Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, reviewed by K. Bird Lincoln

(4 stars)

Anybody suffering from Twilight-withdrawal? I hate to make the comparison (because Maggie Steifvater's writing on the prose level is more compelling, and also because her heroine is less pathetic) but if you've got signs of angst-withdrawal, Shiver is your best bet for a cure.

Shiver is the story of Grace, a girl dragged from her swing by wolves long ago, and not a high schooler obsessed with the wolves who live in nearby Boundary Woods.

Her parents are loving in a distant, amicable, self-involved way.

Things change when a boy from her school is also attacked by wolves. She realizes the wolf she's been particularly obsessed with isn't quite a normal wolf.

The Rilke poetry, the best friends who aren't perfect side-kicks, the emo, angst-ridden, self-doubting one being the boy half of the love pair, while Grace remains stoic and capable are all elements of this story I enjoyed.

The only reason it didn't get the 5 star from me was because I found Sam, the boyfriend, to be a little too angsty for me sometimes, and his internal reactions struck me as somewhat non-boylike for my taste (although still believable, just not to my taste). Also, the middle part does get a little bit bland what with all the normal life and Sam staying at Grace's house with her parents having absolutely no idea he existed at all.

There was also quite a moral/emotional face off built up between Sam and his mentor that ended up being glossed over.

However, the ending was a perfect romantic knock-out.

This book's Food Designation Rating: Mocha chocolate chip cookies, for the deep, rich angst of the love portrayed here, as well as the complex emotions reflected in the scene descriptions.