Shiver

There was a quote in our in Chapter 4 of our text from Sharon Creech "I love the way that each book--any book--is its own journey. You open the book, and off you go. You don't know who you're going to meet along the way, nor where you will go, and when you finish a book, you feel as if you've been on a journey. " I thought about this quote after finishing Shiver. I had already read the entire Twilight series and loved the romance and the dark, mysterious and protective nature of Edward. Twilight made me remember my first love and all the anticipation and new feelings that went with it. When I read Shiver, I experienced these same emotions. Although it was a quick read, I really missed the main characters when I finished. For a short time, I was in their world and felt a part of it. It was the same experience when my husband and I watched the Buffy, the Vampire Slayer series. We felt like we were part of the cast. I could see my young self in Grace. I remembered back to my first love and all the magical moments and all the firsts. I can easily see young tween and teen girls enjoying this book. However, I still can't imagine my 15 year old son even being interested in it. He already thinks the whole Twilight series is "gay." I am curious to see where the sequel, Linger, will take us. I think the idea of having a boyfriend who has something extra, i.e werewolf, vampire, or superpowers, appeals to any female. The kind of rescuer theme. But I liked how in Shiver, not only did Sam get to save Grace but Grace in turn, got to save Sam. Female tweens and teens and their mothers love romance but I think it is important that the female protagonist is a strong, independent and capable role model.