Grace Brisbane

Character Analysis

State of Grace

About half of Shiver (maybe more; math is Grace's strong suit, we'd need to check our guide to make sure) is told through Grace's first-person P.O.V. Spending so much time with her, we get to know her pretty well, including things she doesn't consciously reveal.

It's apparent early on that this isn't simply a “what if Bella chose Jacob?” werewolf love story. Grace, as you can tell by her name, isn't clumsy like Bella. However, she is a good student, although Grace leans away from literature and toward math, which she finds “comforting, orderly lines of numbers and symbols” (5.12). Also, instead of reading with Isabel in the bookstore, Grace is “absently pulling the books out so that they were flush with one another” (63.16). From her actions, we see that she's practical, orderly, and maybe a little OCD.

She definitely puts the “obsessive” in “obsessive compulsive” when we consider her persistent attraction to a wolf that lives in the woods and visits her every year. She often refers to it as “my wolf” and puts it above her friendship with her human friends, Olivia and Rachel. When Sam finally comes into her life in human form, she's definitely possessive of him, but mostly in a positive way: wanting to keep him warm. Because warmth is protection. Grace’s last name is Brisbane, though, and since Brisbane, Australia was originally a penal colony, perhaps Grace is a little more prison warden than benevolent protector.

You be the judge.

Savage Grace

One thing we like about Grace is that she's flawed. Sure, she's pretty amazing but she's not afraid to show us how she really feels, even if she's not quite sure what's going on in her own head. What teenager is? Heck, what adult knows what's going in their own head?

Grace has a habit of projecting onto others, like when she snipes at Olivia, “Sorry to have bored you for so long. Must've killed you to look entertained” (10.21). Ouch. Grace seems to have forgotten that she was pretending to enjoy Olivia’s story just two chapters ago.

Olivia kind of brings the worst out in Grace. After apologizing for fighting with her, Grace admits, “I wasn't really sure what I was apologizing for” (32.102). Maybe for being like Bella and putting your boy before your friends? She comes to her senses a few paragraphs later, saying, “I realized how selfish I was being” (32.118). But then we realize she's not talking about fighting with Olivia, she's talking about apologizing to Olivia instead of focusing on Sam. Do you think Grace will have a healthy friendship with anyone ever, or will she remain focused on Sam forever?

Grace Under Fire

When Grace was young, she was attacked by werewolves, but she didn't change. This event doesn't just influence the entire plot of Shiver, it also influences Grace's life. It has given her a heightened sense of smell, which makes reading this book a feast for the senses.

Another way Grace's wolfy senses come into play is with her instincts and her sometimes animalistic reactions to events. This happens early on when Shelby, the white she-wolf, tries to make a territory play with Grace. Grace stands at the window and literally growls at her, then says, “The growl that escaped from me surprised both me and her” (6.23). This also ties in to her possessiveness of Sam. It brings out the animal from within her.

Because of Grace's wolf nature, we have to disagree with her mom when she tells her, “You have no survival instinct, Grace” (38.7). Her mom hasn't seen the lengths Grace will go to in order to protect Sam. Would Grace go to the same lengths to protect her parents?