Shiver gave me shivers!

Wow! What can I say! I absolutely loved this book. When I went online to find this book, whether it was at the library or bookstore, it was always checked-out or on hold. That told me automatically that this was an awesome book. I had some preconcieved ideas about this book before I read it. The Twilight series went through my mind when I started it. It seemed to be a little similar to the infamous series, which I loved. My neice, Courtney, is my teenager that I asked to read this book with me. She was all excited because she had bought Shiver at the bookfair but hadn't read it yet. I talked to her about what we were going to do and what was expected of her. We decided to discuss the book on Facebook.
The characters in this book were created superbly. I loved the way Steifvater wrote each chapter in the perspective of Grace or Sam. It helped me to understand what each of them were thinking. The temperature stated at the beginning of each chapter kept me guessing of what was to come. As Steifvater described Grace and her family, I could see them come to life in my head. Mom, an artsy human, that flitted around, always seeming to let Grace be the typical "mom" role in the house. She reminds me of a "free spirit" that doesn't want to be tied down with the responsibility of a teenager. Dad is so career oriented that he spends little time with Grace. Grace, the typical teenage girl protaginist is the responsible one of the house and seems to run the house as well. Steifvater does a good job describing Grace. I loved the way that she seemed connected to the wolves and how Steifvater made me feel like I was there watching Grace watch the wolves from her backyard. One thing that I didn't get from the story that I was hoping to get was a mental picture of the wolves. Steifvater described the change over from human to wolf and how the skin stretched and the bones popped, but I still couldn't "see " what these wolves looked like in animal form. Using my background knowledge of werewolves, I could infer what they might look like, but it seems like she could have given a better description. Sam was an intriguing character. His description wasn't as clear as Graces'. His life is more of a mystery. I cringed at the picture Steifvater painted when his parents had him in the bathtub trying to releive him of his curse. This was such a sad part to read. I can just imagine the scars that Sam has to live with, physcially and mentally.
The plot of this book had me guessing. Like I said earlier, it helped to have each chapter labeled with which character is speaking. I liked it having shorter chapters which made it easier to read. Steifvater did a great job with the plot of Shiver. It was fast paced enough for teenagers to stay interested but slow enough for them to understand it.
I cannot wait until Linger comes out. This is going to be the next huge series success.