Linger - Maggie Stiefvater

In 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 into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

I loved Shiver so I knew Linger was going to be a new favorite before I read it. And I was right. Like most "middle" novels in a series or trilogy, there's a lot of set up for the final book, so while you get some questions answered, most is left hanging to be wrapped up in the end. I'm actually ok with this. Don't get me wrong, I'm DYING for the final book, but this book was written in such a satisfying way that I was never bored.

I'm intrigued by the whole Cole/Isabelle situation. They both seem so damaged, so broken by life that I was kinda rooting for them towards the end. I think they might be able to heal each other if they would stop dancing around their issues. It was really nice to see a deeper side to Isabelle, instead of her being the bitchy rich girl - although we still saw that side too. Cole was an interesting character to read about. He craved the escape of being a wolf, yet he had the hardest time staying one. I really want to know why that is. Is there something special about him? Or did something not quite take so he changes back early? Like I said, I'm intrigued.

Sam and Grace's struggles made me sad. I won't lie - I was full on crying at the end. (How will they fix it? What's going to happen??) They're relationship is so interesting to me, because while Sam clings to humanity and all it entails, Grace longs for what he left behind. I don't know if it's because she never became a wolf and just wants to know what it's like, or if life with her oblivious parents just sucks that much that the escapism of being a wolf is alluring... But I love their relationship. They are so good together. I hated that her once completely self-absorbed parents suddenly decided to get involved and didn't even listen to her. Honestly, why did they care now? WTF? And it really didn't seem like their concern came from a place of love, which pissed me off anymore. I loved that Cole put her father in his place.

Anyway, all in all, I LOVED this book and I will be waiting VERY impatiently for the last book. I can't wait to see how everything ends up. 5/5

Linger
Maggie Stiefvater
Scholastic, Inc
YA Fiction
$17.99 (hardcover)
362 pages