Yawn--Shiver--Wake Me Up When Plot Starts
"I see you Shiver with antici----pation."
Oh, Dr Frank-N-Furter, I wish. I wish so much.
Shiver is a book about a girl who has been struggling with bestiality for the past six years, with a wolf she saw in the forest when she was eleven. However, she, and the audience, soon discover that the wolf is actually a werewolf. From there on the story loses all of its excitement.
Shiver isn't a terrible book, it is just suffering from a Romantic Plot Tumor. For those of you unaware of what means check out TV Tropes.
The love story between Grace and Sam (Wolf) is boring, obsessive and dry. They first meet when Grace is about to get mauled by a wolf at eleven and she is somehow lucid enough to check him out. Sam finds her fascinating, which make me wonder how he feels about other creatures he's mauled, since I'm sure deer could be equally fascinating. Grace is spared and every winter she watches Sam in wolf form not knowing he is human and slowly falling in love.
That's right, she falls in love with him as a wolf. We know he isn't, but she doesn't which makes her obsession interesting. Unfortunately, it is quickly established that the writer is not adventurous enough to take that route.
Grace grows up to be relatively normal teenager with two girlfriends. At first I was happy to see this, however, the writer quickly dismantles the friendship. One friend, Olivia, calls Grace out -rightfully- over her wolf-fetish, but we are supposed to relate with Grace, despite the fact that she cares more about a wolf than people.
Sam is an artist. His words, not mine. To quote a line from Anne Boleyn as played by Geneviève Bujold from Anne of a Thousand Days:
"Your poetry is sour and your music is worse."
If we are supposed to moved by Sam's summer girl song, I supposed my tittering and eye rolling was not in good fashion.
Werewolves in this book transform due to changes in the weather. Winter = Wolf. Summer = Man.
I actually have no problem with this, however, the explanation of a cure made me go, "Really?" Like I've said before...creativity is good, but not when it doesn't make any sense. The highlight of this book was really, Isabel who I felt stole every scene she was in. I felt like she should have been the main protagonist because she was actually fighting for something worth wild.
Grace was just dull and her boyfriend was no better. They are both self-centered, egomaniacs who think they are deep because they are "smart." Neither of them care about the murdered humans, except for how it affects them, Sam does have his moments, but they are both so full of themselves that it makes me just want to give them a copy The Diary of Anne Frank just so they can see what real struggles are.
Final Grade: D
Dull, dull, dull and dull. This book left me feeling nothing but utter boredom. The book itself isn't terrible writing wise, just everything else is. The good prose is wasted on boring characters, boring relationships and a story that goes nowhere quickly. The only reason I will even pick up Linger is to see if Isabel gets to be a badass. Oh, I hope so.
Oh, Dr Frank-N-Furter, I wish. I wish so much.
Shiver is a book about a girl who has been struggling with bestiality for the past six years, with a wolf she saw in the forest when she was eleven. However, she, and the audience, soon discover that the wolf is actually a werewolf. From there on the story loses all of its excitement.
Shiver isn't a terrible book, it is just suffering from a Romantic Plot Tumor. For those of you unaware of what means check out TV Tropes.
The love story between Grace and Sam (Wolf) is boring, obsessive and dry. They first meet when Grace is about to get mauled by a wolf at eleven and she is somehow lucid enough to check him out. Sam finds her fascinating, which make me wonder how he feels about other creatures he's mauled, since I'm sure deer could be equally fascinating. Grace is spared and every winter she watches Sam in wolf form not knowing he is human and slowly falling in love.
That's right, she falls in love with him as a wolf. We know he isn't, but she doesn't which makes her obsession interesting. Unfortunately, it is quickly established that the writer is not adventurous enough to take that route.
Grace grows up to be relatively normal teenager with two girlfriends. At first I was happy to see this, however, the writer quickly dismantles the friendship. One friend, Olivia, calls Grace out -rightfully- over her wolf-fetish, but we are supposed to relate with Grace, despite the fact that she cares more about a wolf than people.
Sam is an artist. His words, not mine. To quote a line from Anne Boleyn as played by Geneviève Bujold from Anne of a Thousand Days:
"Your poetry is sour and your music is worse."
If we are supposed to moved by Sam's summer girl song, I supposed my tittering and eye rolling was not in good fashion.
Werewolves in this book transform due to changes in the weather. Winter = Wolf. Summer = Man.
I actually have no problem with this, however, the explanation of a cure made me go, "Really?" Like I've said before...creativity is good, but not when it doesn't make any sense. The highlight of this book was really, Isabel who I felt stole every scene she was in. I felt like she should have been the main protagonist because she was actually fighting for something worth wild.
Grace was just dull and her boyfriend was no better. They are both self-centered, egomaniacs who think they are deep because they are "smart." Neither of them care about the murdered humans, except for how it affects them, Sam does have his moments, but they are both so full of themselves that it makes me just want to give them a copy The Diary of Anne Frank just so they can see what real struggles are.
Final Grade: D
Dull, dull, dull and dull. This book left me feeling nothing but utter boredom. The book itself isn't terrible writing wise, just everything else is. The good prose is wasted on boring characters, boring relationships and a story that goes nowhere quickly. The only reason I will even pick up Linger is to see if Isabel gets to be a badass. Oh, I hope so.