Book 63 - Maggie Stiefvater "Shiver"
Oct. 29th, 2015 07:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jazzy_daveMaggie Stiefvater "Shiver" (Scholastic)
I was dubious about this novel because of all the negative feedback it's received but I'm really glad that I decided to give it a try - it really did speak to me.
The prose is lyrical and deeply evocative. It had the dreamlike feel of a faerie story and was just full of truly beautiful descriptive writing. The story weaves a tragic love story around two teenagers who have (unknowingly) admired each other from afar for six years and finally get a chance to be together when it is too late. Stiefvater's unique werewolves only get to shift so many times before they turn into ordinary wolves for the rest of their lives and Sam knows that his last change is mere months away.
The largest tragedy in this novel is not only that the two lovers know their romance must be fleeting, but because that Sam's transformation marks his loss of self. He knows that his feelings for Grace and every other part of him will be lost forever as soon as he becomes the wolf. The two protagonists are so well written that I felt for them all the more. Grace is a surprisingly strong protagonist for a paranormal romance while Sam is a much more sensitive and poetic soul who complements her wonderfully.
My only real disappointments with this story were that the plot concerning Shelby fades away with no real conclusion (I hope this plays a bigger role in later books) and the fact that some of the secondary cast were not developed enough for my liking. This particularly applies to Olivia, as she was important at the start and end of the novel but escaped all mention in the middle. I really felt that she could have done with a little development in the middle as the ending of her story felt very abrupt. Shades of Twilight perhaps, but a god easy read nonetheless.
I was dubious about this novel because of all the negative feedback it's received but I'm really glad that I decided to give it a try - it really did speak to me.
The prose is lyrical and deeply evocative. It had the dreamlike feel of a faerie story and was just full of truly beautiful descriptive writing. The story weaves a tragic love story around two teenagers who have (unknowingly) admired each other from afar for six years and finally get a chance to be together when it is too late. Stiefvater's unique werewolves only get to shift so many times before they turn into ordinary wolves for the rest of their lives and Sam knows that his last change is mere months away.
The largest tragedy in this novel is not only that the two lovers know their romance must be fleeting, but because that Sam's transformation marks his loss of self. He knows that his feelings for Grace and every other part of him will be lost forever as soon as he becomes the wolf. The two protagonists are so well written that I felt for them all the more. Grace is a surprisingly strong protagonist for a paranormal romance while Sam is a much more sensitive and poetic soul who complements her wonderfully.
My only real disappointments with this story were that the plot concerning Shelby fades away with no real conclusion (I hope this plays a bigger role in later books) and the fact that some of the secondary cast were not developed enough for my liking. This particularly applies to Olivia, as she was important at the start and end of the novel but escaped all mention in the middle. I really felt that she could have done with a little development in the middle as the ending of her story felt very abrupt. Shades of Twilight perhaps, but a god easy read nonetheless.
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Date: 2015-10-29 08:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-10-29 11:26 am (UTC)I don't understand why anyone dislikes it!! Then again, I am a total Maggie Stiefvater fangirl because of Scorpio Races and then the Raven Boys series.
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Date: 2015-10-29 01:31 pm (UTC)*HUGS*
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Date: 2015-10-29 03:08 pm (UTC)Hugs, Jon