascinated by this yellowed eyed wolf ever since. Her backyard touches the forest, so she is able to observe the wolves all winter.

These wolves shapeshift based on the temperature changes of the seasons. During summer, they are human an ...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Maja (The Nocturnal Library) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-the-right-choices, favorites, books-that-changed-me, made-me-cry, role-models, werewhatevers, amazing-writing, reviewed-in-2011, books-with-soundtracks, own-a-dtb

6.5 stars!

I don’t know how to review a book that took my breath away. Shiver left me with a feeling of complete satisfaction, joy spiced with sadness - as weird and paradoxical as that sounds. I’m so grateful to have read this book after all…

There aren’t many books on my 'books that changed me' shelf. In fact, there were only seven until today. But Shiver deserved its place, and now there are eight. What’s so special about it? I’ll try to be polite and refrain from gushing, but it won’t be easy 6.5 stars!

I don’t know how to review a book that took my breath away. Shiver left me with a feeling of complete satisfaction, joy spiced with sadness - as weird and paradoxical as that sounds. I’m so grateful to have read this book after all…

There aren’t many books on my 'books that changed me' shelf. In fact, there were only seven until today. But Shiver deserved its place, and now there are eight. What’s so special about it? I’ll try to be polite and refrain from gushing, but it won’t be easy.

Boy saves girl, girl falls for a boy and they end up living happily ever after. Only the boy isn’t a boy at all, and the happily ever after is meant for some other people, in some other story.
I was suddenly struck by how dissimilar we were. It occurred to me that if Grace and I were objects, she would be an elaborate digital clock, synced up with the World Clock in London with technical perfection, and I’d be a snow globe – shaken memories in a glass ball.

Grace is an amazing character! I love how strong and decisive she is, always scared but never really showing her fear. She reminds me of a girl I used to be know. After the way she surrendered to the wolves at the beginning, I was afraid she would be another one of those characters. But only a few chapters later, a huge white she-wolf showed up at her window, and instead of cowering in some corner, Grace snarled back at it! Not many authors can make you feel such pride at the very beginning of a novel!

When can you say for sure that you’ve fallen in love with someone’s writing? If your mind isn’t registering words at all, but sounds and colors and emotions so strong that you can feel them twirling inside of you, beautiful, agonizing and powerful.... that’s it – you’re in love! I know this because it happened to me with Maggie Stiefvater. Obviously not everyone feels the same way, and that’s ok. There are times when I too appreciate a very different writing style, more economical and crisp. But sometimes I just want to marvel at other people’s talent, and Stiefvater gave me that chance.

I’m pretty sure Shiver will become my comfort book, familiar and soothing like the blanket I wrap myself in when I’m not feeling well. There are only a few books I keep going back to: The Master and Margarita when I need to restore my faith in love, Dolores Claiborne when I need courage, Harry Potter when I need optimism, lately I’ve added The Reapers Are the Angels for when I need strength, and now I have Shiver to remind me that there’s beauty everywhere.

...more

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Sep 02, 2013 Emily May rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, pnr

I can sum this book up in one sentence: Beautiful writing that cannot make up for the Twilight-esque depiction of creepy love interest and boring main character.

I would, however, happily try out some of the author's other work and I just hope it doesn't focus so heavily on obsessive emo teen love.

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Dec 10, 2009 Melanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: shifters, romance, fantasy, paranormal, young-adult

I probably should wait a little bit to write this review, but I can't! I guess I will start out with saying that this book drew me in from the moment I laid eyes upon it. The book cover is breathtaking. Even when I opened the first page of the book I was still taken back by how simple and beautiful it was. Yet, I can not judge a book just by its cover. I am not sure I can even find the words to describe how much I loved this book. It gave me an amazing feeling throughout the whole entire book. F ...more

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Mar 27, 2010 Meredith Holley rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: Bertrice Small

Shelves: young-adult, reviewed, audio

The bestiality was definitely the most beautiful part of this story. It may seem obvious to you that such would be the case, but it was not obvious to me. I am not typically a fan of falling in love with dogs. There was truly something surreal and creepy about that part of this story that grabbed me, though. If only this had been a short story about one girl’s creepy obsession with wolves, I think I could have really liked it. It starts out with a ghostly beauty that is legitimately respectable. The bestiality was definitely the most beautiful part of this story. It may seem obvious to you that such would be the case, but it was not obvious to me. I am not typically a fan of falling in love with dogs. There was truly something surreal and creepy about that part of this story that grabbed me, though. If only this had been a short story about one girl’s creepy obsession with wolves, I think I could have really liked it. It starts out with a ghostly beauty that is legitimately respectable. And it ends with the same stark, Midwestern haunting feeling. But, the middle of this story is really, really douchey. It’s like when your friend falls in love, and it’s fun to talk about the boy she likes for a little while; and then your eyes glaze over, and she’s still talking; and then you get a little uncomfortable about the obscene level of detail she’s giving you (about what they ate for breakfast and how their elbows touched like fifty times, nothing exciting), and she’s still talking; and then you realize that both she and her boyfriend are morons, and you were wrong to have been friends with her to begin with. But didn’t she say something pretty about trees once?

I just wanted these kids to get a room, and then they did get a room, but kept telling me about everything. Gag. It was like being the third wheel in a makeout session that lasted foooooreeeeveeeer. One of the most boring, boring, boring stories ever. And, man, the guy is such a douchebag. He’s, like, composing douchey poetry while they’re making out and stuff. Like, just make out if you’re going to make out. I don’t want to know about any of these things. And I certainly don't want to hear your douchey poetry. Talk about a Shelley complex.

And, I listened to it on audio, so I couldn’t skim. The audio wasn’t bad, other than how boring this story was. I mean, I wanted to read my administrative law cases sometimes while I was listening to this. That’s how boring it was. Then there was a really douchey interview with the author at the end of the CDs. Oh, man. She was talking about how she wrote this book to make her audience cry. Fail. For me, at least.

So, the narrative in the book goes back and forth between the boyfriend perspective and the girlfriend perspective. That kind of makes sense to me as a device, but I always get caught up in thinking about narrative voices. Like, in first-person narratives, I have to create a background story in my mind for how the characters decided to write the book. It just seems like such a douchey thing for a boyfriend and girlfriend to impose their sappy story in the world and think it’s a good idea. Also, in this case it doesn’t really make sense because they make it out like the girl practically doesn’t speak English and only understands numbers, but her narrative has the more beautifully written moments in the book. That’s a petty complaint, but it’s true.

There is a thing about evil parents in here that I like, though. I liked how the kids reacted to the horror of their parents but didn’t seem to hold it against them. All of the parents were interesting to me, and they actually came off as nuanced. They were very villainous, but I think I like villainous, unreliable parents in stories. They are interesting to read about. If only this whole book had been about the parents. Because, as it was, this experience was like only reading about the pastoral couple in Anna Karenina. So. Boring.

Did I mention that this is a boring book? That is your takeaway message. ...more

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Jan 07, 2011 Lisa rated it did not like it

Shelves: young-adult, paranormal-romance-urban-fantasy

Note: After rereading this review, I decided to make some changes. While I stand by my opinions, I was unhappy with some of the ways in which I chose to voice them. The language of this review has been edited, however, the opinions are unchanged.

I read Shiver because it was recommended to me by someone who wasn't impressed with Twilight and insisted this was better. Well, it's not, although I wouldn't go as far as to say it's worse. Mostly, I was bored to tears by the lack of a solid plot and su ...more

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Mar 28, 2014 Heather K (dentist in my spare time) rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, romance, paranormal, shifters, m-f, full-of-angst, everyone-else-loves-it, hype-hype-hype, did-not-finish, ranty-review

**1.5 stars**

I'm just going to come right out and say it:

This book is emo bullshit.

I listened to 8 hours of this story on audiobook before DNFing this at 75%. That is 8 hours of my life that I will never get back.

I know I'm in the minority here. I'm accepting it. However, I just can't see why people are so enamored with this book. I'll get all of my frustration out now by explaining a few of my main issues with this book. **Some minor spoilers ahead**

1) The whole "I shift when it's cold" premi ...more

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Mar 21, 2018 Jeff rated it liked it

So the story goes with Grace, a simple girl, who is protected by wolves that hang out around the woods near her backyard.

