Pages: Paperback, 489
Age Group: Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic Press
My Rating: 5/5
My personal soundtrack for this book: "Re: Stacks" by Bon Iver
The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater
In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.
Amazing, amazing, amazing. I finished this book minutes ago, so I thought I'd write a review now when my emotions about it are still reasonably present. It feels so bittersweet to say goodbye to Mercy Falls and the amazing people (and wolves) in it. It really felt like I just gone through everything with them, and honestly, they'll always have a place in this heart of mine. I laughed with them, I felt their pain, I could relate to some of them, I worry about them as I read.
Something has happened to Grace (and I think we all pretty much know what it is), and she tries to return to Sam and together with Isabel and Cole, they set off to face things that sure requires a lot of heart and head to deal with.
The emotional depth that resides within Maggie's beautiful prose made my heart ache, and tiny tears bubbled up in my eyes. And seriously, that is something that doesn't happen quite a lot. There are more serious stuff in this final book. Wolves are being hunted, and that brings a lot to the table for these characters. Watching them turn from just simple characters in a book, to finding their true selves in the end, I cherished them even more. I so badly want to tell you what each of them found within themselves but I'm afraid you're just going to have to read on. I wanted to know what was going to happen to the characters, I think that was my basic instinct with Forever, I wanted, and wanted, and wanted.
I saw the risks that were taken, I saw the glimmer of determination within Cole and his quest to explore the nature of shifting, I saw Isabel's wings spread as she opens herself up to the light. I saw the inner strength and vulnerability that is Sam and the courage that is Grace. I truly admire their growth as characters, and how they faced their inner battles. With a lot of things at stake within the story, I truly have nothing but praise, and in the end, I came to love all of the characters equally. And Grace and Sam's bond remains as ageless and beautiful as ever without forgetting to be realistic, and I truly admire that. So enduring, forgiving and strong.
The ending to me was, well, I truly wouldn't want to have it another way. It will leave readers the lingering wonder of the future of these characters and sort of put their own conclusions and maybe learn a few lessons. Maggie Stiefvater has left a window open to leave the characters' future within the comfort of our imaginations. The story flowed in a comfortable pace, even though the first few 100 pages took quite a while for me to get through. All three of Maggie Stiefvater's books, what they all mean to me, I couldn't even put it into adequate words. Saying goodbye to the series feels like saying farewell to an old friend, hoping someday we could reconnect. This book made me realize that there is courage and strength, love and forgiveness just stirring and brewing inside of us and there's no need to fear them. Those are the things that we will hold on through the laughs and storms. This book taught me to see beauty in the simplest things and see them in a different light. It taught me to be grateful.
Thank you Maggie Stiefvater, thank you.
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