Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, book 3)

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Hardcover:  400 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Press (July 2011)

Rating:  5 for the series

Synopsis: 

In this last book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, Sam waits for Grace to shift for the spring and Sam, Cole and Isabel fight to keep all of the wolves safe as Isabel's father goes through plans of eliminating the pack by helicopter.

Response:

For those YA readers who are enamored by the paranormal books out there, but don't necessarily want the more sexually charged nature of vampires, this trilogy is a worthy read. At the center is the model relationship between Sam and Grace who prove book after book that they are willing to sacrifice and fight for each other. I think it's a healthy relationship, but I'm more enamored by the angst ridden Cole and Isabel who don't have enough love for themselves to really connect with someone else.

Linger Giveaway!

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.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

Shiver by Maggie Steifvater

In alternating first-person narratives, Shiver is the story of Grace and her yellow-eyed wolf, Sam. Grace was saved by Sam when she was a child, and Sam is her winter wolf who watches her from the edge of the woods. In the summer, Sam turns human, but this may be his last year of being human and when tragedy strikes and he shows up on Grace's porch in human form, she needs to do all she can to hold onto him, but winter is biting at the windows and Sam knows that this will be their first and last time to hold onto each other.

This YA fantasy/romance is a winter read, best read with the wind howling outside, the snow falling or as in Hawaii, the thunder and lightning threatening to tear the house down. I liked the temperature at the beginning of each chapter. It created tension as the temperature dropped, because it was a countdown for when Sam would disappear forever.

The beginning of the book starts a little slow, and stilted, but once the two teens are together, it truly becomes a race for time.

“I said uselessly, "Sam, don't go."

Sam cupped my face in his hands and looked me in the eyes. His eyes were yellow, sad, wolf, mine. 

"These stay the same. Remember that when you look at me. Remember it's me. Please.” 

 I can't wait for the next book, Linger out in July 2010.