Book Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date: July 13, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 368


Book Source: Bought.

Summary:

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 into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose 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. At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love - the light and the dark, the warm and the cold - in a way you will never forget. (From The Scholastic Store)
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Sometimes I open a book and just know that it's going to be good. Linger is such a book. Like its predecessor in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, the cover is beautiful. And the type? It's in GREEN INK.

That's just cool.

(And in case you're envisioning something bright and illegible, don't worry--it's a very readable dark green.)

Anyway. Behind the prettypretty cover is an immediately arresting prologue followed by a beautifully written intense, funny, and thought-provoking read. I liked Shiver a lot, and gushed about it to the point of embarrassment last summer. It's hard not write about Linger in the same way.

I love the characters in this series, and there are some new ones in Linger. Most notable is Cole St. Clair, a rock star who chooses to become a werewolf in order to run away from his hard-partying yet complex life. While Shiver is narrated by Sam and Grace, Linger has four narrators: Sam, Grace, Isabel, and Cole. All four voices are distinct, engaging, and poetically executed by author Maggie Stiefvater. Linger is full of beautiful language, and even some fitting poetic allusions.

In addition to that, Linger is dramatic. It has a lot to say, and much to chew on post-reading. Stiefvater weaves addiction and other Big Issues around the story, and Grace's relationship with her parents is complex and interesting.

And, oh yeah, there's romance. Tender, maturing, blooming, and hot (yet tasteful). How could I forget?

Finally, this is a fictional novel about werewolves that attempts to make the lupine phenomenon scientific, not mythical. Unfortunately, it can't really be explained, and so I had to hold back some "Oh reallys" and "Oh come ons" and just enjoy the ride--and it's a good one. The pacing is well done, and I raced through it.

I recommend Linger to anyone who read Shiver or anyone looking for a slightly dark yet funny contemporary fantasy with meat. I don't think it's necessary to read Shiver to enjoy Linger--Linger holds together plot-wise better than its predecessor, in my opinion--but doing so first would definitely make parts of Linger easier to understand. And Shiver is awesome, so I don't understand why one wouldn't read it first, anyway.

Now I have to wait for the next book. Shoot.

Until then, here's Linger's beautiful book trailer: