Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver
*****

How many people can say they met the author before they read the book?  Ok, probably more than I think but still, that is what happened to me and fellow Bibliojunkie, Shel.  We met Ms. Stiefvater (meaning she said Hi and signed our copies of Shiver and Linger) at a This is Teen event that was hosted by a local bookstore and Scholastic.  I’ll be honest with you; I had no idea who she was or what Shiver was until about a day before we attended the event.  Fortunately Shel is our Collector of Books.  Even if she hasn’t read it yet, she probably owns it or knows a thing or two about it.  So she brought me up to speed on the popularity of Shiver.  I looked it up.  It sounded promising.  Really, who doesn’t love werewolves?  So I bought Shiver and took it to the signing having no idea what beauty lie in those pages. 

And here I am now after finishing Shiver; a complete and utter sobbing mess.  I jumped into this book ready for Ms. Stiefvater’s unconventional werewolf lore.  I wasn’t ready for what was the sheer loveliness of the story and the words used to tell it. 

To give you a quick overview without being spoilery:

Grace was attacked by wolves as a child.  Since then she has had a seemingly unhealthy fascination with the wolves. 

Sam has loved Grace from the moment he first set eyes on her 6 years ago.  But he has only admired her from afar and has never approached her.

A wolf attack on a high school student sets into motion a series of events that finally throw Sam and Grace together.  Together they have to fight to keep Sam human so that they can be together as long as possible before the impending winter takes everything away.

I enjoy almost all books I read to a certain extent.  And I read them fairly quickly because I can’t wait to see what will happen next.  But Shiver was not a book to be read quickly.  Never until now have I felt the need to savor each and every word as if I will be losing something when it is done.  Much like Grace and Sam savor every moment they have together because they don’t know when it will be their last.  

I can’t recommend this book enough.  It’s beautiful and enchanting.  If you are a romantic like me, you will not be disappointed.

Nat