Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

the cold.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

I finally finished it! 4 Stars! Definately.

Characters: At first I didn't really care for the characters. Most of them were very boring to me but as the story progressed I loved them so much. Especially Sam and Grace. Later in the story I saw how strong their love was. Out of all the books I have read so far I can honestly say that their love was the one that affected me most and seems like its the most real. A lot of the characters could make you feel their emotions. If they felt sad you would feel it ten times worse because you actually got to know them and you put yourself in their shoes. The characters were all unique and I liked the if they liked something they kept at it. They did it throughout the book, unlike a lot of books that the author tells you the character has this hobby and he/she only does it once then completely stops doing it. I loved how Sam always sings and loves music and poetry, and how Grace loves to read and look at books.

Plot: At first the plot greatly confused me. So much that it took me I think more than a month to read. But after I trudged through that part it became clearer and the book seemed so brilliant. It had a great and original idea and it never had any plot holes. I also liked that the author wasn't afraid to hurt some of her characters and maybe even kill them which made this story so much more realistic. This story is also one of the few ones that made me cry because it was just so powerful near the end.

Overall: Overall I would definately recommend this but because of a scene and some hints to it plus some language I would recommend this book to 15+. The reason I gave this book a 4 and not a 5 is because how badly the beginning and some of the middle confused me and that I had to trudge through those parts until it started to get good near the end.