I'm sure that Maggie Stiefvater is sick to death of being compared to Stephenie Meyer (Yes, the Stephenie that I met, by the way, when Twilight first came out. I organized her book signing as Community Relations Manager of Barnes & Noble. If you think I totally wrote that to make me sound cool, you would be correct. It IS true though!). It is hard to believe that Stiefvater didn't draw just the slightest inspiration from Meyer, as Shiver is about werewolf love. This is the first in a trilogy, with Linger and Forever being the other two (Notice the "er" at the end of all three? Cute.).
Linger is the story of Grace and Sam, two star-crossed lovers in the same realm as Romeo and Juliet and Bella and Edward (Yes, I did just put Shakespeare, Meyer, and Stiefvater in the same sentence.). Sam became a wolf when he was bitten as a child, and changes with the temperature (hot...human, cold...wolf). One day as a wolf, his pack attacks Grace, a small child. He saves Grace's life and brings her to her home. Years pass, and the community is becoming fearful after one of their own is "killed" by a wolf. Hunters try to put a stop to them, Sam is shot, and becomes human for some unexplained reason. Grace and Sam fall in love, and they do everything possible to keep Sam warm at all times. This is where Shiver takes off. Stiefvater has an uncanny knack, even more so than Meyer, for making a story about werewolves seem "normal", like you are reading about an everyday high school couple.
Even though Edward/Bella/Jacob are far more interesting to me to read about, Shiver is worthwhile on a beach day. I did not find it that compelling that I had to stop everything and read it; however, I am interested to find out what happens next for this couple. Grudgingly, Linger awaits.
MY RATING - 3