First of all:

you have wolves near your house?
YOU BETTER RUN

I don't know what kind of idea the author's trying to pull but trying to create a bold main character by saying she ain't afraid of wolves is pretty darn unimpressive to me.
See, the normal human wouldn't stay at a house like that, much less live there.
Unafraid.
By a freaking pack of wolves.

A message to you, Grace: ...more

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Jun 23, 2009 Thomas rated it it was amazing

Shelves: five-stars, young-adult, romance, fantasy

Shiver is narrated by the alternating points of view of Sam and Grace, two unbelievably different people drawn together by the power of love and devotion. When Grace was little, she was attacked by a pack of wolves but miraculously survived due to a certain yellow-eyed wolf's protection. Now her growing fascination is fixated on the wolves of Mercy Falls.

Sam isn't a human for as long as he would like to be. When the temperature drops and winter arises, he painfully transforms into a wolf. Howeve ...more

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Apr 02, 2015 Kai rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015, finished-series, owned

“The world needs more love at first sight.”

When I first read this (years and years ago) I totally fell in love with Maggie Stiefvater. I don't know what did it for me, but this just made me feel good. It's a perfect snuggle-up-on-a-rainy-autumn-day book.
The plot wasn't overly exciting, but I think it was the writing and the characters that I enjoyed (especially Isabel).
This series is so completely different from The Raven Boys . You can clearly see how much experience and skill Maggie gained thr ...more

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Dec 07, 2010 Lora rated it it was amazing

Shelves: g-ya-paranorm, favorites, series-still-follow, quality-ya-fic

When I made the decision to reread Shiver and its successor, Linger, in preparation for this trilogy's conclusion, Forever, I honestly got little butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it.
I originally read Shiver back in October of '09, and it hit me like nothing had before — and nothing has matched it since. Shiver mixes some of the sweetest, most realistic and heartwarming characters with a wonderfully chilly and melancholy atmosphere and it is written with stunningly lyrical prose. If ...more

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Jan 06, 2010 Kristen "Kirby" rated it it was ok

Shelves: why-are-these-books-popular, paranormal-books, reviews, ya

Shiver I did not.

Oh, another alluring, romantic-sounding novel about the relationship of a school girl and the wolf that has always protected her. Sounds soo good to all us teen girls and older women who loved Twilight. And yet, the equation is this: Appealing storyline + a gorgeous, mysterious cover = disappointed reader.

To be frank, reading Shiver was like labor outside on a hot day, with beads of sweat stinging my eyes, and a strong urge to just give up and quit. I was oh-so bored, sufferin Shiver I did not.

Oh, another alluring, romantic-sounding novel about the relationship of a school girl and the wolf that has always protected her. Sounds soo good to all us teen girls and older women who loved Twilight. And yet, the equation is this: Appealing storyline + a gorgeous, mysterious cover = disappointed reader.

To be frank, reading Shiver was like labor outside on a hot day, with beads of sweat stinging my eyes, and a strong urge to just give up and quit. I was oh-so bored, suffering from can't-help-but-be-spacey-itis, a condition in which you simply can't focus on a shredded storyline, thus unable to become absorbed. I mean, I laid down Shiver at least a thousand of times to watch TV. I’d stare at the same page for 5 minutes, spacing out over trivial things such as what I’d buy when I went out. I like to be interested in what I’m reading and Maggie lacked the skill of capturing my attention.

As for this author Maggie, I can say she was a stingy girl when it came to sharing details. Scenes and events were impossible to mentally act out and understand. Does she not know readers like to be absorbed in what they read? I don’t want to be told how the characters felt or what they did. I want to be along for the ride. I bet she wasn't beloved in kindergarten show and tell; she was a true believer of telling, not showing what was happening.

Blah. Did I mention the werewolf love interest?? I wasn’t no fan of Jacob, but Sam made him look like the coolest, most interesting, masculine thing out there. Sam was no guy I'd ever want to dream about or wish upon the stars to meet in my real life. He talked like an old lady, not a hunky 17, 18, 19 year old guy I'd want to know. Heck, I once thought Grace and her mother were chitchatting about the weather when I mistakenly realized it was actually good ole' Sam, not her mother, she was talking to. *wrinkles nose* Ick.

