Shiver – Maggie Shiefvater


ISBN: 978-0545123266
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Genre: Fantasy
Age Level: 11+
Reader’s Annotation: Even since Grace was attacked as a child, she has watched the wolves from her window. Especially the one with the yellow eyes. When the wolf becomes human; and Grace learns the truth about Sam their future is challenged by the nature of life.
Summary: This is a classic boy meets girl story, the only problem is the boy is a wolf. Sam only gets so many years as a human. Each summer he changes to his human form, and when the weather slowly gets colder, he turns back to the wolf. As the years go by he will spend less time as a human, until finally he will remain wolf forever. When he finally meets Grace, the girl he has watched from the woods for years, he is ecstatic to know her name and reveal himself as human. Forces conspire to keep them apart: a she-wolf resents Grace, and mysterious killing are leaving recently dead teens as newly turned werewolves. It’s up to Grace and Sam to find who’s responsible while trying to keep the cold from turning Sam back into a wolf.
Evaluation: This will definitely appeal to those tweens looking for something along the lines of Twilight. The chemistry between Grace and Sam is palpable and readers will long for a happy resolution between the two. Meanwhile, the history and existence of Sam’s pack keep the action hungry readers satisfied. An entertaining read for lovers of Bella and Edward.
Author Info: The author of Lament and Ballad – two companion books in a series about faeries.
Booktalk Ideas: Like Twilight? Try this.
Challenges: Very clean.
Selection: I’m a Twi-hard. This was getting so much hype, so I bit (so to say).