Inventive Wolf YA Drama

Grace's early encounter with the wolves in the woods just beyond her backyard created a connection. She dreams of the wolf, who seems to have saved her, and his striking yellow eyes. When he shows himself in human form, the questions and mystery with their surrounding love story take off.

The idea for how the wolves transform; are created; hunt; live together; and many more intracacies are fascinating. Steifvater has a different take on the werewolf genre. She's talented and in the candy store sequence, as a reader, you believe you can smell the sweets and feel the old wooden floor beneath your feet after hearing the tinkling bell on the shop door.

The only drawbacks are the narrator for Sam, who sounds like a thirty-something and how whiny and anguished the characters come across. There a few lazy holes in the overall story, for example, Grace's parents are so flighty they don't know if she's at home or has eaten.

Overall, this story is definitely worth a listen for YA enthusiasts, young or old, who enjoy wolfie love stories.

60 people found this helpful

Terrible

**1.5 stars**

I'm just going to come right out and say it:

This book is emo bull.

I listened to 8 hours of this story on audiobook before DNFing this at 75%. That is 8 hours of my life that I will never get back.

I know I'm in the minority here. I'm accepting it. However, I just can't see why people are so enamored with this book. I'll get all of my frustration out now by explaining a few of my main issues with this book. **Some minor spoilers ahead**

1) The whole "I shift when it's cold" premise. Okay, so let me get this straight: Sam automatically changes into wolf form when it gets to be "cold" outside (how cold I guess depends on the year- it seems to vary). He can avoid shifting by layering T-shirts and wearing warmer clothes or staying inside where it is warm (This is fact). It is also true that Sam doesn't seem to want to shift, he would prefer to stay as a human. Okay, I don't mean to be captain obvious here but why has no one suggested that SAM MOVE WHERE IT IS ALWAYS WARM???? For GOD's sake! Move to freaking Miami! Move near the equator!? Don't freaking live in Minnesota!?! Pick one of the coldest freaking states why don't you?! Maybe this was brought up after I stopped listening, but from the start of this book I wanted to smack all of the werewolves for not realizing this very, very simple solution.

2) The insta-love. For Christ's sake, come on. I can't handle this anymore. I seriously want to cry. It was redonkulously stupid. It was all, "I've watched you from afar and now that we've met in person I just magically loooooove you."

3) The emo-ness. Sam was so "in touch with his feelings" that as he being attacked or running from danger he repeatedly thinks up awesome phrases to use in his melancholy poetry or decides that it is the perfect time to plan out some lyrics to his next romantic song. He is a drippy, sappy mushball of a man-boy, and it was distracting to hear that in the face of trouble he would be more likely to recite a passage from his favorite poetry book than use his brain.

4) The sexual tension. I am so sick of YA books where the girl is practically humping the guy and the guy holds back so they can "do it right". It is utter crap. There is a way to do YA where there is no sex on page and even no sex at all and make it feel electric. Here, it vaguely read as "sexuality is bad" to me.

5) It was boring. This book was so dull. I forced myself to listen to hours of nothing really happening. It lacked that addictive quality that I need to listen to an audiobook.

6) The narration. Now, I want to talk about this a little. The narrator for Grace's voice was pretty spot on. She sounded age appropriate and I think she did a good job with all of the dialogue. The Sam voice on the other hand... The actor is not a kid and he didn't sound like one. It sounded like a 40 year old, which is disturbing in a YA book. It creeped me out, more than a little bit.

It pains me to give this book 1.5 stars because I love this author in her The Raven Boys series. They were some of my FAVORITE books of last year. That is partly why this book being a failure is such a crushing blow. The actual language of this book wasn't terrible and I know the author can write her ass off, but this book just failed on a lot of fronts for me.

37 people found this helpful

A lovely, strange lovestory

I loved this book. It's a young adult romance. There was enough sexual tension to maintain a romance, and what sex there was was discrete.

The love of a girl for the pack of wolves in the woods behind her house had a bizarre twist, integral to the plot.

None of the book was very realistic, but it wasn't meant to be. Werewolves don't exist...but here they do. Most kids of completely incompetent parents don't learn independence and thrive, although resenting their idiot parents. But accept that these kids did, and you'll dive into this story! The ending is a bit abrupt, although there is NOT a cliff hanger and I can't wait for the sequel! I hope that the same two readers read it as well...I loved their voices, (the point of view switched by the chapter between the boy and girl) and how they lived the simple, yet lovely dialog! It was lovely to listen to.

9 people found this helpful

A story of Puppy Love , literally

This book is almost too cute to be allowed. Sam is an adorable artistic boy, who's days as a human are numbered. Eventually he will become a wolf forever. Grace is a practical girl, who is fascinated by the wolf who saved her life when she was just eleven. By happy coincidence, that wolf happens to be Sam. The two kids finally a meet (as humans) and develop one of the sweetest relationships I have read in a while, despite or probably because their time together is limited. That being said, there is still a lot of scary things happening around them. And not all the wolfs are nice like Sam. The two kids have to work very hard to stay together, a tremendous feat for teenagers. And some of the other teenage characters inevitably make very stupid, selfish and deadly decisions. In other words, the characters are all delightfully flawed, and have to deal with their fantastic lives in a very realistic way. Ultimately, this is a book you can't put down until you know whether the sweet love story will end happily or with heartbreak.

