Title: Shiver
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: YA paranormal fiction
Publisher: Scholastic
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Audiobook from the public library
Audiobook reader: David LeDoux and Jenna Lamia
First line: I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves.
Grace loves the wolves that live behind her house – especially her wolf. He watches her every winter, and she waits each year for his reappearance. When a local boy is killed – or is he? – by the wolves, the town is riled up. A hunting party is sent out, and when a boy with a bleeding gunshot wound shows up at Grace’s house, she knows that he is her wolf. As Grace begins to fall for Sam, she learns the truth about the Wolves of Mercy Falls – and learns that this is Sam’s last season as a human. As Grace and Sam try to savor their first – and last – days as a couple, the wolves’ latest newborn is risking exposure of the whole pack.
I wish I had trusted the rave reviews of Shiver that I’ve been reading in the book blogosphere. To be honest, I thought it was just another “smart girl falls for bad boy but knows there’s something weird going on” kind of story, but Shiver is so much more than that. First of all, it is beautifully written, full of melancholy, a bittersweet tragic romance. It is also dotted with bits of poetry and a love of art and literature.
After finishing Shiver, I immediately downloaded the audio of the sequel, Linger. I was so sad to say goodbye to Grace and Sam; I can’t wait to continue to hear the story of the Wolves of Mercy Falls.
Audio notes: Shiver is told in first person by the characters of Grace and Sam. Both characters were voiced by favorite narrators of mine: Jenna Lamia, who amazingly voiced Skeeter in The Help, voiced Grace. David LeDoux portrayed Sam; he is the same narrator who voiced the young Jacob in Water for Elephants. I was sad to see that his name is not on the list of narrators who worked on Linger – his voice will be missed.
yay! I love this book and I’m glad you did, too!
Amy @ My Friend Amy´s last post ..Reading to Become Part II
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Amy – I did – I already started listening to Linger!
Isn’t it fantastic? I really adore this series, so much so that I’ve gotten the audio to re-read prior to Forever being released. Glad you enjoyed.
Michelle´s last post ..Michaela MacColl – Prisoners in the Palace
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Michelle – how long do we have to wait for Forever?
I can’t wait to read this! I had to pass it up last time at the library though because I have some review obligations (and had to read Graceling, which you also loved!) but it’s definitely on my radar!
rhapsodyinbooks´s last post ..Review of “The Ice Princess” by Camilla Läckberg
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Rhapsody – I’m glad you’re reading Graceling – I really enjoyed it!
Twitter: BookAddictHeath
says:
I was surprised by how much I loved this one too! I’m currently halfway through Linger and loving it.
Heather @ Book Addiction´s last post ..Pyongyang- A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Heather – glad to hear it’s just as good.
I have to admit that even with the raves, I wasn’t that excited about this book until I heard the author read from it. I’m so glad to see you loved the book so much.
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Kathy – I would love to see the author in person!
Twitter: youvegottaread
says:
My daughter loved both of these books, but I have yet to pick them up. I guess maybe I was thinking the same thing you were…girl loves paranormal heartthrob bad boy. I guess the best way for me to get to these before the year 2020 is to see if the library has the audios. I’m off to see what they have…
Sandy´s last post ..Sunday Salon- Ill sleep when Im dead
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Sandy – I hope they have them on audio for you!
Twitter: BethFishReads
says:
I really loved the audios of these books — the male voice seemed a bit old at times, but not distractingly so.
Beth F´s last post ..Todays Read- Diamond Ruby by Joseph Wallace
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Beth – the voice of Sam is different in #2 – he seems a bit younger, I think.
Twitter: Vasilly
says:
OMG! You’re making me want to listen to the audio version of this book! Great review!
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Vasilly – you definitely should!
Twitter: coffeebookchick
says:
I still can’t believe I haven’t read this one yet!
Coffee and a Book Chick´s last post ..By Fire- By Water- by Mitchell James Kaplan
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Coffee & Book Chick – it took me a while to get around to it, too.
I have a copy of Shiver and still haven’t read it. I think this is one of those books that I really need to get to before the end of the year!
Ash´s last post ..Sunday Salon- Changes- changes
Twitter: booksandmovies
says:
Ash – you may want to spread them out – I finished Linger last night and am dying that I have to wait until April for the last one!
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