Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1) in Never Too Old For Y.A. & N.A. Books

Jun 16, 2010 Dark Faerie Tales rated it liked it

Quick & Dirty: This is a well-written, heartbreaking, and imaginative novel.

Opening Sentence: I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves.

The Review:

When Grace was a little girl, she was attacked by a pack of wolves. Sam, a yellow eyed wolf came to her rescue. Sam wasn’t always a wolf. He was also attacked. Although Grace was bitten, she never changed. Grace has an undeniable connection with her yellow eyed wolf. In the subsequent years since her attac Quick & Dirty: This is a well-written, heartbreaking, and imaginative novel.

Opening Sentence: I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves.

The Review:

When Grace was a little girl, she was attacked by a pack of wolves. Sam, a yellow eyed wolf came to her rescue. Sam wasn’t always a wolf. He was also attacked. Although Grace was bitten, she never changed. Grace has an undeniable connection with her yellow eyed wolf. In the subsequent years since her attack, she grows more obsessed and attached to her wolf, Sam. Grace comes home one night to find a boy naked and bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound. Grace will do anything to keep Sam human because she needs him. A future without him is simply devastating. Sam battles to stay warm so that he can remain human. Once the winter arrives, he will turn into his wolf form.

For the most part, the world-building is good, and the characterization is solid. Grace and Sam have good chemistry, and I found it easy to get swept up in their emotions. They were a bit cheesy and overly consumed with one another, but given their situation it’s understandable. Being a wolf isn’t exactly easy. It’s a complex world of rules, secrets, and lies. Sam wants to hold onto his humanity and build a relationship with Grace. Grace is devoted to Sam and can’t imagine her life without him. In many ways they only have each other and for them this translates into a doomed love. I have some misgivings about the depth of their relationship being so automatic and believable, but ultimately I liked these flawed characters.

I do have a few issues with the book. First, I think the pacing was a bit slow at times. Second, certain aspects of the werewolf mythology don’t stand up to scrutiny. While I was initially taken with the rules that Ms. Stiefvater detailed, I ultimately had a hard time maintaining my suspension of disbelief. The main tenant of the werewolf mythology is that the wolf changing patterns are governed by the temperature/seasons, as opposed to the phases of the moon. Naturally, this raises some questions. Why doesn’t the pack just move to a location with a warmer climate? Ms. Stiefvater offers an explanation, but it rings false as evidenced by other events that transpire. I also think the “cure” for lack of a better word is lame. There are other aspects of the werewolf mythology that I like. Telling too much will spoil the experience of discovering this world, so I won’t go into too much detail.

Third, I absolutely despise Grace’s parents. I know that neglectful, abusive, and/or dead parents is a common trope in YA novels, but for some reason it really bothered me in this book. The reason that Grace doesn’t have enough structure and rules in her life is because her parents are completely self absorbed, and woefully absent from her life. Grace is desperate for their affection and attention. Her parents never seem to display any genuine concern for her or the things that are going on in her life. I think it’s appalling that Grace is able to have a boy essentially living with her in her parents’ house, sleeping in her bed with her night after night, and her parents are completely oblivious to this. Grace would go days without seeing or having any interaction with her parents. I guess I found these parents to be too unrealistic. What parents don’t go into their child’s bedroom? Ever?

Overall, Ms. Stiefvater has penned a good novel. The prose is beautiful and I loved how the alternating POVs were detailed. Shiver is a beautifully constructed story, written in such vivid detail. The plot has interesting twists that will illicit just about every emotion from the reader. This book is sure to entertain readers.

Notable Scene:

A riot of sensations assaulted me as soon as I got into the living room. Viciously cold air stung my eyes and twisted my stomach. My eyes quickly found the ragged hole in the door to the back deck; partially cracked glass hung precariously in the frame and thin, pink-stained shards lay all over the floor, winking light back up at me.

The chair at the breakfast table nook was knocked over. It looked like someone had splattered red paint on the floor, endless erratic shapes dropped and smeared from the door to the kitchen. For a moment I stood there, frozen by the absence of Grace and the frigid air and the stench of blood and wet fur.

FTC Advisory: Big Honcho Media provided me with a copy of Shiver. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. In addition, I don’t receive affiliate fees for anything purchased via links from my site. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 13, 2009 Written Word Review rated it really liked it

The Good: This story had a unique chilling twist from the typical werewolf stories filling bookstore bookshelves today.
I really enjoyed the way the author used two voices to tell this story. You got to glimpse both characters minds in away most authors don’t do. Also how she used poetry and lyrics to describe the feelings zinging through Sam. I liked the love between Sam and Grace. The way they acted around each other was reminiscent of real life soul mates. It wasn’t a corny kind of romance.

