Review: Shiver

Title: Shiver
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publication date: August 1st, 2009

Summary:
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.


Review:
Before you start reading Shiver, make sure you have ample time to be able to read it from cover to cover. And possibly repeat. Once I started reading it, I did NOT want to put it down. Maggie Stiefvater has created a completely believable novel, with characters that you'll instantly love. It's told from alternating viewpoints by Grace and Sam, which only makes it more amazing because you can see their feelings and see the story evolve from both of their perspectives. The chemistry between them was breathtaking; desire and longing and tension could be felt throughout the whole novel. There were moments where I almost had to hold back tears; it was just that beautiful. It's almost like Twilight, but Twilight definitely pales in comparison to Shiver. It only took a few pages before I was hooked, and Shiver has quickly become a new favorite novel of mine.


Characters: 10/10
Plot: 10/10
Originality: 9/10
Writing: 10/10
Overall grade: A+