Linger by Maggie Stiefvater: Book Review

LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater Book Review
Series: Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2

So, I went to my internship at Scholastic on Tuesday. They have this awesome bins where you can pick up books for free. They’re usually a lot of galleys and a few finished books every now and then. The bins were overflowing, so I decided to rummage through them and hopefully find a copy of a book that I had worked on (building up a collection of them…). Lo and behold, I unearthed a copy of a Linger galley. I was ecstatic.

For those not familiar with the book, Linger is the sequel to Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.

Book Summary: 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 Isabel, 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.

Surprisingly, I only finished reading the book today. First of all, I’d like to say that Linger by Maggie Stiefvater will not disappoint. If you loved Shiver, you will love Linger without a doubt.

I do not know if it is possible, but I have grown more in love with Sam Roth. He is hands-down my favorite character in the book. He has the best lines in the book, in my opinion. There was one “baby” song that he had written that I just wanted to rip out of the book and post it on my wall so I could read it over and over again. I’ll give the first line because the other three lines are full of spoilers:

Folded in my arms you’re a butterfly in reverse…

His lyrics are absolutely beautiful and it makes me frustrated that I do not get to hear him sing, and only get to read about it. This book has made me realize: I need a Sam Roth in my life.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the fact that a new wolf, Cole, is going to have a big role in LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater. I didn’t know who he was, and I felt like he was stealing the spotlight from the other characters. But after really getting into the book and learning more about him, I had grown to like him. I love his bad boy image, and I absolutely love the chemistry between him and Isabel. I love all the scenes they’re in together.

Grace and Isabel were great as well. I loved how strong the female characters are in LINGER. I felt that I could really relate to Grace whenever she is fighting with her parents. I felt like I wanted to be in that room with her, backing up her arguments. I can tell why her parents are upset, and it makes sense. But Grace has a point. They don’t see their relationship as we do. Despite the fact that they have been absent for most of her teen years, they have a point that she is still living under their roof, their rules, and at the end of the day, their word is above hers. I love how she is able to fight for her love.

Furthermore, Isabel was so much fun to read. I love how she can be this great annoying bitch one second, an amazing and understanding friend the next, and a mature young adult who just says it like it is. She says things that no one else has the guts to say, and I love that. I wasn’t that much a fan of Isabel in Shiver but I loved her in this book. I looked forward to every chapter that she was narrating in LINGER.

Honestly, the only problem with Maggie Stiefvater’s LINGER (which really isn’t a problem) was the fact from the first page, I knew that something bad was going to happen, and I wasn’t going to like it. I think it’s partly the reason why it took me forever to read. If I could put off the ending for as long as possible, I’d be satisfied with whatever I’ve read. I have this great picture in my mind of Sam and Grace forever happy, stuck in one moment. But I couldn’t prolong it forever. I wanted more Sam, more Grace, more Cole, and more Isabel. I couldn’t just stop reading halfway through the book.

So I read. And I was just left with a bittersweet feeling after I finished LINGER. And I feel like I should have waited until the next book Forever came out before reading this one because now, all I can think about is: I WANT MORE!!!

Sigh.

With that said, I can’t help but give LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater five stars:

LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater will be available on Amazon and bookstores nationwide on July 13, 2010.