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Review by
Louella Moreland
Riding on the wave of supernatural phenomena, "Shiver," by Maggie
Stiefvater, weaves a tale of teen romance and werewolves. Sorry, no vampires
in this thriller. Personally, as a reader, I am hoping the wheel will turn
again soon and another genre will rise to the top of popularity. However,
for those who did not get enough of Stephenie Meyer’s Bella and Edward, you
will want to sink your teeth into "Shiver."
Shiver is a teen love story between 17-year-olds Grace and Sam. As a
child, Grace was bitten by wolves in the woods behind her home, and Sam was
the werewolf that saved her from the pack. Through the years in between,
Grace watches for the wolves, especially the one with the yellow eyes. She
calls him her own special wolf. Even her closest friends know about her
obsession with him. Grace notices that the wolves appear in the winter, and
she is lonely in the summer months until their return. Yes, you guessed it,
the cold is what triggers the infected humans to change to werewolf form.
Unfortunately, the plot is very predictable. Grace feels she somehow
belongs with the wolves, and the yellow-eyed wolf turns out to be Sam, whom
she rescues from hunters. They fall in love. Throw in the school bully,
Jack, who is attacked by the pack and "changed" (only his sister believes he
is still alive after his body disappears), a possible way to "cure" the
werewolves, and you have a recipe for a modern teen thriller.
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The story is told between the voices of Grace and Sam, lending a
balance to the tale. However, there are just too many threads where
the reader must suspend even tenuous belief. Can any parents be as
absent as the ones in this small town? Even though we are expected
to believe Grace’s parents love her, they did not seem overly
concerned about the wolf pack living in the woods behind their
house, and they leave Grace alone for long periods of time
(including overnight, which gives Grace and Sam plenty of time to
become close). Grace seems to be immune to "changing" to wolf form
because her father left her locked in his car in the middle of the
summer. (What 11-year-old can’t unlock a car door?) If Grace was
attacked, why is she not afraid of the wolves? Why doesn’t she seem
to completely remember what happened to her until Sam leads her
memory back in time? How could a high school girl go out and buy a
new car without an adult, even if she is in possession of her dad’s
checkbook? Sorry, this is too much to swallow.
Still, I must say I also enjoyed the story. If you can overlook
the way-too-obvious contrivances in the plot, the relationship
between Grace and Sam is hauntingly sweet. Many readers may not be
as bugged (as I was) by the unreality of the "human" side of the
story. As a light, slightly scary horror novel, "Shiver" is one of
the better ones, with just a slight amount of steam between the two
major characters. Therefore, I would have to add it to a summer list
for teens who want to wile away an afternoon or two beside the pool
or under a shade tree.
For more books that follow the summer reading theme "Scare Up a
Good Book," come in to check out the displays in the Youth Services
Department of the Lincoln Public Library, 725 Pekin St.
[Text copied from file received from
Louella Moreland,
Lincoln Public Library District]
(Ms. Lou's blog:
lincolnpubliclibraryupdates.blogspot.com) |
