Title: Linger
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
360 pages
Publisher: Scholastic
Buy The Book: Amazon
The haunting poetry of Rilke? Check. Grace chugging coffee? Check. Isabel’s sharp barbs?Check. Sam still as perfect as ever? Check. Healthy dose of teen angst? Check. Absentee parents? Check While some things have stayed the same in Mercy Falls, there have definitely been some changes.
Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book 2) by Maggie Stiefvater, the follow-up to Stiefvater’s 2009 novel Shiver, brings the reader once again into the lives of Sam and Grace. This time around, the cure that was administered to Sam in Shiver seems to be keeping him from changing into a wolf. So everything should be great, right? Not quite.
Warning: This review contains spoilers.
Linger is far more complex than Shiver, and the result is a much better story. It is rare for a sequel to be better than its predecessor. So, Linger was a pleasant surprise. With the addition of a four point-of-view (POV) structure instead of a two POV (as in Shiver), comes a lot more action in addition to all of the emotional, “teen angsty” elements that made Shiver so great. But don’t get me wrong, the angst is still there in heaping portions sure to satisfy the most angst-craving teen (or in my case, adult) reader.
Readers of Linger will find Sam and Grace with a whole new set of issues to tackle. It was a nice change to see Sam and Grace dealing with some of their challenges individually and not primarily as one cohesive unit. Sam’s new role, caretaker for the werewolves that reside at Beck’s house, is added to his growing list of problems. Also, Grace’s newly wolfed-out friend Olivia is still “missing.” Of course, Sam and Grace know the truth: Olivia is actually a werewolf for the duration of the winter season and won’t be back for a while. This is the only storyline in the book that I felt could have been more developed. However, I assume that it was put on the backburner to be picked back up in Forever, the third book in the trilogy.
Also, Grace’s parents no longer seem to be quite the apathetic parents that they were in Shiver. They decide to take a stand with Grace, and ground her when it comes to their attention that Sam has been sleeping over. I was glad that Grace’s parents confronted her. I felt like that issue was swept under the rug a bit in the previous book. But, they still don’t seem to be that worried about the real issue that Grace is dealing with: her health. Throughout the book, Grace is suffering from horrible symptoms including fever, nose bleeds, and various aches and pains. This really doesn’t seem to concern them until the end of the book. As a reader, the lack of concern about their daughter’s health justifies to me the action that Grace takes towards the end of the book (i.e. running away).
Isabel returns with a much larger storyline. She and new wolf in town, Cole are the two added POVs. Isabel is busy dealing with grief over her brother’s death and with her complicated attraction to both Cole and Sam. Isabel’s burgeoning feelings for Sam is another storyline I look forward to seeing developed further in Forever.
Have I mentioned yet that I love Cole? The storyline involving complicated, bad boy Cole absolutely made the book for me. His flashback scenes that take place in Canada with his band NARKOTIKA are well-crafted and provide insight into the complicated past that made Cole want to escape everything and become a wolf.
As a mother, it’s funny to read YA literature from an adult perspective. I’m sure I notice all sorts of things that teen readers probably will not fret about in the least. Overall, I recommend Linger to teen and adult readers alike. I think the story has universal appeal, and I can’t wait to see the movie versions that are sure to be made of the books.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I also thought Cole was awesome! His and Isabel’s storyline was much more interesting than Sam’s and Grace’s, for me. I thought Linger was a really good sequel for Shiver, and can’t wait for Forever.
Cade
Braintasia Books
I read Shiver only a few weeks ago, and as a mother too there were certain aspects that bothered me–namely Grace’s parents or lack thereof. I’m sure teen readers could care less about the parents. Overall, I think Stiefvater is a gifted writer. It’s easy to get sucked into the world she creates. I can’t wait to start reading Linger!
In this year, I should be more efforts, is not it ?