shiver

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

ISBN:978-0545123266

Publication Information: Scholastic Press

Plot Summary:Grace is a high school senior that lives in a house that is bordered by woods. Each winter, wolves run through the woods as Grace watches them. One wolf in particular seems to come back and watch Grace year after year. One day, one of Grace's classmates is killed by the wolves and the city gathers up a team of hunters to kill all the wolves in the forest. As Grace tries to save the wolves, in particular her special wolf, she finds a boy on the back porch of her house, a boy she recognizes, the boy is her special wolf. She soon learns that Sam, her wolf, isn't a wolf at all, but a werewolf that becomes human during the warm months and a wolf during the cold months. Grace immediately sees Sam as a soul mate, and fears losing him as the winter sets in, and the town hunters gain support and momentum in trying to kill the rest of the wolves in the forest. Grace and Sam rush against the clock to try to find a way to keep Sam human, but will they succeed?

Critical Evaluation:Maggie Stiefvater has created a beautiful and heartbreaking romance with a strong fantasy tie. Teen that count themselves as "Teen Jacob" will definitely fall in love with this book. Told from the point of view from both Sam and Grace was a smart decision, and seeing the perspectives of both Sam and Grace as they fall in love is an interesting twist to a traditional romance. Sam is the intense, quirky hero that teen girls seem to constantly fall in love with, and Grace is a strong female heroine that girls can relate to. Grace rescues Sam from dangerous situations just as often if not more than Sam rescues Grace, which makes her a great feminist character and role model for teen girls.

Reader's Annotation: Grace has a special friend that visits her every winter, a beautiful, yellow-eyed wolf. One day after an accident, the wolf comes to visit Grace, but not as a wolf, but as a boy, and Grace realizes that this wolf/person is her soul mate.

Author Information:Maggie Stiefvater is the author of four books, two books in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series (with another book, the end of the trilogy, due to be released in July 2011) and two books in the Books of Faeries series. Before she became a novelist, she has held jobs as a waitress, technical editor and calligraphy instructor. She currently lives and writes in Virginia with her husband, children (two) and pets (two dogs and a cat). (Information taken from the author's website http://www.maggiestiefvater.com/me.php)

Curricular Ties: English

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Book talking ideas:

• How do you feel about the hands off parenting approach that Grace's parents use? Would you like to be treated the way Grace is treated by her parents? Why or why not?
• Would you become a wolf in order to stay with the person you loved?
• From the moment Grace meets Sam (in human form), she devotes almost all of her time with him, ditching her friends in the process. Was this the right decision? Why or why not?
  

Challenge issues: mild sexuality

• Familiarize yourself with the book and its contents.
• Check the library for specific policies on challenged books.
• Check the ALA website for advice on how to respond and react when a book has been challenged. (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm)
  
• Find positive reviews from reputable websites.
• Ask the challenger for their specific objections and try to address them using information from the above research.

Interest Age: Grades 9 and up

Why I selected this piece: Shiver was listed as one of Amazon's top ten books of the year for young adults, as well as receiving inclusion on many other top book lists. The high praise this book received in the media was enough for me to pick the book up and give it a read.