The author didn’t invest much time in the dialog of any of the characters. They all lacked personality. They all talked the same. They all were all faceless. I mean, we did have the photographer best bud Olivia and the other best friend, obnoxious whatever-her-name-was, but they were so boring and difficult to picture! And, reading about them was like listening to someone drone on in on in monotone about something you don't give a flying fig about. Maggie should have sat in the mall food court for 5 minutes to get the sense of how teens act and talk among their peers. It would have added a realistic sense to Shiver.

Fine. I'll quit ripping this book to pieces. I'll drudge up a good thing or two, I guess. I liked how the temperature forced the change of human to wolf. *sits for forty minutes and wracks brain for another good thing. is stumped*
Whelp, that's it.

*sighs at the money that could have been spent on a cute top or earrings or something*
...more

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Nov 18, 2012 C.G. Drews rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult, read-2014, 5-star

THIS IS A REREAD! I read it first about, say, 2 years ago now...and I've just read Sinner, so I wanted to reread Shiver because I MISS LITTLE GRACE AND SAM AND ISABEL AND COLE. (I'll be honest: mostly Isabel and Cole...but I do love Sam and Grace.)

Second time round, my thoughts? I noticed, compared to Maggie Stiefvater's writing now, Shiver was a lot thicker on description and action-less prose. The description still has the beautiful woah moments, but not as often as, say, The Raven Boys or T ...more

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May 29, 2009 Julie Kagawa rated it it was amazing

Picked up a copy of Shiver last night, sat down to read it, and did not get up until 2am, when I finished it. I went in expecting an eerie, bittersweet love story and that's exactly what I got. Shiver is told from alternating viewpoints, and you will easily fall in love with the characters of Grace and Sam. The writing is lyrical, the descriptions are breathtaking, and you can acutely feel the longing between the two teens, and their desperate struggle to keep Sam from changing. The ending was p ...more

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Nenia ✨ Queen of Literary Trash, Protector of Out-of-Print Gems, Khaleesi of Bodice Rippers, Mother of Smut, the Unrepentant, Breaker of Convention ✨ Campbell

Dec 29, 2017 Nenia ✨ Queen of Literary Trash, Protector of Out-of-Print Gems, Khaleesi of Bodice Rippers, Mother of Smut, the Unrepentant, Breaker of Convention ✨ Campbell rated it did not like it

Shelves: ya-ya-land, pnr-uf

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There's an old joke about TWILIGHT that you've probably heard: that it's the story of a teenage girl's struggle between necrophilia and bestiality, hurr hurr hurr. Well, here in TWILIGHT: Team Jacob Edition - *cough* - I mean, SHIVER, Maggie Stiefvater takes that a step further by writing about a girl named Grace who has romantic feelings for the wolf in her backyard. And when I say "wolf," that's not short for werewolf - before she even fi ...more

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Dec 09, 2015 Lara rated it it was ok

Shelves: books-i-didn-t-like

“What do you eat?"
"Baby bunnies." She narrowed her eyes, so I grinned and said, "Adult bunnies, too. I'm an equal-opportunity bunny-eater.”

I tried...

I really had high hopes for Shiver.
This is the story of Grace and Sam,and how Sam tries to stay human for their love.
It was cute but there was nothing interesting about the topic. The book was kind of boring. I turned every page with hope of action but, nope...
I liked the characters. Grace was tolarable and Sam was cute. I adored the way Sam lov

...more

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May 27, 2009 Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books) rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: fans of werewolf romance and fiction

Shelves: werewolf, young-adult, owned-copy, cleanup-challenge, stalkerific-hero, fated-to-be-mated, unrequited-love, stellar-love-story, favorites, hero-to-die-for

Oh, my. What a book. I am going to flub writing this review very badly, I think. I just plain loved this book. This book is so gorgeous in the writing, and like poetry, but more readable than poetry, because it's prose.

Do you like reading about soulmates? Then you will like this book. Sam and Grace are soulmates. It doesn't matter that Sam is a werewolf, and that Grace is a human girl. They connected years ago, and that connection bloomed over time. You see the pure, powerful love between them, Oh, my. What a book. I am going to flub writing this review very badly, I think. I just plain loved this book. This book is so gorgeous in the writing, and like poetry, but more readable than poetry, because it's prose.

