Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

US Pub. Date: 1 August 2009 (Hardback)

UK Pub. Date: 5 October 2009 (Paperback)

448 pages (UK version)

Genre: Young Adult Romance with Werewolves

I'm active on a writers' message board, and when Shiver came out, this book was all I heard about. Generally, I'm disappointed when books are so hyped so much (with a few exceptions). I was even more wary when I asked about the book and was told that it had "beautiful prose". Anyone who knows me, realizes that I've had a hard time in the past with works of literature, mostly stemming from school. So, when I heard those two words, I immediately thought "Grapes of Wrath" or "The Scarlett Letter" and basically wanted to run the other direction. (No offense to readers who LOVE those books. They just didn't do anything for me.) 

That being said, I was intrigued by all the recommendations, and my library happened to have a copy available. The first several chapters were a little slow, but I think that may be a pattern with me based on the other reviews I've written. Luckily, the first few chapters were also incredibly short, and after that, I was able to easily connect with the characters. I think that was the point of this book, because there wasn't a lot of action. It was mostly character development, specifically the development of the relationship between the two main characters. I was emotionally tied to Grace and Sam almost right from the start, and the attachment grew and grew until the end.

This was one of the slowest reads for me in the last six months, not because it was boring or dense, but because I found myself wanting to savor the beautiful words. Because of the lack of heavy action that might have spurred me on to read this book in one sitting, Shiver had natural breaks where I could easily stop and think about what had just happened. It's also inspired me to go find some Rilke poetry, because I just thought the words were so incredibly moving.

To sum it up, if you generally like action-driven books, this may not be the book for you. But I would at least give it a chance, because I found myself being a lot more introspective while reading Shiver. That doesn't happen to me often. I loved this book and think I may even go buy it so I can have it on my shelves!