Thursday, October 6, 2011

Not your typically werewolf story.

I have always thought that werewolves were more dangerous and awesome than vampires. I mean, who wouldn’t want to change into a wolf during the full moon?
Although I know the whole “vampire vs. werewolf” scenario has been overplayed in many young adult novels these days (believe me, I know) I think I have found the best werewolf series by far.  
I first discovered the book, Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater while I was hopefully searching for something “read-worthy” in the “juvenile” section of the library (really? Juvenile? I am offended! ). What I didn’t expect was to the enjoyment I got out of Shiver’s scientific take on the werewolf story.
The story follows Grace, a young woman who is fascinated with the wolves that seem to gather in her back yard during the winter time. The story takes place in a town called Mercy Falls. Grace’s fascination with the wolves starts after she was attacked and bitten by a pack of them in her back yard. Saved from one of the leaders of the pack, Grace is returned with nothing but a scratch and a bite mark.
The Mercy Falls wolves are actually werewolves but unlike popular belief, they do not change every full moon. There is nothing magical about the Mercy Fall werewolves. They are wolves during the winter and are humans during the summer. They stop changing once they get a certain age and they become a wolf permanently. There is something more scientific about these wolves and something more natural.
The cool thing is that Stiefvater doesn’t write about these wolves in the paranormal way and she does not introduce other paranormal creatures and yet, the young adult audience has gobbled up these books faster than I did the Pretty Little Liars series.
But here is the catch-it is a love story- but a sweet one at that! The stories revolve around the growing relationship with Grace and the werewolf-who-saved-her-life-but-turns-out-to-be-a-really-cute-guy, Sam and their struggle in staying human, letting the inner wolf, and making sure that their fellow furry friends aren’t hunted or hurt.
I recently finished the second book in the trilogy, Linger. I was pleasantly surprised at how the story twisted itself (In the first book, Sam discovered a cure to make him human forever) while Grace, in the second book, is making herself sick by keeping her inner wolf inside. I loved the irony of the entire story, watching Sam discover that he could be human with Grace for the rest of his life and then….well, I don’t want to give the ending away.

I not only suggest that you check out all 3 of these books but also check out the author, Maggie Steifvater. She is a really cool cat (or wolf…)




Photo taken from: whatchyareading.net


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