Last May I read and reviewed an ARC of Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver. I loved it and immediately upon closing the book I was desperate for the sequel. I just closed the back cover on the sequel, Linger, and it was just as good as the first book in the series!
Grace and Sam are finally together. The only thing standing in the way of their happiness is Grace’s parents sudden interest in parenting. After being absentee parents for most of her life they have decided to set rules and one of them is spending less time with Sam. When they catch Sam sleeping over, Grace and Sam are forbidden from seeing each other. What her parents don’t seem to be concerned about is the strange illness that is slowly overtaking her body. Sam, on the other hand, is wracked with nerves and can’t figure out what is wrong with her. Plus, the poor kid is also dealing with the three new wolves that Beck turned before disappearing. One of those new wolves just happens to be a world-famous rock star. Someone people could, and most likely will, recognize. And this Cole isn’t too concerned about anything other than being a wolf full-time.
I love, love, love Sam. What a fantastic character. In this novel, he spends a lot of time thinking in lyrics and poetry, which I loved. Apparently the audiobook includes Sam singing! I did enjoy seeing Sam’s growth over the course of the two books. He has been forced to mature, despite his emotional baggage. He is still broken and damaged, but his love for Grace and Beck is slowly helping to put him back together. It’s just a matter of when he will be made whole again, or if he can.
This book doesn’t have the same sense of urgency that Shiver did. Shiver was all about if and when Sam would change. Linger isn’t as fast-paced but I still found myself on the edge of my seat. I was dying to know what was wrong with Grace. The story built up slowly but surely, leaving me with tears in my eyes for the last 20 pages or so. This is a much more dramatic book than the first in the series, but in a good way. Needless to say, I am anxiously awaiting the next (and final?) book in the series- Forever. Highly recommended
Want to win your own copy of Linger? Click below to enter! A winner will be randomly chosen next Tuesday and Scholastic will mail out a copy of the book!
Win your own copy of Linger!
Maggie Stiefvater’s website:
http://www.maggiestiefvater.com/
Maggie Stiefvater’s blog:
http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/
Author Twitter:
http://twitter.com/mstiefvater
Maggie Stiefvater’s Linger Book Trailer:
Scholastic.com official Shiver page
http://www.scholastic.com/shiver/
*review copy courtesy of the publisher
The Reading Zone 
I would be so excited to win. I also loved Linger, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. Your review made me want to read it even more. Are you excited to book talk Shiver and Linger to your new high schoolers?
I read a library copy of Shiver a few days ago based on your recommendations – once the action picked up, I couldn’t put the book down until I finished it. The love story aspect was ok, maybe Twilight made me jaded about teen human/changed human romance 🙂 I have ordered both Shiver and Linger for my classroom library because I know some students would really enjoy them – thank you!
I just finished Linger like 5 minutes ago. It was so beautifully written and very well described. Each character’s point of view and personality grew as you got closer to the end. I felt like I really knew the characters. This series is the best of em all totally beating Twilight. I cannot wait to the next book.