Ah, Easter! One of my favourite times of year where it’s not only encouraged, but completely expected that you eat non-stop chocolate until you vomit… or at least feel overwhelmingly nauseous! And if you don’t… well, then, you’re simply not doing it right and need to try harder.
(Totally unrelated note – as i write this, the man is completely absorbed watching The Masters (i know, that’s a whole other blog!). It’s got incredibly dramatic theme music… every time i hear it; i think it’s the opening bars of the latest big James Cameron blockbuster! It’s so USA! USA! USA!).
And, swiftly-moving-on…
Even more reason to love Easter is that there’s not one, but TWO public holidays nicely bookended with a weekend in between to honour this most wonderful of wonderful chocolate eating celebrations. Of course, me and the man didn’t have to be asked twice before we raced up to the in-laws ‘cute-as-a-button’ bach in sleepy Northland for the weekend. So it was here, in Mangonui, ensconced in my idea of nirvana, surrounded by chocolate bunnies, cups of tea, freshly battered fish, chilled wine, hot cakes and even more chocolate bunnies that i finished the last book in Maggie Stiefvater’s stunning ‘Shiver Trilogy’.
Once upon a time, i never read a book more than once. And i also never paid for books either. Now, i treasure my growing library and with my penchant for Trilogies, Fourlogies, Fivelogies and Sevenlogies, i often have to reread books to remember the finer details before i can launch into the new stuff. But luckily, with writers like Maggie Stiefvater, it’s nothing but a pleasure to re-read lines that are so heart stoppinly beautiful and lyrically exquisite that you could read them again and again and again…
Take this paragraph….
‘…Then i picked my book up again and stroked her hair and read to the soundtrack of her breaths. The weight of her pinned my fleeting thoughts to the ground, and in that moment, i was more in the world than I’d ever been.’
See? See? Pretty awesome, huh?
But i’m getting ahead of myself. You don’t even know what it’s all about and i’m expecting you to ooohhh and ahhhh. So, here we go… Shiver Trilogy 101:
'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.'
The saga starts with Shiver, moves onto Linger and finishes off with Forever, and as if the writing and story ain’t amazeballs enough, the cover artwork for all three books is totally da’ bomb.
As i read and read and read, i had no idea where Maggie was going with it all - or even how I wanted her to go - but there were definitely parts that i held my breath through, too scared to anticipate the outcome or how brave Ms Stiefvater was going to be with her characters.
I won’t say much more, i’ll instead let you experience it all for yourself – glorious chapter by glorious chapter. But i will say this: i miss Sam, Grace, Isabel and Cole… and that to me is the mark of a totally kick arse book (and writer)… it’s when you’re genuinely sad to no longer be part of their worlds, and find yourself wishing that there were some words left to read that still made them part of yours.
Kiss kiss love love
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