Review of "Linger" by Maggie Stiefvater

"Linger"
by Maggie Stiefvater


5

Pub. Date: July 17th 2010
Pages: 246

Synopsis:
In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love - the light and the dark, the warm and the cold - in a way you will never forget.

I loved "Shiver" and I was excited when "Linger" came out, the second book in the “Wolves of Mercy Falls” series did not disappoint me. Grace and Sam's love continues to grow as they break rules to be together. Grace's parents come out of hiding and decide to enforce rules of their household that they were happy to let slide in the past. This was an interesting change from the first book that causes lots of conflict. The introduction of a new wolf, Cole, also brings new tension to the story. Cole's past is sorted, but he will not be able to disappear like the others. He will be missed and people will come looking for him.

I have to say that my favorite part of the book was the end. I don't want to give anything away, but Grace has been keeping a secret from Sam. Part of me is surprised that she would keep such a big secret from the man she loves, but I felt like Stiefvater was able to make it realistic because of all the other problems going on at the same time. Sam was too distracted to notice what was going on with Grace and she was doing her best to hide it. Even though some people may not like the way the book ended, I think it was perfect. It gave the series more room to grow and brought more questions about the lives of the wolves. I am surprised there is only one book left in the series, but I can't wait to see how it all comes together.

"Linger" brings a new depth to the series allowing for new twists. Before I was never too worried about the werewolves being discovered by outsiders, but I can see this being a major problem in the series. Beck's latest wolf decisions don't seem to be the best for the pack, so it will be interesting to see where things go in future books. I wonder if Beck will come back, or if he is in wolf form for good. I like where Stiefvater is taking the series and I can't wait for the final book, "Forever".