Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Happy birthday, Addie! 
Last night, I finished reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. It’s the first book in a series of I don’t know how many books yet. However, Linger, the sequel, is due out Fall 2010.
The story’s about Grace, a girl who has been watching the wolves behind her house since she was 11 years old. One wolf in particular captivates her more than the others. Little does she know that this wolf is actually Sam, someone who has been living two lives. Sam spends the winter in the woods with his pack and watching Grace. In the precious months during summer, he spends his time as a human. When Grace meets Sam, she realizes he has to be the wolf that captivates her so much. As winter nears, Grace and Sam must fight to keep Sam human, otherwise risk the possibility of losing each other forever.
I absolutely loved Shiver. In fact, it has earned a place on my Favorites shelf. The story was sweet and sensual, exciting and heart-breaking, and happy and sad. And, even though it seemed kind of slow at first, I was hooked from the beginning because of the characters. Grace and Sam made the story seem so real. I loved the cleanliness and innocence of the sensuality of Grace and Sam’s relationship. I also loved the awkwardness of experiencing first love through them.
My favorite thing about the book was that it changed from Grace’s point-of-view to Sam’s and vice versa. In fact, now that I’ve read Shiver, I think the change in point-of-view between the two main characters is the one thing Twilight is missing, at least until Stephenie Meyer finishes Midnight Sun. Getting to experience the world from both the human and wolf perspective was so enlightening and added so much to the story.
Because of Shiver, I want to read more books written by Maggie Stiefvater. She’s so talented and does a great job of forming the story and pulling you through it. I definitely recommend this book as a good read, especially if you’re a Twilight fan. However, even if you aren’t a Twilight fan and you like young adult paranormal romances, I think you’ll like Shiver.
My rating: 
Hi! Welcome to my blog. I'm Jenni Elyse. This is a blog about my life--the books I read, the parties I go to, the hobbies I enjoy, etc. I hope you enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy writing them! If you want to get to know me better, check out the 
Great review, Jenni! In the chat I attended with Maggie last night, she referred to Shiver as the first in a trilogy of books. The second book will be Linger, and the final book will be Forever. I really love her titles! I agree with you that hearing the story from both Sam’s point-of-view & Grace’s point-of-view made Shiver all the more compelling and fulfilling. Apparently, Linger will be told from four different points-of-view rather than just two. So that should be very interesting. Her faerie series also has great titles – Lament, Ballad, & Fugue. It sounds like there will eventually be five books in that series. The second book, Ballad is scheduled to hit bookstores October 1st. Isn’t it awesome to have more fun books to look forward to? YAY!
Thanks for the birthday shout-out and the recommendation! Shiver is going on my to-read list for sure!
I loved the two person narrative of this book. It was so great and enjoyable to get to hear from both of them since I’m a sucker for what those males are thinking when they’re swooning. Haha.
I just finished Shiver on Monday and was TOTALLY blown away. I had very low expectations going into it, so maybe that helped, but I thought it was an absolutely delicious book. And I’ve been obsessing about it since. I just read Maggie’s writing blog in it’s entirety over the last three days. She is absolutely hysterical and real and has some excellent advice for writers. I knew we could be friends if we met when I read a post where she said, “having to mop the floor has robbed me of my will to live.” I can’t stop thinking about this book, and I’m so glad she has another one for us to read in October. I am getting obsessive about this. Somebody stop me.
I just read this and I LOVE LOVE LOVED it! I agree with what you said about the two perspectives– it really enhanced the story and helped you identify with the characters. Thanks for the recommendation, Jenni. I never would have read this if it weren’t for your review.