Fear not, oh faithful ones, for I have returned!

Please do not shoot me or be mad for my lack of keeping up with this blog. Since the last post I had a million school things going on and of course, the Holidays with my family. I have so much to blog about (books I’ve been reading, recent fashion, what I did in ENGLAND!) but for today we’re gunna keep it simple with my first real book review (that twilight stuff didn’t count).

This book was published in August of 2009, so I doubt that many of you will have read it yet.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

The back of the book reads,

And then I opened my eyes and it was just Grace and me – nothing anywhere but Grace and me – she pressing her lips together as though she were keeping my kiss inside her, and me holding this moment that was as fragile as a bird in my hands.

If you’re anything like me, you actually judge a book by its cover and by what it says on the back of it. I must say that it was really the back of the book that caught my attention. It doesn’t give a clue to what the story is really about. So if you like good surprises and want to read a good one, pick up this book and stop reading this blog RIGHT NOW. Because I’m going to go on about a little bit of the story (Don’t worry! No big spoilers here).

So what is this book all about and why has it put Miss Mary Jane in a sort of tizzy? Well, my sweet ladies and gallant gents, its because it’s a captivating story about magic, loyalty, and love. Let me tell you also what the inside cover of the book states.

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.

See why I would like it?! It’s very intriguing. The basis (duh points) of the story is about a girl named Grace has fallen in love with a wolf with spectacular yellow eyes. What she doesn’t realize is that this wolf is really a boy named Sam who has also fallen in love with her. The book follows the two as they discover each other and become inseparable. However, as with any good story, complications arise. It gets harder and harder for Sam to stay human, while others of his kind are beginning to wreak haovic on the school friends of Grace. Grace and her new-found “frienimy”, Isabel race to find a way to save their loved ones, but will it be too late?!

FIND OUT by going out there, buying a copy and READING IT. As lame as the plot may sound, don’t let it fool you. It’s well written and will catch you by the eyes and not let you go. Maggie has incorporated the feelings of young love better than Stephanie Meyer could and writes it with wittiness, poetry, and lyrics. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a book/story like Shiver written so fluidly. It’s definitely worth at least a check out from the library.

Love and literature,

Mary Jane