Linger
by Maggie Stiefvater
Review copy provided by Big Honcho Media
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PJVs QUICKIE POV: Have you ever bought/received a book that you were afraid to read? Afraid to enter it's world because it might not be as good as you imagined it would be? Afraid to have your heart broken, feel the awful heaviness of utter let down? Jaded as I am from other authors,
Linger sat upon my table for two weeks. I would look at it, my heart would race, and then I would turn away jittery.
What is wrong with me? How could I doubt the genius that is Maggie Stiefvater?
Linger not only delivered it left me mourning the fact that I would have to wait a whole year to get to the conclusion of the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. Run, don't walk to your bookstores on July 20th and purchase
Linger...and if you haven't read
Shiver - you are missing out!
If you haven't read Shiver
you might want to stop here and read my review of Shiver. Then buy Shiver and then come back here and read this review. ;)
REVIEW: From one POV to the next,
Linger is the shared experience of Grace, Sam, Isabel and Cole. Four very different characters yet all cohesively meshed together in one poetic package. From reading Stiefvater's other works, I have come to realize that she loves "broken" characters, the more bent the character, the more depth she pushes into them. From broken-hearted James of
Lament and
Ballad to the newly introduced, drug-addict, self-destructive Cole, Stiefvater knows how to create a character with such depth that they burrow into your soul and attach themselves to you emotionally, much as a family member or good friend might.
The plight of the characters of
Linger is compelling, anxiety riddled and emotional. The emotional roller-coaster of this novel is a "must experience". Grace's emotions are on high-alert as the love she has for Sam solidifies and becomes real, all the while her parents are now taking a more "parental" interest in her when they begin to notice Sam over a lot more than they would like. Being almost non-existent parents before, the sudden interest in her well-being has Grace on edge, paired with the fact that something is not quite right with her body takes it's emotional toll.
Sam on the other had is still waiting to turn back into wolf, he has not quite accepted the fact that he is fully human. He has never planned before, he has never given himself the opportunity to dream and have goals - so his new life as a human is confusing, but in a good way. Yet, behind him are the wolves. The wolves that he must care for no matter how human he is now - and Beck's creation of the new wolves adds even more to his tumultuous life. When he comes face to face with one of the new wolves, cocky, careless and secretive Cole - Sam, for the first time begins to doubt Beck's decision making. The realization that your parents are not the all-knowing, gods of childhood is a heady experience.
Then there is Cole, the newest member of the wolf-pack. Cole is on the run from life. Determined to escape his path in the form of an animal. The problem is, he can't stay wolf - forced to deal with his problems as a human, Cole is willing to do anything to shut out the voices and his past.
Isabel, whom I still didn't warm up to that much in
Linger, still makes for a good read. Even though Cole is quite disturbed, I would have to say Isabel is probably the worst of the lot. Still torn up from her brother's death, which she blames herself for entirely, Isabel hides her damages with mean rebukes and snarky comments. Yet, you know she is trying her best deep down inside, just for the simple fact that she has befriended Sam and Grace, when any other would have run screaming from them the moment her brother died.
I'll end this review there, because I've rambled, but there is a lot covered in this book. I'll just leave you with this. While not better than
Shiver, Linger, was a wonderful follow-up. The book left me in tears, not sobbing uncontrollably (sorry Maggie!) but I did shed a few. This novel was a lot deeper than it's predecessor, with more emotional baggage and grief.
Shiver was the romance,
Linger is the emotional aftermath.
RECOMMENDATIONS: A must read for fans of Stiefvater and those that enjoyed
Shiver. I do not recommend for people that have not read
Shiver. YA fans. If you have read/enjoyed books such as
The Dark Divine, Poison Study, gasp
Twilight - go and read
Shiver.
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