Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Summary: (from book jacket) The cold. Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow- eyed wolf- her wolf- watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why. The heat. Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace..... until now. The shiver. For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human- and Grace must fight to keep him- even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.
Review: I have mixed feeling about this book. I enjoyed it but there were a few things that kept it from being absolutely amazing. First of all, Grace's parents were really annoying to me. They were hardly even part of the story. having parents who work alot is one thing but Sam managed to stay a secret for several weeks before they met him. I felt like Stiefvater only put them in the story because she had to and then made them dissapear because she didn't really need them. Another thing was the plot moved slowly in some parts. There was to much time of Grace and Sam alone that it got a little dull after a while.
On the other hand, there were a lot of things that I did like about it. I liked the story behind how and why the werewolves change. It brought a unique twist to the story. it was different from a more traditional werewolf story and I liked it. The writing style of the story was really beautiful especially when describing the seasons or the woods. I also liked the fact that the book alternated points of view between Grace and Sam.It was good to get inside the head of both characters.
 The characters in this story were really simple. They both led simple lives that they knew what to expect from until they met each other. I thought Grace and Sam were both really fun characters to get to know and readers will be rooting for them until the end. Overall, I did like this book and can't wait for my copy of Linger to come in the mail. if your looking for a werewolf story to read pick this one up.