Do you like reading about soulmates? Then you will like this book. Sam and Grace are soulmates. It doesn't matter that Sam is a werewolf, and that Grace is a human girl. They connected years ago, and that connection bloomed over time. You see the pure, powerful love between them, and it is the cornerstone of this book. Their interactions have a fiery intensity, a soul-deep truth (I sound so stupid, but that's the best way I can express this).

Do you like poetic, loveable, fantastic, yet tortured heroes? You will probably go gaga over Sam. I did. Oh, Sam. You are so wonderful. You could give lessons about how to love a woman.

Are you a werewolf fiction fan? Have you read this book? If the answer is no, you need to rectify that. I am not one for bandwagons. I read the books that draw my interest. And this one did, before it was even released, and I heard about it. I was not disappointed. I was waiting for a really good werewolf young adult book, and this is it. The aspects of werewolves that draw me and fascinate me are depicted here. The concept of pack is such an integral part of this book. Sam hated being a werewolf, but he loved his pack. He loved the bond and the security of it. Poor Grace had indifferent parents who barely even spent time with her. She had Sam living in her room for many days, and they didn't even know it. That's neglect. I don't care how well fed, sheltered, and clothed a child is. If that child isn't loved or nurtured by her family, that's neglect to me. So, having Sam and that bond with him felt so right. To Grace, he was her home and her family. Her pack. I loved the descriptions of the instincts of the wolf, the smell, the primal nature. It was so well done. I loved the wolf that Sam was. I loved the young man that Sam was.

I am a cold-natured person. I love being cold. Winter is my favorite season. It was very interesting how cold was the enemy to Grace and Sam. I dreaded the drop in temperature in a way I never have. In real life, I rejoice when the seasons turn to late fall, and eventually into deep winter. My favorite times of the year. Ask my family, and they will tell you I am a polar bear. I sleep with my window open when it's thirty-something degrees outside. But, reading this book, I wished it was the middle of the hot, unforgiving summer. Because cold was the adversary for Grace and Sam's love. Ms. Stiefvater depicted this beautifully.

If you're looking for major external conflict and a big smackdown between good and evil, you won't find it here. This book is focused on the love relationship between Sam and Grace. It's focused on the character development of these two, and the people in their lives.

This is a love story. Not just a boy meets girl. But, it's a love letter for werewolf fans. Highly, highly recommended for people who love werewolf fiction, and people enjoy lyrical, gorgeous prose, and stories that go deep into the heart of the reader and leave a sad kind of joy behind. Bravo. ...more

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Aug 19, 2013 Saania Zee Jamal ϟ marked it as not-gonna-bother

Shelves: ya-fantasy-romance, romance-shomance, ew, fantasy-la-la-la, covergasm, not-my-cuppa, not-my-kinda-trope, paranormal-shizzle

At times, I find myself at war over whether or not I should give this one a try. I mean, it's MAGGIE STIEFVATER. But thanks to many, many trusted reviews that I've read, I'm more inclined to believe this is one of those overly-hyped books that'll only leave room for disappointment and I'm certainly not willing to dive into that right now.

Maybe next year, when the holidays come around and I've got all the free time in the world to waste away...

But now that I think about it, I really shouldn't bot ...more

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Jul 01, 2009 Kelly rated it it was amazing

Forget everything you thought you knew about werewolves.

Forget the full moon and silver bullets. Maggie Stiefvater's werewolves are different from any you've seen before. After being bitten, a werewolf changes erratically for a while, then settles into a seasonal cycle. Cold weather brings on a change to wolf form; warm weather returns the werewolf to human form. However, this cycle doesn't last forever. As the years pass, it takes more and more heat to trigger the change back to human, until on Forget everything you thought you knew about werewolves.

Forget the full moon and silver bullets. Maggie Stiefvater's werewolves are different from any you've seen before. After being bitten, a werewolf changes erratically for a while, then settles into a seasonal cycle. Cold weather brings on a change to wolf form; warm weather returns the werewolf to human form. However, this cycle doesn't last forever. As the years pass, it takes more and more heat to trigger the change back to human, until one year the werewolf remains a wolf forever.