The ...more

Like · see review

Jan 12, 2010 Kathryn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, ya, pnr

I loved this book! What a love story...can't wait til the next book.. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 18, 2009 Michelle rated it it was amazing

She is such an amazing writer. It's not the same old werewolf story. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 22, 2010 Tynga rated it it was amazing

Grace has always been a lonely and shy girl. Pretty much raising herself because even though her parents technically lives with her, they don’t really take care of her. She’s the parent figure of the household and I think it kind of describes her well. She is caring, responsible and independent. Ever since she’s been attacked by wolves at a younger age, Grace has been fascinated by the wolves roaming the woods behind her house, and one of them is returning the favor. An epic love story, where im Grace has always been a lonely and shy girl. Pretty much raising herself because even though her parents technically lives with her, they don’t really take care of her. She’s the parent figure of the household and I think it kind of describes her well. She is caring, responsible and independent. Ever since she’s been attacked by wolves at a younger age, Grace has been fascinated by the wolves roaming the woods behind her house, and one of them is returning the favor. An epic love story, where impossible has a whole new meaning, awaits you within the pages of Shiver, and trust me, you don’t wanna miss out.

I’d like to start by saying, Shame on me for not picking this book earlier. It. Was. Amazing. Maggie created a very unique werewolf lore, and I’m actually uncomfortable using the word werewolf because it’s not really what they are. In this world, humans infected are either humans or wolves and they have no to very little control over their changes. I think the key element to this special lore is that when the “werewolf” is in wolf form, they are an animal with the instinct that goes with it and none of the human consciousness. And I don’t want to ruin the punch, so I won’t tell you what triggers the changes =)

Maggie knitted awesome characters and I will talk to you about Sam first because surprisingly, I connected more with him than with Grace. Sam is a boy with strong moral and is a pure gentleman, determined to do the right thing at all cost, it will sometime lead to some lovely awkward moments between him and Grace. He also got a very hard past and memories and nightmares are hunting him. His biggest torture is to loose himself when he is a wolf, and he fights it as hard as he can. While Sam is very artistic, Grace is very pragmatic and lives in an organized world. She always tries to find logic behind everything, and of course her logic fails her in a world where boys can turn into wolves. Secondary characters will also take an important role in the plot and while I enjoyed their personality, I kind of wanted to know a bit more about their past, they were all very rooted in the present.

Narration switches back and forth between Grace and Sam along the way (and it’s always clearly stated at the beginning of every chapter who the narrator is), which reveal a lot more depth to the plot. As you can guess my favorites part were the ones from Sam’s point of view, because he is such a sweet-heart, but Grace’s parts were equally good if you are not prejudiced. I also appreciated the little flashbacks encountered here and there along the way.

Under every chapter’s titles the temperature is noted, I thought it was very thoughtfully of Maggie to add this bit of detail as it is so meaningful to the story.

Maggie did an awesome job keeping us in unbearable suspense the entire book, not knowing if we’ll be granted a happy ending or not (and no I won’t tell you!), and I loved her writing. There was this scene in a candy shop when she described it by scent and I could totally picture myself there. Kudos for creating a world so tangible.

Shiver is a remarkably well-written epic love story, wrapped in a mysterious and magical lore. Sam & Grace will submerge you by their intensity and I’m sure you will never think of werewolves the same way again.

Lucky for me, Linger, the second book in the series, is about to hit the shelves, so I won’t have to wait for too long before I can dive in this world again!
...more

Like · see review

Mar 21, 2010 Bianca rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, books-i-loved, romance-i-envy-and-love, front-covers-i-love, best-characters, guys-i-wish-were-real, put-life-on-hold-to-read, goodreads-reading-challenge-2010

This has got to be one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read. The story line was great and even though it had a suspense factor (Not a major edge gripping one) I still felt completly addicted. Sam and Grace are so sweet and innocent, they are meant to be together. One of my favourite parts is where they are in the candy store and Sam says how they have been dating for 6 years. Nawh and the whole surprise attack kisses, that made my heart ache. Who doesn't want a boy like Sam? Sam h ...more

Like · see review

Mar 15, 2010 Kristy rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book,it wasn't mind blowing or a super-important read, but it was good.
Grace and Sams story starts off slowly, but once it materializes it is instantly intense. It would suck so bad to find your true love only to know that you could only be with them for a season before they would be gone forever.
I've read/heard a lot of people compare this to twilight (from Jacob's view), which I get to a point, but to me it's a completely different story. I love twilight, but I would def ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 09, 2009 Cindy rated it really liked it

I loved this book i could not put it down !!! i cant wait for the next book ;)

Like · see review

Sep 14, 2010 Kelly rated it it was amazing

Must.Go.Read.Linger. As in, right now! Shiver was just what I needed to read. Perfect length, description, character development, and plot. Now I can't wait to go read the sequel:) ...more

Like · see review