After searching for a week or two, I finally came across this book. I read it in a matter of days (if it were up to me it would have been hours). Linger is a continuation of Maggie Stiefvater’s first book; Shiver. One of the main things that caught my interest was the story plot; it’s basically about a boy and a girl who fall in love. I know what you’re thinking, “Ohhh great, another teen romance trying to live up to the standards of Twilight.” Wrong. Here's the catch in this romance of boy and girl; the dude just happens to be a werewolf! How did this relationship come to be? Well a young girl by the name of Grace lives in house not too far from a forest. Not just a normal, every-day set of trees - wolves live there. One day Grace comes home to discover a boy lying on her back porch. Turns out he’s one of the wolves from the forest named Sam who had transformed to human. Crazy, huh? After getting to know one another, they soon fall in love. Everything is perfect until it’s time for Sam to change back into wolf form, leaving Grace all alone. They have to fight to stay together through Sam’s four-legged conflicts, as well as Grace’s parents intruding on their relationship.
Stiefvater easily made me laugh and want to cry. She sets up each individual scene with great detail, forcing the reader to easily feel as if they’re watching the movie. Just read the following passage for further convincing.
Motionless, I watched as a black wolf appeared behind the gray one, followed by another I didn’t know. They moved like a school of fish, constantly touching, jostling, and communicating without words. Soon there were six wolves, all keeping their distance, all watching me, all scenting the air. I was afraid. The wolves circled me, wary of my human form but curious of the smell. Maybe they were waiting for me to shift.
What I love more than anything is the way Stiefvater tells the story from different characters’ perspectives. One chapter is in Grace’s point of view and the next is in Sam’s. This makes me adore the book even more. No longer will I have to wonder what the other character’s thoughts and feelings are. Unlike some authors, Stiefvater easily shows the obsessive relationship between the two main characters. You can tell they are completely and unconditionally in love. She just as easily shows the relationship between other characters in the book. From hatred to love, you always know they’re feelings for one another.
Before grabbing Linger off of the shelf, I recommend reading Shiver beforehand, just to get the feel of it all. On a scale of 1 to 10, I easily give Linger a 9. The book does provide a slight disappointment because the previous book was just so great, it heightened my expectations for the second. Only because of that slight flaw I give it a 9, hardly shy of a 10, but I’m quite harsh on my ratings. Now all I can do is pray and hope for either a movie, or a third book to satisfy my cravings for more.
Reviewed by Logan Love
8th Grade
*NFMH* Maggie Stiefvater has a really interesting website full of information about her books, blog posts, links to short stories, and tons of other neat stuff. Click HERE for Maggie's website.
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