The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stiefvater.
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
Title: Forever {Wolves of Mercy Falls, book 3}
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publication: 12nd July 2011
Publisher: Scholastic Press
386 pages
This review may be spoilery for the first two books. This book is the third novel of a trilogy.
My review
After Linger, the second instalment, I could not wait, I had to know, I needed to know. So I started Forever, this third installment, immediately. Like in the two others, the beginning is quite slow to start and the tension is building up quite slowly. There are also a few lengths, but I nonetheless spent a great time with this novel and it remains true to the previous books. I think this one is my favorite of the three, it's the one I liked the most, although it also left me a bit frustrated with the ending.
In Forever, we follow again our four heroes: Isabel, Cole, Sam and Grace. The narration is still alternated between them. I loved it and I love these kinds of novels because it allows the reader to have all their points of view and opinions. It also allows us to have a better understanding of some things and events. I've got the impression that the story focuses more on Isabel and Cole than on Sam and Grace.
In the beginning of this novel, the pace is quite slow and the plot is building up relatively slowly, as in the previous ones. However, pages after pages, and as we approach the denouement things accelerate. And there are also more twists, suspense and action. Even if the beginning is a bit slow-paced, the last pages are full of suspense and surprises. They kept me spellbound all along, and I think that it's really one of my favorite moments of the whole trilogy. The pace gets a lot faster, unfortunately perhaps a bit too fast, in my opinion.
I would have liked more explanations and details, especially scientific details. Indeed, all these aspects remain a bit too vague for me. The ending also left me with many unanswered questions and I was a bit disappointed. In fact, I got the impression that some details, very important in Shiver, the first instalment, such as wolves and their transformation, were a bit put aside and that the story focuses more on the tragic events of the four teenagers' life and their adolescent angst.
Some passages of Forever are totally moving and once again the feelings are very well-described and perfectly written. Maggie Stiefvater's writing is really poetic and touching. The characters have a lot to cope with and life is really not easy with them. Maggie Stiefvater also emphasizes the notion of good and evil, their presence in everyone and in all our actions. Forever also focuses on the causes and consequences of our acts.
In Forever, we follow again our four heroes: Isabel, Cole, Sam and Grace. The narration is still alternated between them. I loved it and I love these kinds of novels because it allows the reader to have all their points of view and opinions. It also allows us to have a better understanding of some things and events. I've got the impression that the story focuses more on Isabel and Cole than on Sam and Grace.
In the beginning of this novel, the pace is quite slow and the plot is building up relatively slowly, as in the previous ones. However, pages after pages, and as we approach the denouement things accelerate. And there are also more twists, suspense and action. Even if the beginning is a bit slow-paced, the last pages are full of suspense and surprises. They kept me spellbound all along, and I think that it's really one of my favorite moments of the whole trilogy. The pace gets a lot faster, unfortunately perhaps a bit too fast, in my opinion.
I would have liked more explanations and details, especially scientific details. Indeed, all these aspects remain a bit too vague for me. The ending also left me with many unanswered questions and I was a bit disappointed. In fact, I got the impression that some details, very important in Shiver, the first instalment, such as wolves and their transformation, were a bit put aside and that the story focuses more on the tragic events of the four teenagers' life and their adolescent angst.
Some passages of Forever are totally moving and once again the feelings are very well-described and perfectly written. Maggie Stiefvater's writing is really poetic and touching. The characters have a lot to cope with and life is really not easy with them. Maggie Stiefvater also emphasizes the notion of good and evil, their presence in everyone and in all our actions. Forever also focuses on the causes and consequences of our acts.
To sum up, this third instalment remains true to the two others and if you liked the previous ones, you will totally love it. However, in my opinion, it suffers the same flaws, namely a slow start. For me, it's a bittersweet ending, a few threads are left pending and when I turned the last page I was very surprised to see that it was the end, that there was nothing else, no further explanations. However, Forever is nonetheless a very successful conclusion to an utterly sweet, romantic and poetic series. Last but not least, my review would not be complete without mentioning the "Boyfruits" because it's a passage that made me shriek with laughter.
At the end of Forever there is a short excerpt of The Scorpio Races, Maggie Stiefvater's next book, and it sounds really awesome and promising. Now I'm really looking forward to reading it and I can't wait for October 2011.
Well, now I'm going to have to at least go to the library and check this one out to see the "boyfruits" passage! I wasn't invested enough in the story to buy Forever. I love the author's writing in Lament and Ballad and am hoping she writes more in that series. But in those there were things left unanswered, hanging. Maybe that's how she likes to leave things and let us figure it out for ourselves. I like a more definitive ending with my questions answered. And with Forever, I thought the whole point was for Sam to find a cure for being a wolf b/c they were going to die early deaths. Maybe I need to read it after all.
ReplyDeleteHeather
Thank you so much Heather for your comment :D I also prefer definitive hanging :) I haven't read Lament and Ballad yet but I really want to :D I'm glad to see that you liked them.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading :D