Shiver

Shiver

Stiefvater, M. (2009). Shiver. New York: Scholastic.

Shiver, along the lines of Twilight, is a romantic fantasy about a girl, Grace, who falls in love with a boy named Sam who is a werewolf.  Attacked at the age of 11 by a pack of wolves, Grace was saved by a white wolf with yellow eyes, who she later meets in boy-form as Sam after he is shot when another young man, Jack, is assumed to be killed by the same wolves and then later becomes a wolf himself.  For whatever reason, Grace, who is not able to “turn”, but is immune to wolf-bites, is caught in between the worlds of her human friends and her love for Sam.  In an effort to find a “cure” for Sam, Grace and others who are also caught up in the supernatural phenomenon experiment on Jack and Sam.  When Sam runs off and Grace doesn’t see him for some time, she assumes he is dead, only to discover not only is he alive, but he is alive in human form at the time of year when he is normally firmly a wolf.  Shiver is a typical love story with the usual plot twists and turns and is appealing to most teenage girls. The characters are believable with the exception of those that change and there are multiple other aspects that make this modern fantasy “believable”.  Naturally, Linger, would be an excellent follow-up.