Review: Forever

Forever
Maggie Stiefvater
Young Adult Paranormal
Wolves of Mercy Falls/Book 3
Scholastic/July 12, 2011

*Spoilers for previous books*

From the inside cover ~

then.

When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love moved from a curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

now.

That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.

forever.

Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

The final installment to this fascinating trilogy. When I started reading Forever I had a difficult time getting into it, knowing it was the last time I would read about these characters. (I'm still hoping for more books). I read a few pages then put it down. Once I did finally allow myself to read it, it went very quickly. There are some slow points to the story when I couldn't help but think "come on guys, you don't have much time" since that bastard Tom Culpepper was on the hunt again. But other than a few slow moments, the story arc continued, giving Grace and Sam a sort of happy ending.

Sam is holding on, barely. He's lost without Grace and he doesn't know when he'll see her again, if he'll see her again. Their positions have shifted with Grace the wolf and Sam the possibly cured human. Sam is questioning his position in life. He no longer has the pack to give him that sense of place but being human without Grace has left him adrift. I liked that Sam didn't slide easily into his human role but struggles with it. If he had made the adjustment easily, it would have lessened the importance of his wolf. Sam's wolf is still with him, under the surface, dormant until the right trigger occurs.

Grace is not the girl we first met in Shiver. She still has some of the same characteristics but she has also made some changes, and not just the fury kind. She's becoming less concerned with what her parents think of her and with trying to please them. She's always been portrayed as being mature for her age but now she's taken that maturity and used it to help herself and the people closest to her. I like how she's become the adult Grace and left the insecure Grace behind.

Cole is playing mad scientist, turning Beck's house into his chaotic lab. Cole's experiments are dangerous with possible fatal outcomes. Cole uses himself as the guinea pig with his usual recklessness. He's not this pampered rock star anymore but has morphed into a man driven by desperation to find the cause of the werewolf virus. I loved when Cole was on the page. He could be harsh and impulsive but it didn't come from being self-centered but rather from his need to know and to prove to his father that he could do this, could be more than a irresponsible rock star. Cole definitely brought a much needed edge to the story.

Isabel is the only one of the main four characters that is not a werewolf. That doesn't mean that she doesn't play an important role in the lives of Sam, Grace and Cole. She's still has an odd relationship with Cole. In another world where things were normal, they might have dated but in the world of Mercy Falls there is not room for normal. Still, I liked Isabel's role and how she finally stopped worrying about the consequences of her actions, how it would affect her, and did the right thing.

We learn more about Cole and Sam's backgrounds and what got them to this point in their lives. We also learn more of both of their relationships with Beck and how each saw Beck. There is something similar to sibling rivalry between these two when it comes to Beck. I found the dynamics of the four (Sam, Grace, Cole & Isabel) interesting in how they worked together towards a single purpose, setting aside any distrust or hurt they might have felt. It made the story far more interesting than having them cheerfully working together towards that goal.

As this is the final book in the trilogy, it didn't have that feeling of finality. It felt more like the end of a season, with a long wait until the return. I hope there are more books about these characters, there are certainly more stories to be told about them. I would say Forever gave us a for now ending with the potential for more.

Rating: B+

Books in the Trilogy

Shiver
Linger
Forever