Title: Shiver
Author: Maggie Steifvater
Publishing: Scholastic Press; 1 edition (August 1, 2009)
ISBN: 978-0545123266
Grade Level: 9-12
Summary: Grace has got an obsession. An obsession that tugs at her heart and prickles at her senses. It’s not natural. It’s supernatural and the only person who understands really isn’t a person at all, he’s an animal. Can love overcome magic?
Comments: Romances as a general rule start out a bit slowly, but Shiver is uncommonly slow in the begging and clocking in at 400 pages it may be difficult for those struggling readers to become invested in the story before giving up, but for some the sad and haunting tale of Grace and Same will be worth it.
With a twist on the werewolf legend the reader is plunged into a world of winter and and longing set with high school as a background rather than the focal point. Those readers who have completed the Twilight series might be interested in this story as a follow-up, especially the Team Jacob fans. The story is told from both Grace’s and Sam’s perspectives which offers a kind of dual insight that is interesting and lovely. We don’t have to wonder what the other is thinking or feeling we know it.
With the addition of Sam’s love for poetry and song lyrics as well as Stiefvaters lyrical prose there is a hefty amount of poetry which lends itself to a number of classroom discussions about wordsmithing, emotion and reading.
Georgia Performance Standards:
ELA9RC1 The student reads a minimum of 25 grade-level appropriate books or book equivalents (approximately 1,000,000 words) per year from a variety of subject disciplines. The student reads both informational and fictional texts in a variety of genres and modes of discourse, including technical texts related to various subject areas.
ELAMLRL1- The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events, main ideas, and cultural characteristics) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.
b. Explain the importance of species diversity to the biological resources needed by human populations including food, medicine, and natural aesthetics
c. Describe the role of humans in the survival of species in natural settings through actions such as habitat conservation, research, legislation, and management of genetic diversity at local and global levels.
Extensions:
- Have students discuss the choice that Olivia had to make. What were the pros and cons of both options? Did she make the right choice?
- Have students compare Sam’s “artful” nature to Grace’s practicality? Were they a good match?
- Have students discuss the “cure” and its plausibility?
- Have students write an epilogue for Grace and Sam.
- Have students write an extra chapter that explains Sam’s change.
