Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Click here for the book description.

Available at Amazon, Book Depository, Chapters, Scholastic Books Canada

I was nervous going into my reading of Forever, knowing that this would be the last book in the series. First, because it was a series that had grown on me, considerably, between Shiver (book one) and Linger (book two). Secondly, because I don't like endings! But I put on a brave face and dove in.

Having spent so much time away from the books since I had read Linger (a whole year), it was nice, early in the book, to have a reminder of why I've enjoyed this series so much. It is this: Stiefvater's writing takes on the essence of what is beloved in poetry; the tone mournful yet full of observation,. It makes the reading feel surreal; slightly mystical. For example: (pg. 71 of ARC) "Overhead, thunder rumbled, seemingly in advance of the storm cloud, which was cupping around the tops of the trees like a hand hiding a secret." I think this imagery is just stunning! But more than that is when these little bits of insight are revealed. It could pop up just after one of the characters had been discussing a mundane element of life, then bam! something beautiful and intuitive shows up. It always makes me wish I had realized it myself, but happy that someone else had, and found a way to share it with me (and all of the other readers).

On Location with Maggie Stiefvater

I had the great pleasure of seeing Maggie Stiefvater live on Saturday, as she stopped in at Chapters in Oshawa, Ontario for part of her Forever tour. Maggie came on stage, ready to go with stories of other live events she's been to, a tale of how she found out she't hit number one on the NYT Bestseller's list, and more. From the images below, you can see she is full of energy (yeah, let's go with that as the reason that some are blurry), but she's witty and full of charm.

Unfortunately, these events really never allow for a one on one conversation, but I did manage to squeeze in my own question. When I asked Maggie how she was able, when writing, to switch from her quirky online/in-person personality to the more mellow one that we see throughout her Wolves of Mercy Falls series, she told me that really, these were both true aspects of herself, one being the public image, the other the private one. She said that when writing, you see more of that private image in the words.

Other questions asked by the audience included one about which was her favourite character to write. She said Cole St. Clair was a lot of fun and had elements of demons she, herself, faced in College. Personally, Cole is my fave too, because of his many facets and the struggles he has had to endure. Being a rock start might not be as fun as it looks, when seen from his perspective, I guess.

Here's Maggie moving across the stage

 (see? I told you she was a bit blurry :)

Blog Tour: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Welcome to today's stop on the blog tour for Linger by Maggie Stiefvater! To celebrate the release of the second book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, I'm re-posting my review and throwing in a few extra tidbits for my readers and.....what do you think about another giveaway? Really, who doesn't love a giveaway? So, read on, check out the book trailer and enjoy :-)

I reviewed Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater earlier this year (click here to read my review) so I was very excited to read the next installment in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. And, fortunately, I was able to do this in advance (I feel very lucky :-)

Linger basically starts off a few months after Shiver. Sam and Grace are getting into the day to day of their lives. It seems Grace is not feeling quite right, but Sam and Grace would rather enjoy the time they have together (because it was almost lost to them) than discuss what may be happening to her.

We get to meet one of the new wolves brought in by Beck towards the end of Shiver. I have to say, I loved the dynamics of the Cole/Isabel dialogues. Linger takes a darker turn with Cole's character and I was impressed with Stiefvater's handling of his "problems". He's definitely an interesting addition to the mix and I can see what impact he could potentially have in the next book.

The story this times is told through the 4 perspectives of Isabel, Cole, Sam, and Grace, which means we get to understand more about Sam (cause through a bunch of Shiver he was a wolf) but we see less of Grace. Sam is a boy after my own heart: he works in a book store, listens to Damien Rice (among others) and quotes sad poetry, as well as writing some pretty emotional song lyrics himself.

Overall, I felt a sense of melancholy reading this story (but not in a bad way, if that's possible, lol.) Maggie Stiefvater gives us a little hope, then seems to dash it away but leaves just enough of a glimmer for the hopeless romantic (like myself) to continue to believe in never-ending love.

I absolutely devoured Linger! For me, Linger was even better than Shiver! I am very anxious now to get my hands on Forever, the final book of the trilogy, but will have to wait (im)patiently until July 2011.



You can also find information about Maggie and her books through these links:


Blog: http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mstiefvater
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maggie-Stiefvater-Really-its-me/412830324465?v=wall
Also, Shiver has been nominated as a Best Read in the 1st annual Indigo Teen Read Awards so, if you are eligible, pop over to www.teenreadawards.ca to cast your vote!

And now, some good news for my followers....


