Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (audio)

Source: Public Library
Audiobook, 9 CDs
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Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, narrated by Jenna Lamia and David Ledoux, is one of those young adult novels that adults who can engage in magical worlds will enjoy.  Boundary wood in Mercy Falls, Minn., is populated with wolves, and while most of the time they keep to themselves, there are those incidents of attacks and the inevitable backlash by hunters with guns.  Sam Roth and Grace Brisbane have lingered just on the outskirts of one another for six years, and while Grace was bitten by wolves as a child, she barely remembers what happened, other than the beautiful white-gray wolf who was their rescuing her and his piercing yellow eyes.  The woods near Grace’s house are where she sees the wolves in the winter, but never in the summer, and she’s fascinated by their grace and beauty.

Her obsession with the wolves does distance her from her friends, but she doesn’t seem to mind until they begin disappearing.  Sam is a boy with a dark family history, who was “saved” by Beck as a young boy.  Grace and he instantly connect, and only his glittering yellow eyes reveal who he truly is.  Grace is then swept up into a world she marginally knew existed, and her first love consumes her.  Jenna Lamia is a believable teenage girl, and she has the right timber and pace for Grace’s character, and David Ledoux provides fantastic depth to Sam’s character in the narration.  On audio, this book shines in the darkness of the snow-lit woods.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, narrated by Jenna Lamia and David Ledoux, is a stunning opener to a paranormal series of books for young adults.  Stiefvater creates dynamic characters who are forced to deal with tough issues in unreal situations, and these characters are unforgettable.  Like many books in this category, there is a series, but this one has a lot of potential.  I’m looking forward to the next audio installment.

About the Author:

New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.  All of Maggie Stiefvater’s life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you’re a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she’s tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She’s made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.