READING: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Publication date: July 12th 2011
Published by: Scholastic
Genre: YA Paranormal, Werewolves
Rating: 4/5

then.

When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love moved from a curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

now.

That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the Wolves Of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.

forever.

Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present and the future are about to collide in one pure moment-a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

Forever is the 3d installment in the Wolves Of Mercy Falls series and unfortunately the last.

The Mercy Falls trilogy has been an emotional journey which admittedly I was hesitant to embark on at first. I was not a fan of Shiver. Didn't see the appeal at all. But since I am a big softie and believe in second chances, I read Linger.And I loved it. To say it took me by surprise would be an understatement. Never in a million years did I imagine I'd like it that much and that I'd anxiously look forward to the next one. Which brings us to Forever.

Forever was pretty much like Linger: divided into four POVs, Grace, Sam, Isabel and Cole and had some action, at least in the end. But unlike Linger in which something was always happening and moved the story forward, Forever was a bit static and consequently slow at parts. I guess it had to do with the story, the importance of which was the ending and everything else just led to it. But how interested can 300-filler pages keep you till you reach the important finale? Although there were scenes that just blew me away, like the one with Grace's mother and Sam and Sam's scene with Beck, there were others that could have easily been avoided. Yes, I'm talking about you Grace! I'm sorry, I just can't get myself to like this girl! She'd done nothing wrong but she still rubs me the wrong way. Come to think of it, it's exactly that: she's done nothing. She's bland and colorless. On the one hand I don't blame her, considering who her parents are(worst parents in YA history hands down) but on the other, she's not my type of heroine. And it showed in the end.

What I would love, even though I know it'll never happen, would be a spin-off series about Cole. He is the main reason I loved Linger and read Forever. He is the most well-written character after Sam(or dare I say before Sam?) and I absolutely love everything about him. I love him because he's a screwed up, insane, arrogant guy with a huge heart. And even though everyone thought he was a stupid low-life, he saved the day showing more chivalry, honor and bravery than someone who turned out to be too self-righteous for her own good. He's one of the awesomest character in YA in my opinion and I think he deserves his own series along with Isabel, don't you think? OK maybe Sam can be in there too :)

There comes a time in your life when you watch a movie or go to a concert, an art gallery, whatever, and you take a step back and think "Wow, he's meant to act" or "She's meant to sing" or "He's born to paint".

I think Maggie's born and meant to write. And write amazingly and wonderfully. For me, even though I may occasionally not enjoy all of her stories, Maggie is a Writer. Capital W and everything. She is destined to do this and I'm so glad she does.

That's the end of The Wolves Of Mercy Fall. I might not have been a fan of the series from the beginning, but I'm certainly gonna miss it now that it's gone. 

There's a new book by Maggie Stiefvater and Scholastic coming out October 18th 2011 called The Scorpio Races. Sounds awesome!