Rate this book

Shiver Trilogy Boxset (2011)

by Maggie Stiefvater(Favorite Author)

4.3 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0545326869 (ISBN13: 9780545326865)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Scholastic Press

review 1: I enjoyed this trilogy. I know what you’re thinking. It sounds “Twilight-ish,” but in my opinion, it has a lot more depth to it. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the Twilight series. The books were a nice mindless read. The characters in the Mercy Falls books though have much more depth and seem much more “real”, in my opinion. One thing I appreciated about these books is that they were each finished on their own. Yes, I wanted to read the next book, but the first two books didn’t end on huge cliffhangers that left me having to immediately pick up the next book to continue the story. Each book was complete on its own. I liked that.The first book went back and forth between two narrators, Sam & Grace. The second two added additional voices, which I at ... morefirst was leery of, but it also worked. I liked looking into the mind of each of the characters. The writing was compelling and enjoyable. The author is great at imagery and paints wonderfully vivid pictures with her words.Would I recommend this to my BFF? Definitely. Loved these books. Sad they’re over.Would I recommend this to my daughter? Nope. There are several instances where strong language is used, and a lot of teen rebellion / troubled youth situations. Also premarital sex – not written in detail, but implied.
review 2: I really, really like the way Stiefvater writes. For some reason I read Shiver a few years ago, then didn't follow through on the rest of the series. But I just finished the whole trilogy on audiobook, and it really is very good.Stiefvater does certain things very differently from other YA authors. I am absolutely fascinated by the way she wrote Grace's parents, a couple who usually treat their daughter like a roommate. They are frustrating and familiar (not my parents, but other parents) and quite different from the two sorts of parents you typically see in these books: passive or absent/dead. Her parents are still there, they're just cheerfully negligent and really haven't thought of how that affected their daughter. Good, interesting characterizations.I also like that this is a small story, not a world-changing revolution. It's all contained within a small town in Minnesota, and it's incredibly important for the people in the town, but not beyond. Well done.Lastly? Stiefvater writes love scenes that are genuinely YA appropriate, but not in a neutered way. Some YA authors deal with age-appropriateness by cutting away when things start to get too sexy, or they write the scene but it's very obvious they're carefully censoring the scene. Stiefvater manages to bridge the gap by not writing so much about sex, but more about sensation and emotion. In too many books, a character is suffused with lust after catching a glimpse of "washboard abs" or the skin between a shirt and jeans or a low-cut top. But Sam and Grace are set off by very different things (and not in that cheesy "I imagined her in a wedding dress, and was overcome with lust" trope that authors sometimes wedge into male teen characters). For instance, at one point Grace kind of fists the material at the front of Sam's t-shirt. It's not a sexy move, she's not trying to be sultry, she's just cuddling with him, but it mentally sends him to a very hormonal place. When they talk about sensations, there's a lot of stuff like pressure of a hand on a back, or gathered hems, or scent. I guess what I'm saying here is that she pretty perfectly captures that incredibly heady teenage love sensation, when something as small as a hand at the nape of your neck sets you on fire. It manages to remain objectively tasteful while genuinely providing emotion.The one drawback of the audiobook, for me, was that when we got to four narrators, the accents and cadences got all messed up. Grace is performed by the same narrator throughout three books, but the other cast changed - Sam in every version, I think. So Isobel is performed by Grace as a Californian Valley Girl, but then Isobel herself sounds kind of... goth? Ulrich loses his prominently featured german accent completely, across all four narrators. I really enjoyed the performances, that was just... strange.And then, personal preference: I cannot stand singing in audiobooks. I can't. I hate characters who write songs in their heads and then warble, I literally start going "LALALALA!" to drown it out. No, this is not rational nor sensible, but it's a knee-jerk reaction and if you have anything like the same quirk, be aware that there is singing in this book. And they DO sing, not speak-sing like in other audiobooks. I'm weird, I know. less

Download links for: Shiver Trilogy Boxset

Advertising