Shiver

The time of the Book Feast has arrived and I went to it with a mission: grab the Mercy Falls-trilogy. No excuses, I just needed those books! I would get them! And after a little searching I found the last pair of them... now they're mine. The day after I started reading in the first book: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater and let me tell you this: it had everything and when you have everything you can't stop and so I read 435 pages in one day.


Ever since Grace was a very young child, she was fascinated with the wolves in the backyard. Especially in the one with the yellow eyes, the wolf had something human-like, something familiar. It took six years for her to watch him and get him closer. It isn't until a boy is killed by wolves that the town begins to show interest into the pack. The suspicion grows and the town wants them dead. Grace fights against them, still fascinated with them.Yet that fascination takes a whole different meaning when she meets a guy with the same yellow eyes... 


I had high expectations for this book because I heard a lot of good things about the writer, Maggie Stiefvater but also because it was my first book that contained wolves. I find them very interesting creatures and very mysterious, maybe a little dangerous but I like them. This was the test for me whether the book with the wolves would get me hooked on the series or that it wouldn't..., after I read this book, I know one thing for sure: I need my own wolf!

First a little bit more on the characters. Grace is one of the main characters and the one that shows a big interest in the wolves too. That's why I could relate to her from the start. Of course her past made her get this slight obsession with the pack of wolves in the woods. Her friends often said that she had to grow up multiple times which made her, as well as me, upset. If it's something that interest you, you don't need to "grow up". This were the first emotions where I could really get Grace a lot, and believe me a roller coaster of emotions will follow with this character which made me really understand her and relate to her. 

Yet multiple times she herself says that she's stoic. This might be because she's the grown-up. Throughout the book it feels as if her parents are the kids and she's the parent. Her parents are gone, working all the time and they are dependent on Grace. She needs to cook and make sure everything is fine. They don't really look after her at all and she was very irritated by that, maybe even hurt. That was another moment that I could really understand why she was feeling the way she was feeling and her parents got on my nerves. 

Everything combined, Grace is an amazing character that tells she's stoic but actually is filled with all sorts of emotions. She's independent and very mature and will stand her ground. She'll fight for what she wants and she'll try everything to keep the people she loves safe and protected. What I also found out is that she's a character that will forget the problems between her and the other character to help them, which shows again how strong and mature she truly is. 

Another character in the book is Sam. Sam had a very dynamic past, it was all good until his parents had gone mad and tried to make him die. That's also why I like to call him the sad puppy. He's very moved by those events and as Grace describes him, it's as if a part of him is missing because of those events. He's a very sensitive young guy but tries to stay strong and when I say try, I really mean that. Throughout the book many passages show you how strong he's trying to be when all he wants is to give in to his weaknesses. 

These two characters have such a great bond that it gives the reader something very sweet. Something I had never seen coming and something I accepted gladly. Sam and Grace have something unique and they're both really loyal to each other, this is what I loved about them. Their bond brings a lot of emotional depth into the story.

There are a few other characters I really want to discuss! First of Beck. He's one of Sam's older friends and it feels like he's two faced. At first I thought he was a very nice man but then certain events happened which made me think he might be the bad guy. Sam is devastated by it and since he's so sensitive, I as a reader felt his emotions very strongly. Yet he tries to understand and with that a very moving event will develop itself which shows Beck in a new and different perspective. Maybe he did things but only to do good. It's still a little mysterious and I can only hope we'll get to know more about the effects of what he did, might have done, in the next book.

Another two pair of characters are Jack and Isabel. They're brother and sister and in the beginning I didn't like either of them. Yet slowly they started to really grow on me. And in the end I also saw how similar they were, both very sarcastic which I began to enjoy a lot at the end of the book. I'm really hoping that we see more of Isabel, I feel like there's more to her than the story has told us! As for Jack, he was a real jerk in the beginning and I still don't get why, especially after I got a glimpse of his other side!

And lastly I want to discuss Grace's two best friends: Rachel and Olivia. Rachel hasn't been around a lot but she's very eccentric in a way that's not my thing. The eccentric kind of thing like Effie Trinket (The Hunger Games) is some kind that I enjoy but Rachel was different. Her personality was just hyperactive all the time and needed attention. So not a fan of her best friend but we don't see her that much! 

As for Olivia... I disliked her from the beginning. At least Rachel got the chance to grow on me but Olivia didn't. She's a lot like Grace, the quiet girl that observes a lot. Olivia's also someone who likes to see the life through her camera which I enjoyed but then she made a comment on Grace and the wolves that just made me dislike her a lot. And seeing the events turn, she didn't shock me with the decisions she made. Very predictably but that might be because I didn't really enjoy her. 

As for the plot, it's obvious that this will have to do with wolves and the pack. Yet it's a plot that really contains a lot of romance, strong friendships and of course mystery. The mystery comes with the wolves and with the events that keep turning with the wind. We get to see two perspectives (Grace's and Sam's) and of course, what would a plot be without a bad guy? Or bad guys... because some things aren't right with the wolves. 

First of the plot starts with telling how and why Grace is so fascinated with them, only to have to go through fire to save the pack of the townies. The people hate the wolves because a boy was killed by them but Grace feels like they're no harm and therefore tries to save them. After that whole adventure with suspense, we have the special guy rolling in the book that has the same yellow eyes as the wolf Grace connects with. Above that there's the mystery of the pack leader, Beck, that did things wrong and is trying to find a solution for all the mystery and danger that is hitting Mercy Falls after the death of the boy. 

Another thing I really want to tell is that there are also trips down to memory lane, especially in the perspective of Sam who will tell you where things went wrong in his past and also his relationship with Beck. I was really fond of this because it really showed you how Sam became Sam and what major influence Beck had. I'm such a great fan!

If all, I think I ought to say that in the beginning I found the book a little fast paced but nothing that bad that I'd hate the book. In fact, I absolutely loved the book because it made me laugh out loud, made me curious, made me emotional and made me love. My first book written by Maggie Stiefvater was a big success and so was the wolf-themed book. I read the Shiver in one day because I couldn't stay away from it, so during my breaks of studying, I took the book and read as much as I could, only to give me a massive plot twist at the ending. 

I absolutely recommend this book to people who love the paranormal department, mixed with many mysteries, animals, a sweet romance and strong bonds. If you're looking for all of this with some emotional events, this is also the book you're looking for! Maggie Stiefvater will not let you down and her writing style is very easy to read and to comprehend. The characters are relatable and the story isn't hard to imagine so it's very easy to step into the world and mysteries of Mercy Falls. If you all will excuse me now, I'm going to find my own wolf and in the meanwhile read the second book in this absolutely amazing series! 

"The wolves are calling. Everything you know will change."