Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is the first book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series for young adults. Warner Brothers is currently working on a movie based on the novel. Casting has not yet begun, though.

The book is set in the fictional town of Mercy Falls, Minnesota. The story begins with a young Grace being dragged from her tire swing in her backyard by a hungry wolf. But before the wolf pack does serious harm, one wolf with yellow eyes, Sam, rescues her from the others.

From that point on, Grace would watch the wolves with fascination. She would always look for her wolf, the yellow eyed wolf, in particular.

But everything changed for Grace when one of her classmates from high school was attacked and killed by the wolves. She discovered that he might not be dead after all and that the wolves might not be just wolves.

Grace meets Sam in his human form and learns that he is werewolf. When the weather becomes cold for the winter, he morphs into a wolf. As the temperatures warm again in the spring, he becomes human once more.

As the temperatures get colder and colder, feelings between Grace and Sam inflame. But will the cold keep them apart?

The book is written from the dual perspectives of Grace and Sam. The chapters alternate between the two for the most part in the book. The transitions between narrators are very smooth. With few exceptions, it is easy for the reader to tell who is narrating. Seeing the story from both Sam and Grace’s point of view adds dimension to the story. We get to experience what they both are thinking and feeling.

On the surface the plot sounds familiar to another very popular teen saga – practical down to earth girl falls in love with a sensitive, musician boy with yellow eyes. But their love is complicated because the boy is part of a family of mythological creatures.

As the story progresses, the same plot outline takes on a completely different feel than Twilight. Grace and Sam as characters are everyday people. They have flaws, but are more lovable because they aren’t perfect.

The love between Grace and Sam becomes something cozy and warm instead of a swoony, head over heels passion. It is an every day story of finding true love instead of an epic romance.

If Forks is a green forest, Mercy Falls is a snow covered wood. The weather is important to both stories. The cloud cover in Forks was ideal to conceal vampires. The cold weather prevalent in Mercy Falls induces Sam’s change into a wolf. In fact, the temperature is so vital to Sam and Grace’s relationship that each chapter begins with a notation of the current temperature in Mercy Falls.

Shiver transforms the myth of werewolves much as Stephenie Meyer has forever altered the vampire mythos. Fans of Twilight are likely to fall in love with Shiver as well. It has romance, adventure, and a supernatural mystique that keeps you flipping page after page.

Maggie Stiefvater takes old concepts, mythology, and plots and makes them come alive. After reading this book, I will always get a chill when I think of werewolves.