Linger
by Maggie Stiefvater
Date Read: 1/1/2013
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
It has been a while since I read Shiver, the first book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. So there were some things I didn't remember. I feel like that may have made me get into this book slower than I would have if I had read Linger shortly after reading Shiver. There wasn't a whole lot of recap. There were a few things that were mentioned, but it wasn't like, "Hey, this happened in the last book!". I think I might have caught on to things quicker if it hadn't been so long. By the end of the book I had mostly remembered everything, but that was a long way to get into a book to remember everything.
In this book, we get two more POVs in addition to Grace and Sam. I always love reading from Grace and Sam's perspectives. I really like Sam, because we really get into his head about his past - which is what I really liked about Shiver. And I just like them together. It's a sweet romance. It feels real. In Linger, we get Isabel's POV, which I can say I wasn't enthusiastic when I saw it. But it actually grew on me. Her personality really reminded me of someone else, but I still can't put my finger on it. Between Isabel and Rachel, I feel I'm reminded of Toph from Avatar (the animated series about the last airbender). And Isabel's voice was very different from the other characters, so it was actually pretty easy to know who you were reading from. Which is actually refreshing because lately, I've found it hard to differentiate characters in books who have multiple POVs. And then we also get Cole. He's a brand new character. I will admit that until about half way through the book, I had no idea why he was even in the story. I had no idea what he was going to bring. But in the end, he was actually a very important character. And I actually enjoyed seeing the change in character within him. To see him trying to escape his life, and then realize, maybe life isn't worth escaping. Maybe he can make it better.
I actually had no idea what this book was going to be about. I felt though, that the first few lines of the book gave away something important. [SPOILER: "This is a story about a boy who used to be a wolf, and a girl who was becoming one". ] Really? You give that away on the first line??? I wish it wasn't outright said right there. I wish I would have caught on later in the book. Instead, when certain events starting happening, I would have enjoyed coming to the conclusion myself. But I liked that the last chapter brought that sentence full circle.
One thing that really bothered me about this book was how obnoxious Grace's parents were. For her entire life they haven't been there for her. She's had to fend for herself. And then suddenly they decide they want to be parents? I mean, I was never in this situation as I have parents who cared about me my entire life, but it seems to me like this is a dramatic shift. Would that really happen? Maybe I guess. If they thought their daughter was perfect even though they were never around to really know. But at the same time, they seemed to have trusted her that whole time (maybe), and to just suddenly stop trusting her. Idk. I don't have a daughter yet either, and I'd probably freak out as well, but it just annoyed me how much they reacted when they've never cared about her before. And what do parents think forbidding her to do something does??? Especially if she feels you've never cared before?? Of course she's going to rebel!!!!! Again, I'm not a parent yet, so I haven't actually experienced any of this, but from an outside perspective I think they're stupid. I just wanted to punch her parents. They had a right to be upset, but they WAY overreacted. They should be happy that he cares so much about her. Instead of showing up and punching Sam. He's the one that took her to the hospital. UGH.
Other than that, I thought the story was very interesting, maybe a tad bit slow. Not a whole lot happened. But we had to slowly get to really know Isabel and definitely Cole, so that takes some time. And just setting up more of Grace and Sam's relationship. To understand how they feel about each other. Afterall, their love is the only thing that lingers now. But I did like the realization at the end [SPOILER: I thought the fact that the cold is what caused them to shift. But I actually like, because i'm a sort of scientist, that Cole thinks there's more to it. The shifting has a more concrete background. Even if we aren't quite sure what it is.]
Overall I really liked the book. I will definitely read Forever. If you liked Shiver, I recommend continuing the series, otherwise you will be missing out on a sweet romance (with no love triangle or fighting - just dealing with life) and more information on the unique wolves of Mercy Falls.
In this book, we get two more POVs in addition to Grace and Sam. I always love reading from Grace and Sam's perspectives. I really like Sam, because we really get into his head about his past - which is what I really liked about Shiver. And I just like them together. It's a sweet romance. It feels real. In Linger, we get Isabel's POV, which I can say I wasn't enthusiastic when I saw it. But it actually grew on me. Her personality really reminded me of someone else, but I still can't put my finger on it. Between Isabel and Rachel, I feel I'm reminded of Toph from Avatar (the animated series about the last airbender). And Isabel's voice was very different from the other characters, so it was actually pretty easy to know who you were reading from. Which is actually refreshing because lately, I've found it hard to differentiate characters in books who have multiple POVs. And then we also get Cole. He's a brand new character. I will admit that until about half way through the book, I had no idea why he was even in the story. I had no idea what he was going to bring. But in the end, he was actually a very important character. And I actually enjoyed seeing the change in character within him. To see him trying to escape his life, and then realize, maybe life isn't worth escaping. Maybe he can make it better.
I actually had no idea what this book was going to be about. I felt though, that the first few lines of the book gave away something important. [SPOILER: "This is a story about a boy who used to be a wolf, and a girl who was becoming one". ] Really? You give that away on the first line??? I wish it wasn't outright said right there. I wish I would have caught on later in the book. Instead, when certain events starting happening, I would have enjoyed coming to the conclusion myself. But I liked that the last chapter brought that sentence full circle.
One thing that really bothered me about this book was how obnoxious Grace's parents were. For her entire life they haven't been there for her. She's had to fend for herself. And then suddenly they decide they want to be parents? I mean, I was never in this situation as I have parents who cared about me my entire life, but it seems to me like this is a dramatic shift. Would that really happen? Maybe I guess. If they thought their daughter was perfect even though they were never around to really know. But at the same time, they seemed to have trusted her that whole time (maybe), and to just suddenly stop trusting her. Idk. I don't have a daughter yet either, and I'd probably freak out as well, but it just annoyed me how much they reacted when they've never cared about her before. And what do parents think forbidding her to do something does??? Especially if she feels you've never cared before?? Of course she's going to rebel!!!!! Again, I'm not a parent yet, so I haven't actually experienced any of this, but from an outside perspective I think they're stupid. I just wanted to punch her parents. They had a right to be upset, but they WAY overreacted. They should be happy that he cares so much about her. Instead of showing up and punching Sam. He's the one that took her to the hospital. UGH.
Other than that, I thought the story was very interesting, maybe a tad bit slow. Not a whole lot happened. But we had to slowly get to really know Isabel and definitely Cole, so that takes some time. And just setting up more of Grace and Sam's relationship. To understand how they feel about each other. Afterall, their love is the only thing that lingers now. But I did like the realization at the end [SPOILER: I thought the fact that the cold is what caused them to shift. But I actually like, because i'm a sort of scientist, that Cole thinks there's more to it. The shifting has a more concrete background. Even if we aren't quite sure what it is.]
Overall I really liked the book. I will definitely read Forever. If you liked Shiver, I recommend continuing the series, otherwise you will be missing out on a sweet romance (with no love triangle or fighting - just dealing with life) and more information on the unique wolves of Mercy Falls.
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