Our heroine, Grace, was attacked by wolves as a child. Just before she was about to become lunch, one of the wolves intervened and saved her. Ever since, Grace has watched for "her" wolf in the woods each winter. And every summer, a golden-eyed boy named Sam watches Grace from afar, too shy to approach her. Then, when one of Grace's high school classmates is killed in another wolf attack, several of the local men take it upon themselves to rid the town of the beasts. This time it's Grace who helps Sam. Finally, the two have the chance to get to know one another. Their budding relationship is marred by one tragic truth: This is almost certainly Sam's last year as a human.

Like Deirdre, the heroine of Lament, Grace is more "real" and well-rounded than many of the girls who populate YA paranormal romance. She's neither too perfect nor too wild, and she doesn't become subservient once her love interest appears on the scene. She's just an ordinary girl, compassionate and resourceful and caught in an unimaginable situation. The relationship between Grace and Sam is also refreshingly "real." They don't just fall in love because of the weird metaphysics that surround them. They bond over music and poetry and cooking and B-grade horror movies. The reader is left with the impression that, if only the looming metaphysical tragedy could be averted, they'd have a happy future together.

Which, of course, makes the inexorable approach of winter incredibly poignant. I couldn't put Shiver down, wondering how Grace and Sam's story would end, and Stiefvater kept me hanging till the very last page.

Shiver is written in vivid prose that engages all of the senses. Maggie Stiefvater does a great job of evoking the sight of a single spot of red against a sea of white, the sound of canine nails scratching at the deck outside Grace's house, and the smell of paper and ink in a bookstore on a warm summer day, making Shiver a fully immersive experience. I nearly forgot it was July here as I read; I could hear the winter winds howling. ...more

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May 18, 2010 Ang -PNR Book Lover Reviews rated it it was amazing

Shiver is AMAZING!!!

I brought this book at least 4 months or more ago and it just sat on my book shelve...Until i picked it up 2 days ago and then i couldn't put it down!!

This has to be the best Y/A book i have read in ages,from the first page i was sucked into their wonderful story.

Grace and Sam are AWESOME!!
Their story told by both of them was perfect,i am so in love with Sam he was so Sweet,Caring and Sexy but i felt like he was real and i was right there with in the story... Grace is well G ...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Laurel rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: Wolf fans? I dunno

Shelves: ya, why-is-this-a-series, why, um-what, sigh, read-em-once-then-it-s-done, meh, where-wolf, smells-like-teen-angst, plot-was-on-vacation

*To everyone who finds this novel lovely: your opinion is respected here as long as you are respectful. That should go without saying.*

Once upon a time, in a golden wood disguised as a beige and brown apartment complex in the snowy fortress of Rochester, New York, a girl on the brink of her 21st year by the code name Ghirardelli decided that diving into the mind of another author was a good idea. A very good idea. A hopefully life-changing dream that would propel her to drive her own mind’s work ...more

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Aug 23, 2017 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it liked it

Shelves: guilty-pleasure, i-have-no-shame, i-need-a-12-step-program, howwwwwwwl, im-a-lemming, liburrrrrry-book, monstersmex, read-in-2017, teenie-bopper-books

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

I had a pretty sever book hangover after finishing She Rides Shotgun and needed a “buffer read” before starting something new. This was exactly what I expected it to be. Except for the (view spoiler). Times have changed! Anyway, what can I say? I’m a pretty cheap sell when it comes to werewolf books. After all, I am the woman who not only called a radio station for weeks on end in order to win tickets to the ...more

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May 03, 2011 Catriona (LittleBookOwl) rated it it was ok

Shelves: owned

I had a lot of trouble reading this book. The start was so slow to get through and I just didn't enjoy it. Nothing happened until the end and even then it wasn't anything exciting.
I am normally compelled to finish a book, and I had to force myself to finish it - it wasn't so bad that I just couldn't continue altogether, but it was a struggle.

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YA Buddy Readers'...: Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater - Restarting May 4th 2018	285	297	May 29, 2018 01:16AM
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About Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater

99,386 followers

New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.

All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or tech ...more

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The Wolves of Mercy Falls (4 books)

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Quotes from Shiver

“You're beautiful and sad," I said finally, not looking at him when I did. "Just like your eyes. You're like a song that I heard when I was a little kid but forgot I knew until I heard it again." For a long moment there was only the whirring sound of the tires on the road, and then Sam said softly, "Thank you.” — 2226 likes

“It is possible to be in love with you just because of who you are.” — 2033 likes

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