Shiver

Title: Shiver
Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press (2009)
Genre: young adult, paranormal romance
Pages: 392

Description
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. (from cover)

Reaction
I'm not usually big on paranormal romance, but I love this book. It's so atmospheric, and I became attached to the main characters fairly quickly. Grace is pretty easy to identify with, although I do feel like she could have been a bit more fleshed-out. She's very logical and straight-forward, which was consistent, but sometimes it made her feel a bit flat. Fortunately though, we're not just stuck in her head; we also get to see Sam's perspective. I totally adore Sam. He's sweet, charming, has a dark past, and is definitely on the sensitive side, but without being an emo cliche or unbelievable. Also, unlike a lot of similar books (*cough*Twilight*cough*) he's not a threat to Grace. There are other wolves which pose a threat, but Sam is never one of them. For some, this may take away some of the sexiness, but Sam is very lovable on his own. And they somewhat defy established gender norms, because Grace is the stoic, detached-from-emotions one, and Sam is the one who waxes poetic. I also totally buy them as a couple; they feel sweet together, natural.

That said, the book does have some pacing issues. The middle really lags. I didn't notice it while I was in the midst of it, because I was really just enjoying their sweet moments together--but once the action kicked up, I realized how much hadn't been happening all along. Not that the rising tension isn't there. The external conflicts are established really early on, but we kind of dance away from them for awhile. As a result, some characters could have been developed more fully (Olivia, for example, who is dealing with a wolf problem of her own), and some of the action which kicks in within the last hundred pages could have been sprinkled around more. I would have taken a stronger editorial hand towards the middle, and some of the dialogue and exposition, but overall not a bad book. The basic writing is lovely.

I feel bad going there, but it's hard to talk about Shiver without comparing it to Twilight. If you're Team Jacob, you'll probably love this book.

Design
This book is GOREGOUS. I'm tempted to underline and italicize that, and maybe throw in some exclimation marks, but I don't want to get too carried away here. But seriously, it'd be worth it.

It's simple and iconic, and the design carries through the book--the text throughout is actually a dark blue, which, against a light cream background, actually makes for a really relaxing effect.

Final Rating

4/5, loved it, but it wasn't without it's flaws

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P.S. Maggie Stiefvater has a really good web presence, you should check out her website.

Title: Twilight
Series: Twilight (1)
Author: Stephanie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (2005)
Genre: young adult, paranormal romance
Pages: 498

Description
About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him--and I didn't know how dominant that part might be--that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him. (from cover)

Reaction
Ah, Twilight. It's one of those books that you can't really come at from a fresh, new, unbiased perspective. Haters and fans alike have a lot to say about this book. So where do I fall? Well, let me give you some background.

First off, I first read this book around 2007, before the movies were out or the hype had exploded. I read it for one simple reason: a very close friend, who at the time didn't read much, recommended it to me. I figured, if she loved it, and she wasn't a bookish geek like me, there had to be something there.

I didn't read it one sitting, but it was very close. I think she lent it to me while I was spending the night at her house, and by the time I finally fell asleep at around 3:00am, I was salivating for the ending. I finished it the next day.

I'm starting here because you need to understand, this book is good on sheer momentum alone. It's got amazing pacing. If you're not a fan of romance, you probably won't agree with me. This is a 500 page book. The first 400 pages, almost exactly, are emotional/romantic plot; the last 100 pages are devoted to the "action." If this bugs you, well, you're probably not the target market for Twilight. Sorry, move along, nothing to see here.

So, more background: I didn't read the rest of the books until a year later, because at that point I was still refusing to buy them, but when I did, I finished them in a similar flurry. And I'll be very frank, I read them because two questions were possitively driving me crazy. One, will Bell and Edward ever get it on? And two, will Bella ever become a vampire? Ok, and there was some love-triangle drama in there for good measure, too.

I now just completed my fourth read of Twilight (for my Publishing YA class), and I have to say, it's much less engaging when you know how it all ends. Stephanie Meyer's writing is not really all that strong, and if you're not rushing through it, all her little writing quirks start to stand out. But, when Twilight was first published, the publisher's had no idea it would take off so much, so I doubt it got A-list treatment; meaning it wasn't edited as heavily or as carefully as it could have been.

Granted, all the religious undertones annoy me, but they actually annoy me less in Twilight than in C. S. Lewis' Narnia series. The Christian mythos is a very influential part of our culture, and a lot of great literature has used it. Plus, frankly, I'd hate for someone to criticize me for including my beliefs in my own books, so I can't really fault Stephanie Meyer for it. I'm actually way more bothered by Bella and Edward's chastity (abstinence-only doesn't work) than I am anything else. But, I still found it believable. And this has got to be the sexiest book where no ones having sex. Stephanie Meyer knows her sexual tension, and those not-sex scenes are hot.

I also have to give Meyer props for originality. Not the falling-in-love-with-a-vampire thing, that's been done; and done, and done, and done. But she definitely put a unique spin on her vampires; they are truly her own creatures. And I love the Northwest angle. I'm from Northern Oregon, which is really similar weather-wise to the part of Washington where Forks is.  Of course, I was always a little weirded out that Bella seemed to assume everyone was from desert land, and would thus be as alienated by wet, green weather as she was. But that's what comes of first-person narration, I suppose. I love the concept of vampires living in a perpetually-overcast area because they'll blend in better.

I have to say though, in comparison to the movies, these books rock. I like Bella so much more when she's not Kristen Stewart. She has emotions! And she and Edward actually have entertaining, witty banter! They're relationship might not be the healthiest, but I can see why they're together; they actually have chemistry! In a weird way, they do seem to fit together.

A lot of people don't like Bella, and by extension the whole series, because she's too passive. And I'll admit, my first read-through I was hoping she'd whip out kung-fu action on the Evil Baddy's ass, or discover she was some superhuman anti-vampire, and I was pretty disappointed when *spoiler!* she just gets saved. but I don't think her relationship with Edward is as unequal as some people seem to think. There are obvious physical differences, but mentally they're fairly evenly matched. They bicker, they argue, they push each other around, and they genuinely care about each other. And need I remind you, in the "action" part of the book, it's Bella who's coming up with all the good plans.

Design
I love the cover. At the time, it was original and lovely, and didn't scream VAMPIRE NOVEL. It looks more like a romance to me, with all that intimate skin exposed (wrists! *gasp*). There's something sexy about it, which is very in-keeping with the book. The title page is also pretty, with a shot of the forest as a full-bleed across the page. It's a very pretty book, and they sure as hell did a good job of branding the series.

Final Rating

3/5, it's a really fun read the first time through, but it doesn't really hold up on quality.