Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, ISBN 978-0545123266, Scholastic Press, 2009, 400 pages.
Teaser: Grace is drawn to the wolves she sees in the forest next to her backyard, one in particular, with the yellow eyes. She longs to be a part of them.
Plot Summary: Grace was attacked by wolves as a young child and has always felt a connection to the wolves of Mercy Falls. In particular she thinks of the wolf with yellow eyes as her wolf. One day Grace find the bloody body of a boy on her back porch. As she helps the boy she sees that his eyes are yellow and she realizes that he is her wolf. She hides Sam from her parents and fights the urges of her teenage hormones, while at the same time Sam must stay warm so he won't turn back into a wolf. It is getting harder and harder each day as winter approaches. But with the mysterious disappearance of a classmate, Grace has even more reason to keep Sam alive and she does not want him to be hunted down like the other wolves are being hunted.
Critical Evaluation: This book is written with alternating perspectives in the chapters, that of Grace and that of Sam. The reader is able to see first hand both sides of the story. The character of Grace is one that longs to be a wolf. She was bitten as a young child, but never turned into a werewolf. She feels that she connects with the wolves because of what happened to her as a child. It is also something that intrigues Sam. He wonders why a human would want to become a wolf. He knows what it is like and does not wish it on anyone. I liked the way the author wrote the novel from two perspectives. The reader is able to get more details about what is going on this one. It is not a one sided story. Sam is a believable character and you find yourself rooting for him to stay warm so he doesn't change into a wolf.
Author Information:
(http://maggiestiefvater.com/faq/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Stiefvater)
Genre: Chick Lit/Fantasy/Wolf Romance
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Talk about what Grace feels when she learns how Sam became a wolf.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why included? I wanted to read something similar to Twilight and I was recommended this book by a library co-worker. Another fascinating thing about this book is that it is printed with blue ink.
Critical Evaluation: This book is written with alternating perspectives in the chapters, that of Grace and that of Sam. The reader is able to see first hand both sides of the story. The character of Grace is one that longs to be a wolf. She was bitten as a young child, but never turned into a werewolf. She feels that she connects with the wolves because of what happened to her as a child. It is also something that intrigues Sam. He wonders why a human would want to become a wolf. He knows what it is like and does not wish it on anyone. I liked the way the author wrote the novel from two perspectives. The reader is able to get more details about what is going on this one. It is not a one sided story. Sam is a believable character and you find yourself rooting for him to stay warm so he doesn't change into a wolf.
Author Information:
(http://maggiestiefvater.com/faq/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Stiefvater)
Genre: Chick Lit/Fantasy/Wolf Romance
Maggie Stiefvater was born on November 18, 1981 and she now lives in Virginia with her husband and two children. She was a navy brat and moved around a lot and she was home schooled from 6th grade on. When she was 16 she legally changed her first name from Heidi to Margaret. She went to college at Mary Washington University and earned a BA in History.
Shiver is the first novel in the Mercy Falls Trilogy and it was a New York Times bestseller. It is in the process of being made into a movie, but no actors have been cast at this time. Stiefvater has also written the Books of Faerie: Lament and Ballad, and there are two other books after Shiver called Linger and Forever. Her latest novel is The Scorpio Races.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Stiefvater and http://maggiestiefvater.com/
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Stiefvater and http://maggiestiefvater.com/
Booktalking Ideas: Talk about what Grace feels when she learns how Sam became a wolf.
Reading Level/Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why included? I wanted to read something similar to Twilight and I was recommended this book by a library co-worker. Another fascinating thing about this book is that it is printed with blue ink.
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