Shiver

by  Maggie Stiefvater

Reviewed by

Devin O’Donnell

In the small town of Mercy Falls, Grace Brisbane was attacked by wolves in her backyard when she was eleven. The only reason she is alive today is because a yellow eyed wolf saved her from his pack. Six years later, Grace still watches "her wolf" every day during the winter, and watches him disappear in the summer. What Grace does not expect is seeing her wolf as a human, and begging for help.

Sam Roth is a slave to the seasons. In the summer, he is a normal, seventeen year old boy. In the winter, he makes a dramatic change into his other skin: a wolf from the wolf pack residing in Grace's town. When a hunt is called on the wolves, Sam is shot and goes to Grace in his human form for help.

As the story progresses, Sam and Grace grow closer and closer, Grace finally being with her wolf and Sam being with the girl he defied his nature for. Sam and Grace fight for the pack, their friends, and for each other in the first book of The Wolves of Mercy Falls series.

Stiefvater has a way with words in her writing as she takes Sam and Grace around Minnesota. She takes advantage of Sam's heightened wolf senses as she describes the surroundings perfectly, from the twinkling lights to the smells of a nearby candy shop. This may seem like a stereotypical werewolf love story, but it is about so much more than that. It is about striving under pressure and about overcoming your past, but not quite letting go.