Forever Book #3 of The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy
Maggies Stiefvator
Scholastic; 386 pages
Young Adult Paranormal Romance
THE FAERYS VIEW
FIRST FEELINGS:
I am a HUGE fan of Maggie Stiefvaters unique writing style that began the minute I discovered her Books of Faerie series. I’ve gobbled up every story she’s written for various anthologies, etc… and have never been disappointed. The Wolves of Mercy Falls series was a bit different for me. I won’t say that I’m disappointed-that’s not the correct word, what I will say is that it didn’t blow my Faery Wings back like most of her writing does. Shiver was absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Linger and in turn, Forever. With each succession of books I found myself getting a tad less interested and having a harder time getting through them when once upon a time I would tear through a M.S. book or story without stopping.
FAERYS REVIEW
I loved the characters in Forever and in true Maggie style, they were sharply defined and very much like real people, friends even-friends who have all the same hopes and dreams as some of our real life friends albeit some in a more otherworldly sense and they were just as flawed, too, again, giving them a sense of ‘realness’.
The varying points of view are one style of writing that many authors cannot pull off! Maggie does this with aplomb! Making it seem effortless and affording the reader a seamless transfer from one character to the next.
The downside is that I had a really difficult time getting through the first half of the book. It felt sluggish and parts of it almost without any real purpose. I kept slogging along and I’m glad I did because the last half of the book is where it's all at.
The last few chapters had me doing the wracking sob thing, I’ll admit it. We say goodbye to well loved characters, challenging and anxiety provoking situations come up that had me biting my nails and there remains the tender love of Sam and Grace.
The ending, in my opinion, did not bring me to a happy place and that’s what I was hoping for after investing my time into this series. Many of my friends loved the ending and like all things, it is a matter of personal preference. I won’t say anymore because I don’t want to spoil this for potential readers.
In summary, Forever isn’t on the top of my ‘must read’ list but I’m not sorry that I read it. That leaves me somewhere in the middle. The joy of reading Maggie’s lyrical almost magical way of writing makes up for some of my disappointment in Forever and I will, as always, look forward to any work she has coming out in the future.
