Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

From Maggie Stiefvater's blog: For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human... until the cold makes him shift back again. 

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever. 

This book is more of a character study of Sam and Grace. Each has their own voice and POV. This character development is a wonderful way of telling a love story. You get to know both main characters well and feel deeply for them. To me, the werewolf part of the story was secondary to main love story, although it did enhance the love between the two. It became the reason they had to listen, learn, and find what was real and true about the other. The werewolf angle could have been replaced by some other problem that finds that Sam and Grace may never get their happily ever after. However, Maggie's angle plays very creatively and magically in the way she wrote it. In fact I'd say that the true magic was not shape-shifting into a wolf, but it was in the simple and beautiful love story Maggie tells with such poetry.

I gave this book 5 stars and recommend this book to anyone looking for a love story. There is some violence and some well some sexual content. So, bear those in mind for the very young set.