Forever | by: Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy has been an interesting ride for me, as each book seems to give me a completely different opinion from the others. I wasn't quite sure what to expect of Forever, but I prepared for the worst.

Well, I prepared wrongly.

Sam and Grace's relationship has become utterly complicated. The tables have turned as everything they've been fighting for is at greater risk than ever. Now, they have to worry about even more than their relationship and life together being possible. They also have to worry about the entire pack staying alive in this great climax of their story, which brings an entirely new intensity to the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy.

That's right, I said intensity. If you read my reviews of the previous books in this series, Shiver and Linger, you'd know that I've had issues with the corny/gushy feel of the characters in these books. In Forever, this isn't really a problem. Sure, it's still a bit gushy to begin with, but I think all the good of this book outweighs any corny moment there might have been.

Once again, Cole and Isabel narrate as well as Sam and Grace. But, a fifth narrator has a small chapter. The first chapter. And I'm not going to say who it is, but I will say that this first impression left me rolling my eyes. I said to myself, "Well, I know where this is going." But I didn't. I was expecting the corniest, but I didn't need to. Thank goodness.

Anyway, I still loved the multiple narrations. In other words, I still loved Cole and Isabel's story. Each character had his/her own voice, and Cole's made me giggle at times. For whatever reason, I just enjoyed his idiosyncrasies. Isabel, on the other hand, made me feel incredibly sympathetic. After all this time, these past events have really taken a toll on her. She's still uniquely Isabel, and that's why it hurt to see her hurt.

I must say that I enjoyed reading about Sam and Grace much more in this book since everything became so serious all of a sudden. The sweetness of their relationship is still there, but their struggles have increased, giving them more to worry about. Plus, Grace's friendship with Rachel really shined, which I didn't expect (especially now, of all times, amid all the chaos in the world of wolves). It made me happy to see this.

While reading Forever, Sam was the turning point. There was a part in this book where I immediately knew I would like it much more than the past two of this trilogy. A flashback of a grieving boy and Beck. I've mentioned in the other reviews that part of the reason I'm so drawn to Sam is because of his awful past. Who wouldn't feel terrible for the guy? And people seem to define him by that constantly. With Sam, there's always thoughts of Beck, and even their father-son relationship is tested in this novel, which really grabbed me emotionally.

Even so, what stood out the most about Forever was the climax. Seriously, this is one of the best climaxes I've read about in a long time. The action jumped off the page, and the grief jumped into my heart. A couple of twists made my jaw drop as I read. Really, readers will have a sense of what the characters will have to do to reach some sort of resolution, but I know I never imagined it would turn out like this.

So, Forever surprised me. It was SO much better than the other two books in the series, and I was completely shocked by how much I liked it, even how much I liked the ending. There's still room for imagination, which some readers may despise, but I have hope in my heart for all of these characters because of it.

To be entirely honest, I always thought this trilogy was overrated. With an ending novel like this... I reconsider. I can forgive what I didn't like in Linger, because this was so worth the read.

4.5/5 Stars


Stiefvater, Maggie. Forever
New York: Scholastic Press
2011

Linger | by: Maggie Stiefvater

Linger is the second book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy, and it is the continuation of Grace and Sam's story, with two more perspectives.

Just as they thought that everything was fine, that their love story finally came to its happy resolution, new problems are on the horizon. Sam must deal with a choice Beck has made, a choice that brought a new character: Cole. Cole is one of four narrators readers will come across in this novel as Sam and Grace's story intertwines with the lives of Isabel and Cole, who are connected by their own personal struggles. In addition, they add to Grace and Sam's plot just as much. But together, Grace and Sam are going to have to face an untimely reality that may separate them; for something unavoidable isn't quite right.

When I first started reading Linger, I had rather low expectations. With the introduction to a new male character, I expected him to be a contender for Grace's love since this happens with many second books in paranormal romance series', but thank goodness, I was wrong. Cole, a new character in the Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy, really boosted my opinion for this book. I really enjoyed reading his narrations as well as Isabel's narrations, and their complex relationship kept me interested more than Sam and Grace's story. In some odd way, it was refreshing to read about two very imperfect people.

With that being said, the main plot with Sam and Grace is very, very predictable. The general plot in captivating in some ways, but the author gives so many hints but takes so long to get to the point. I knew what was going to happen in the end, the only thing that was a little surprising was the manner in which it happened. Although I was correct in my predictions, the climax was still quite effective since it was so full of action (which was something I did not predict).

