Shiver

For years Grace had been fascinated with the yellow eyed wolf that had saved her life when she was young. He is her wolf. And he becomes her obsession. This young wolf is Sam, and their love had been growing from a distance. Little did Grace know that Sam was also able to take the form of a human in the warmer months of the year. Little did these two know that they would be thrust together by a terrible tragedy. The death of a local teen brings about a wolf hunt that threatens Sam's life, but also Sam's ability to become human. Would Grace and Sam be able to foster this passionate love growing between them? Or would Sam be taken from Grace at the moment she realizes her wolf is also a human. The story delves into the true love between these two characters, but also the struggles of teenage relationships. These struggles are paralleled in a science fiction type way through the love of a human and a wolf. Stiefvater makes the love between a human and a werewolf completely believable and may possibly surpass the connection between Bella and Edward in the Twilight saga (which young adults should also check out: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html. It is basically the Team Jacob version of Twilight with striking similarities to Stephanie Meyer's series. Although Stiefvater provides a more romantic connection than between Bella and Edward with much more snuggling, cuddling, and embracing.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, not only because I am a Twilight fan, but because I really enjoyed Stiefvater's portrayal of teenage romance. Also how teenage romance can come in any form between any two people...no matter how different they are. I also enjoyed how Stiefvater portrayed Grace as a strong young adult woman who remains level headed throughout her passionate relationship with Sam. She seemed mature beyond her years and understood the deep connection between her and Sam. My only problem with Stiefvater's style of writing was that the point of views were somewhat confusing. The novel is mostly from Grace's perspective, but I think that Sam's voice sometimes got lost in the narration. I found this video interesting because it is one reader's perspective on what the characters from this novel would look like...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhI7xc8IjTw. (I surprisingly kind of agree!)

I think that this book would be very appealing for Young Adult readers because of the vampire/werewolf phenomenon, but also the subject matter. This book provides a social commentary on relationships between two different kinds of people...this could relate to anything from a werewolf/human relationship to something like an interracial relationship. I think classroom discussion would be focused on the emotional parts of this story and the questions brought about when someone is potentially losing a love. It also focuses on finding love as a teen and building a strong relationship. To find more info about building healthy teen relationships look here: http://www.teenrelationships.org/. I would definitely recommend this book to young adults or any Twilight fans because it will not disappoint!

For another perspective on this novel check out this blog at:

http://freneticreader.blogspot.com/2009/08/shiver-by-maggie-stiefvater.html