Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

My apologies for being away for a few days. I finished Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater early Saturday morning (and by early I mean approximately 1:30 AM), but I've been a bit preoccupied this weekend with other things such as the hubbie's birthday celebrations. Oh, and when we checked into a hotel he made fun of me for bringing a book. So I felt obligated to not read said book.

Anyway, let me preface this review by saying WOW. Wow, wow, wow. This is probably the best-written Young Adult book I've read since The Book Thief. The writing complemented the story so well, and it was just so beautiful in a way that also made it still easy to read. I can't stand book with such flourished writing that you lose a total sense of what is going on because you're lost in the adjectives. This wasn't like that at all, and that was so wonderfully refreshing!

Shiver tells the story of Grace and Sam, two teenagers who have been staring at each other every winter for six years. The catch? Sam is a wolf. He gets to be human for a few short months each summer until the winter cold changes him again and again. But when Grace one day meets a boy whose eyes are strikingly familiar to her, a love story blooms as these two try to stay together despite the cold creeping in.

The first thing that I noticed about this book was the cover. I can't tell you how long I stared at it, soaking in every detail. It's breathtakingly beautiful, which I know isn't a description many use often for book covers. But this one was. I loved it, and I knew that a book with such a gorgeous front had to be great on the inside too, right?

I am so pleased that I wasn't disappointed despite my unnaturally-high expectations! The characters in Shiver are so well-defined, each one possessing both strengths and faults that are realistic and undeniably human. The writing is delightful as I already mentioned, and the story is fascinating. I can't imagine where it will lead from here. This book is naturally going to get some comparisons to Twilight as it's a supernatural romance, and obviously there is also the werewolf thing (and if I spoiled New Moon for anyone, umm, sorry). Even I couldn't help but compare as I read it. However, I really think Shiver is able to stand on its own because it's THAT fun. Sure it will get a lot of readers because someone told them "It's just like Twilight but without vampires!" But I think plenty of other readers will enjoy it just as it is as well because it's NOT just like Twilight but without vampires. And I'm going to end this here because I'm starting to confuse myself.

The sequel, Linger, is being released this summer. I am definitely highly anticipating it, along with the as-of-yet-known series finale.