7 people found this helpful

It's like an Eeyore love story...

The main characters are so 'Emo' it is almost funny. If you get past the angsty perspectives you may enjoy the story. It is a well thought out plot and the wolves' story is wonderful. I would push the green sample button before buying though because the two narrators are a little ... off? The female sounds about 15 and the man sounds like a 30 year old man imitating a teenage boy. At times it sounded as if he were mocking the character rather than trying to be the character. Really interesting story underneath all the angsty goodness.

15 people found this helpful

Not bad.

This was a decent story. It didnt have me dying to get back to it, but it was interesting in a kind of boring way. Its the typical young adult supernatural story thats floating around at present, but its sweeter. I didnt have any problems with the narrators-I listened to the male narrator in "Water for Elephants" in which he voiced a young man's voice, so I bought him as an 18 year old guy. The girl does have a young voice, but not once did I get weirded out or notice an age difference. I suppose I would recommend this to someone looking for that "in-between" book when you have a spare credit you dont know quite how to use. I didnt adore it, probably wont listen to it again, but still it passed the last few days enjoyably.

6 people found this helpful

Ugh! The male narrator is awful!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Better male narrator.

How could the performance have been better?

The male narrator's voice is horrible. His voice changes randomly like he's yawning and speaking at the same time. Its annoying and makes you want to stop listening as it is pretty torturous. Listening to Sam's chapters were a struggle.

5 people found this helpful

Sweet love story

I heart Maggie Steivfater. She is incredibly creative, artistic, and musical. On top of that she writes beautiful fiction and Shiver is the perfect example of this. Sweet and moving, Shiver is a unique and magical love story that captures you from the beginning.

Shiver opens with Grace, as a little girl, being dragged from her back yard and mauled by the wolves that live in the forest behind her house. One yellowed eyed wolf protects her from the hungry pack and saves her life. Despite the attack, Grace feels a connection to the wolves, particularly the yellow eyed wolf that watches from the woods but the wolves of Mercy Falls are no ordinary wolves.

In the cold, Sam becomes a wolf and in the heat, he is a boy. Split between two lives, human and wolf, Sam’s life is complicated. For years, he’s longed to talk to Grace and for her to know his secret.

When Sam and Grace finally meet, there is instant chemistry between them. Linked to each other for years, the two are captivated by each other and their love story warms your heart. Sam is empowered by his love for Grace, yet is disheartened to have met her so close to his final years. Torn by the thought of not being together, they search for a cure for Sam.

Eloquently told from the perspectives of the two main characters, Steivfater interweaves the many intricacies of Sam and Grace’s story. Through Grace, the reader experiences the mystery of the wolves and the real world events of Mercy Falls. Sam’s point of view brings to life the mythology of the werewolves, their challenges, and the remarkable woods in which they live.

Amidst an abundance of werewolf novels, Steivfater’s wolves are unique and imaginative while at the same time very believable. Her poetic prose and stunning love story make Shiver a must read. Linger and Forever are the next books in this enchanting series.

5 people found this helpful

The choice of Voices...

I did love the book and the second one "Linger" but I hope that they don't make the same mistake as in the first one. I thought the girl they picked to read for them sounded like she was 12 years old, and the man sounded like he was in his early 20's. I know the girls is supposed to be a teenager but she's also supposed to be very mature for her age and I feel like the voice they chose for her didn't justify it enough. I did enjoy the male voice they chose but I thought that they could have at least matched them in a way. Other than that the book was FANTASTIC!! And I think any other girl her age probably would have reacted the same way and did everything she did. I suggest reading "Linger" if you like this one.

3 people found this helpful

Inklings Read Reviews: Shiver

At first glance, I thought this was going to be yet another YA insta-love romance. I was incredibly wrong… Never once have I loved a werewolf story this much! The combination of this great story with some amazing narrators made this experience unforgettable. And when I say amazing narrators, I mean it. Jenna Lamia and David LeDoux are so freakin’ talented! Not once do I think I have been so wrapped up in an audiobook.

I definitely was a little turned off at first by what seemed to be “insta-love” but upon further examination, I realized that it was more of a mutual curiosity/fascination between the two. That curiosity developed into a deep love: one that I found both believable and interesting. Not only did Sam and Grace have a very cute relationship, it was also extremely sexy at times. Maggie did a wonderful job making Sam a super sweet, sexy, and loyal male lead. It was easy to fall for him right along with Grace. Their struggle to be together really amped up the tension in this book, and at times I just felt so sorry for their situation… It was a combination of this struggle and Maggie’s writing that made this book so stunning.

Maggie’s graceful writing made it easy to savor every moment… For example:

"As the hours crept by, the afternoon sunlight bleached all the books on the shelves to pale, gilded versions of themselves and warmed the paper and ink inside the covers so that the smell of unread words hung in the air." – Maggie Stiefvater

There were bits like that in every chapter. Maggie’s writing is very emotionally-charged, but not once did I ever tire of it.

Overall, this was a great book! If you are a fan of werewolves and YA romance then reading this is a must! I highly recommend this audiobook. Nothing beats listening to Maggie’s poetic writing. I cannot wait to listen to Linger and continue this great love story!!

6 people found this helpful