Shiver appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Summary:
When Grace was eleven, a pack of wolves dragged her from her back yard and almost killed her. One wolf, saved her from the pack and brought her back home in human form (though she doesn't remember this part). Sam is a werewolf who changes into wolf form when the temperature drops. During summer months he remains a human. At seventeen, Grace is still obsessed with the wolf that saved her. When she discovers Sam in human form, she falls in love with him and tries to keep him human.
Personal Reaction:
Shiver intrigued me because of the cover and the blue font. Furthermore, I thought the premise was interesting. I liked the unique take on the werewolf legend. I also liked that each chapter began with the temperature to set the scene a little bit. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to my expectations and was a disappointment. While it had some good points, I found it to be slow and boring in parts. Also, the characters, especially Sam, were not believable. Sam's voice did not sound like that of a teenage boy. Furthermore, throughout the book, he writes lyrics in his head about things that are going on around him. I found this habit to be tedious and annoying. Grace is hard to relate to. She is very self-centered and barely interacts with the girls who are supposed to be her best friends. Also, she has an unhealthy, romantic obsession with and attraction to a wolf, before she ever knows that the wolf is a boy for half of the year. The book also has holes in the plot that left me confused at times. After Sam turns human, he basically moves in with Grace and sleeps in her room. I didn't think it was realistic that her parents never noticed that they had another person living in their household. I know that they were supposed to be busy with their own lives and so on, but realistically, even the most inattentive parents might figure out that their daughter has a boyfriend who is living with them.
Overall, I can see where this book would have some appeal to certain readers, but for the most part, I felt that the action of the book was lacking, the characters were unrealistic and dull, and the holes in the plot should have been filled.
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