Tuesday, July 27, 2010
"Linger: The Wolves of Mercy Falls #2" by Maggie Stiefvater (Reviewed by Cindy Hannikman
Overview: Sam and Grace have fought an amazing battle to be together. Sam has over come changing into a wolf and Grace has faced many changed in her life. Now the fight is on to keep the relationship together. Grace must fight against her parents who believe Sam is a bad influence. Sam must keep up the relationship while trying to help the new wolves learn about transitioning and changing and what to do.
While trying to keep the relationship as normal as possible, Grace starts to experience some health issues that could have serious consequences. Can she keep these symptoms a secret from Sam?
Meanwhile, Isabelle who lost her brother to being a wolf is coming out of her shell and is becoming attracted to the new wolf of the pack Cole.
Format: Linger is the sequel to Shiver. Linger could be read on its own but it is best to read Shiver to fully understand the context of some of the problems. Linger stands at 368 pages. It is told from alternating first person point of views of Sam, Grace, Cole, Isabelle. It was published by Scholastic Press on July 13, 2010.
Analysis: The long awaited sequel to Shiver is finally here. I admit I had some issues with Shiver, mostly regarding the non-existent parents, a few time inconsistencies and some other minor details. However I really enjoyed Maggie Stiefvater's writing and it wasn't so bad that I couldn't finish it. So when Linger showed up on my doorstep I knew I had to give it a go and see where this second installment was going to take readers.
If you read Shiver and didn't enjoy it, this is most certainly is not going to change your opinion on the the writing or plot line. If you enjoyed Shiver this will just make you fall in love with the characters and become more involved with the story then the first novel. If paranormal YA romance novels are not your thing then Linger won't change your mind on reading them.
The problems that I encountered in Shiver are addressed here. Grace's parents seem to be a bit more aware of situations going on in their house. This was a MAJOR problem for me as I couldn't understand why the parents were so out there and not knowing what was going on. I can't give away too much without the bulk of the story being ruined but this is definitely addressed in this novel. The timing issue was also addressed and elements seemed to flow a lot smoother then they did in Shiver.
Linger like Shiver is 80% teenage love/angst and 20% actual plot and story line. Readers should be prepared for a bunch of lovey dovey kissing, cooing and teenage romance. Besides that Linger is very much a middle novel, it contains just enough information to resolve some of the questions from the first book but really sets up for a third book. Be prepared to be left with a massive cliffhanger which won't be addressed until the third book hits shelves.
Putting aside the teenage love, the actual plot element of Linger was a bit predictable. When Grace started to show symptoms I knew instantly where the story was going to go. As I had guessed all of my predictions did come true. I don't know if this is from reading so many books or if it was really that transparent. This problem led me to enjoy the book a little less then I did with Shiver.
All the characters that were present in Shiver are still present in Linger, except there is an introduction of a new character, Cole. This new character was my favorite part of the novel. Cole was new, fresh and added a new plot thread. Everything else in the novel tended to come across to me as if I had read it somewhere or was just like Shiver.
Overall, I enjoyed Linger not as much as I enjoyed Shiver but it was a decent read.I await to see what happens in the 3rd novel. In the end, Maggie Stiefvater's writing is just as beautiful and lyrical as her previous novels and she really knows how to draw a teenage romance that'll make readers wish that they were a part of.
12:51 AM | 
Posted by
Cindy |
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2 comments:
I have issues getting into YA books, but there is enough hype about this series that I wonder if I shouldn't give it a try sometime. Great review :)
I enjoyed the book and the writing is good. But I still don't get the hype ;). Then again it was better then some paranormal/romance novels I've read so I can't complain!
Start with Shiver, if you don't like that you won't like any of the others :)