Part of the reason why I may have preferred hearing from Cole and Isabel is that I really don't care much for Grace. I cannot relate to her whatsoever when it comes to much of anything. Plus, I got a bit frustrated with her towards the end. Though I understand that she's angry that her parents (who do an awful job of parenting) suddenly forced themselves into her life after years of absence, she went about her anger in a rather... less smart way. Seriously: You get in trouble once for something that every parent on the planet would get angry about. You can at least pretend to follow through with the punishment. Really, it's no wonder they punished her over and over again - she's not very sneaky! Sure, this might be the closest we get to real life, but it's very irritating as a reader.

More than anything, this book was a bit too gushy at times. I know I mentioned this in my review of the first novel of this trilogy, Shiver, but it got worse. Grace nearly drove me insane with her constant whining: "Boohoo I miss Sam; I haven't seen him in two whole days!" But, the generally corny vibe didn't just affect her, it also affected Sam. He's no different. (However, I guess I like Sam, but maybe I just pity him because of his past...) Even the writing was affected by this element. Is Maggie Stiefvater a good writer? I think so, but the gushiness really took away from it. I think the writing would have done much better in a different setting.

I'm realizing that Cole and Isabel's story lacked all of the things I just complained about. Even so, the climax of the book does seem to pay off any problem I had with Sam and Grace since the engrossing elements of their story is highlighted. The way that both stories have merged make it special; Maggie Stiefvater knew what she was doing.

In truth, this wasn't a bad sequal, but it wasn't the best. It was on the fence. Readers will be hung over a cliffhanger and likely want to see what happens next, just as I do. After reading this book, my expectations for the third book, Forever, aren't really expectations at all since Linger was a a bit in-between. Forever could be as in-between as this installment, as good as Shiver, absolutely beautiful, or absolutely terrible for all I know. I can't tell at this point. All the more reason for me to go ahead and read the next book.

Linger will somewhat satisfy those who read the first novel in this trilogy with its new character and the entertainment it brings. Though it was predictable and far from a perfect novel, it's entertaining enough nontheless.

3/5 Stars


Stiefvater, Maggie. Linger
New York: Scholastic Press
2010

Shiver | by: Maggie Stiefvater

Grace has been observing the wolves in her very backyard for the longest time in fascination, even after a dangerous encounter years ago. Her friends may not understand her obsession with them, but they don't realize her connection with one wolf in particular, one who comes each winter. Written in dual-narration, that very wolf has observed Grace as well over the years. In a moment of terror for both Grace and her wolf, she discovers that he is more than just a wolf. He's also Sam. And their time together as the same species is limited.

It's absolutely pathetic that I've just now read Shiver despite I've wanted to read it since it first came out and just about everyone else in the world has read it in the downtime. Thank goodness I finally got around to picking it up after nearly three years!

Shiver moves right into the plot quickly, almost too quickly. There's always a huge, predictable, and not to mention boring section in paranormal romance novels where the main character sits around denying whatever paranormal idea she has come across. This section doesn't exist in Shiver. Although it caught me off guard, I was happy that the story didn't flow in that way. The beginning was extremely captivating, quite frankly.

From the start of the story, I felt bad for Grace. Her parents are so uncaring and ridiculous, and her friends reminded me why all of my friends are guys. Since I knew where the story was going to go (in general), hearing about 'her wolf' felt a little weird to me in the beginning, kind of like bestiality. However, I don't feel like this vibe was from the what was written, I think it was just my mind anticipating the love interest a little too early, making it seem weird to me.

Shiver may be the sweetest story of its genre, and part of that is because of Sam. He's so incredibly likable and his back story made me feel awful for him. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen so much tragedy within a love interest of this genre. Without him, I wouldn't have liked this book as much since Grace didn't do much for me as a character. I couldn't relate to her much at all, so I usually liked Sam's chapters better. Besides, dual narrations are always a positive thing! But, with sweetness comes cuteness, and cuteness in novels tend to bring corniness. As I've mentioned in multiple other reviews, I don't have much tolerance for corny elements in novels. This one brought a bit of eye-rolling, but not too much. I still enjoyed the book and found that the other darker, more serious elements seemed to weigh it out.

The ending really struck a chord with me. I must say, I got a little bit teary-eyed. Everything felt so sweet and sad all at once, even though I sort of anticipated it since Sam and Grace's situation is so bittersweet to begin with. Plus, the writing really affected the way emotions were carried out, and it was done very well throughout, even though I was a little surprised that the ending triggered my emotions the way it did.

Shiver ended up being enjoyable the whole way through, with its light and dark moments in the midst of a sweetly-crafted plot. I'm a bit intrigued by this story and am curious to see how it continues.

4/5 Stars

Stiefvater, Maggie. Shiver
New York: Scholastic Press
2009