Sunday, March 7, 2010

In Which Our Heroine Reviews LINGER by Maggie Stiefvater


This is my first book review and I am going to explain this WITHOUT spoilers since the novel doesn't come out for a while. *takes a deep breath* Okaaaaaay, here we go...

LINGER (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2)'s summary comes from Amazon.com:

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, who own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabel, who already lost her brother to the wolves, and is nonetheless drawn to Cole. 

First off, thank you to the amazing Scholastic booth at ALA MidWinter 2010 for giving me this novel. This is an advanced reader's copy, which means it is not a final product. The book's official release date is July 20th, 2010

Without giving any spoilers, I want to say that LINGER was 200% better than SHIVER. It was told from the point of view of not just Grace and Sam, who were the narrators of SHIVER, but also Isabel, Grace's friend, and Cole, the new wolf in the pack.

 The characterization in LINGER was stronger then in SHIVER, and I really got to know all of the characters better. Maggie writes beautifully and every time I reread SHIVER and this time that I read LINGER, I truly felt like I was in Mercy Falls, Minnesota. I felt cold when the characters were feeling chilly and warm when they felt warm. 

I did think that this book needed more action. While Grace's difficulties with her parents continued, I didn't feel that this conflict was big enough to carry the story. I was on the edge of my seat with Grace's dangerous secret and I am rather eager to see what will happen in the third book, FOREVER. 

In all, I'd give LINGER 5 stars out of 5 because I felt that the writing and characterization was stronger than the previous book in the series and because I. Love. Cole.

That's right. Move over, Sam. For me, you've been replaced by Cole St. Claire. <3

14 comments:

  1. I thought the characterization in SHIVER was really strong, so I'm excited that it's even better in LINGER (and I am seriously craving this book. July cannot come fast enough). Thank you for the review!

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  2. This year is FULL of amazing books and I'm so glad I am not alone in my SHIVER love, Jeni! :-)

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  3. Ooh you've got me excited. Bummer I have to wait until July but good things come to those that wait, I guess.

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  4. Ah I'm so jealous that you got to read LINGER already!! July 20th is on my calendar. I cannot wait!!

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  5. Nicole and Kirsten- July is worth the wait!!!!! :-)

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  6. Wait... there's someone better than Sam?!

    Gah! Waiting to read this book is going to kill me!!!

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  7. Hi!
    Come check out my blog:
    hungergamesseriestheories.blogspot.com
    i can't wait for mockingjay to come out!

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  8. Mariah, Cole is...*siiiiigh* Sam is hot, of course, but Cole is more of a...Jace (from City of Bones by Cassandra Clare) hot.

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  9. Ooh, thanks Rachel!

    I think I will add these two to my list of books to read for the 100+ challenge.

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  10. You should, Steph. You'd love SHIVER! (and LINGER, too)

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  11. *whispers* I've been tired of reading "my boyfriend is dangerous and wants to kill me" books, so I was hesitant to pick Shiver up. Now I am on page 88 and I'm SO glad I did! The writing is beautiful, the relationship tender and deep. I am really enjoying it!

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  12. Nice, Suzette! I'm so glad you're enjoying SHIVER. :-)

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  13. ok seriously? the honest truth is that i'm here because i saw your dance on kody's blog. you're famous and you can no longer hide from your notoriety. buahaha. okay on an equally serious note: awesome review. i, um, had a difficult time enjoying shiver, so i'm happy to hear linger is doing better. good stuff!

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  14. You mean, I can't hide? *sad face* Oh well!

    I know a lot of people who weren't fans of SHIVER, but I have to say that LINGER was better. Probably because my new boyfriend, Cole. And also, Tahereh I am now following you on blogspot because you said I was awesome! *grins*

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