I have one copy to offer to a lucky Canadian! Please enter your info into the form for your chance to win! Contest open to Canadian mailing addresses only and you must be a follower to enter (I have to be able to verify easily:-) The closing date is August 5th at midnight and the winner wil be drawn August 6th using random.org. Good luck to all!

And the winner is....

I'd like to congratulate the winner of the ARC of Linger by Maggie Stiefvater:

Raquel Vega-Grieder (whose blog can be found at Skyla11377 )

Yay Raquel!

An email has ben sent to get your mailing info. Thanks to all of you that entered the contest.

Review and Contest: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (July 1 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0545123283
ISBN-13: 978-0545123280

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 in 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 reviewed Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater earlier this year (click here to read my review) so I was very excited to read the next installment in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. And, fortunately, I was able to do this in advance (I feel very lucky :-)

Linger basically starts off a few months after Shiver. Sam and Grace are getting into the day to day of their lives. It seems Grace is not feeling quite right, but Sam and Grace would rather enjoy the time they have together (because it was almost lost to them) than discuss what may be happening to her.

We get to meet one of the new wolves brought in by Beck towards the end of Shiver. I have to say, I loved the dynamics of the Cole/Isabel dialogues. Linger takes a darker turn with Cole's character and I was impressed with Stiefvater's handling of his "problems". He's definitely an interesting addition to the mix and I can see what impact he could potentially have in the next book.

The story this times is told through the 4 perspectives of Isabel, Cole, Sam, and Grace, which means we get to understand more about Sam (cause through a bunch of Shiver he was a wolf) but we see less of Grace. Sam is a boy after my own heart: he works in a book store, listens to Damien Rice (among others) and quotes sad poetry, as well as writing some pretty emotional song lyrics himself.

Overall, I felt a sense of melancholy reading this story (but not in a bad way, if that's possible, lol.) Maggie Stiefvater gives us a little hope, then seems to dash it away but leaves just enough of a glimmer for the hopeless romantic (like myself) to continue to believe in never-ending love.

I absolutely devoured Linger! For me, Linger was even better than Shiver! I am very anxious now to get my hands on Forever, the final book of the trilogy, but will have to wait (im)patiently until July 2011.

And now, some good news for my followers....

I have a copy to offer up to one lucky person!

To enter, you must be a follower and fill out this form. Contest closes May 21, 2010 and the winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be picked. Good luck to all!

Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Scholastic Inc.
ISBN 978-0-545-12326-6
HC 400 pages
Ages 12 and up

From the Publisher:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf - her wolf - is a haunting presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human -- until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears and the temperature drops, Sam must fight to stay human or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

As a child, Grace was attacked by a pack of wolves, which in itself was weird, but she survived the attack when one of the wolves stepped in to stop it, which was even weirder. Now, after all these years, Grace still feels a certain affinity with the wolves, the yellow-eyed one in particular.

When a unpleasant boy at school, Jack, is attacked by wolves, and apparently killed, the people of the town step in to take matters into their own hands. Then Grace finds Sam, a boy with yellow eyes, on her back deck, injured. It doesn't take long for her to make all of the connections.

Sam and Grace, with precious little time left, find themselves simultaneously searching for Jack, who has disappeared from the morgue, and trying to find a way for Sam to remain human, all while learning about each other and falling in love.

There were so many elements in the story at play that it was never boring, for sure. And for the most part, I very much enjoyed reading Shiver. The only thing that really nagged at me was a scene involving Sam and Grace's mom. I really felt the dialogue was reaching, as he says to her, "I think the mother doth protest too much." This irked me as an unrealistic dialogue between a seventeen year old and an adult. (Yes, this is a repetition of my previous nit-picking about the role of parents in teen-lit!)

That aside, the love story between Grace and Sam is definitely the best part of the book for me though all of the other action just serves to enhance this, making the potential for loss that much greater for both of them.

In Shiver, Stiefvater gives us an interesting twist on the werewolf theme, showing the heart ache it can cause, particularly in the area of Sam's past. She has given Sam and Grace, both, the aura of "old souls", while keeping a teen feel throughout. I actually felt that the book finished very neatly and was surprised to learn there would be another book to follow. To this end, I'm anxious to see what Maggie Stiefvater has in store for us next, as she releases Linger this summer.

Shiver is a meaty, paranormal teen romance worth reading, if this is a genre you enjoy.

Click here to read an excerpt or to see the book trailer:http://www.scholastic.ca/titles/shiver/