READING : Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Publication date: July 13th, 2010
Published by: Scholastic Press
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5

Grace and Sam 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.

An incredible thing just happened to me : I didn't enjoy Shiver at all but I loved Linger.How can it be??I am pretty shocked myself, to tell you the truth, because I was expecting to be disappointed once again.As it turns out, this is definitely not the case!

First and foremost I'd like to tell you that this review contains a lot of Shiver- Linger comparisons, which I find inevitable when it comes to books of the same series.It's probably not a very "professional" way to review a book, but I just cannot forget I read Shiver and regard Linger as a stand alone.

Let me begin by saying that Stiefvater's writing is exactly the same in Linger as it was in Shiver : brilliant, lyrical, wonderful, beautiful. Incredibly depressing and emotional, of course, but it's only natural, since Shiver was all about new found love and romance and Linger is about loss and sorrow.Either way, Stiefvater's writing is amazing in both books, regardless if you like her books or not.It's just an undeniable fact!

The main problem I had with Shiver was the lack of a story.Sure, OK it had one.The romance between Sam and Grace.But even though it was well written and all that, it really didn't do it for me.What is the reason of having a supernatural element added in, if it's gonna go to waste?Well, Linger is a reason, and a very very good reason at that.Linger has a story and it gave meaning to the whole series,in my opinion.Things are not what they seem with the wolves and Sam's alleged cure, while Grace suffers immensely when her inner wolf awakens,wanting out.I really can't reveal any more of the plot for fear of major spoilage.Point is,when a book is based on a story that can lead somewhere and it's not the classic I love you-you love me-this isn't going anywhere story, it's so,so much better for the reader who wants to read more and more and can't get enough and is addicted and hooked and wants to know how it all ends.Combine that with excellent writing and you got yourself a great book!

There is one more reason I liked Linger and its name is Cole.With his troubled boy attitude and his continuous  will to self-destruct, Cole is undoubtedly a great addition to the books.Also, his background story has already played a very integral part in Linger.

As for the other characters, Sam has grown in ways I can't even tell you since Shiver.I liked and admired him very much in Linger, even though I didn't much care for him in Shiver.Grace, well, I still don't like her much.Too self righteous for my taste.Well, in retrospect, who can blame her?It's a wonder she grew up the way she did with parents like hers.You know, a friend on GoodReads actually pointed out that parents in Stiefvater's books are the worse parents she ever read in YA fiction.I'm afraid I will have to agree with that!

The only thing I had a little trouble with when reading, was the 4-way narrative.I usually love it when different voices express their thoughts and emotions, but this time I had a hard time getting used to it, since narrative changed all the time,unlike Shiver,and I had trouble telling Sam and Cole apart at some point.

But other than that, nothing was wrong with Linger!

So, if you guys are like me and gave up on reading Linger because you found Shiver boring and bland, I am begging you to reconsider.Believe me, you won't regret it!