Book Trailer ~ The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater

So, I thought today I would do something slightly different with my book trailer post and actually have trailers for all of Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls series. I enjoyed the books, but I absolutely LOVE the trailers! You can click the links after each to read my reviews.

Review of Shiver

Review of Linger

Review of Forever

Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Published: July 2010

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Available: Amazon 

Blurb:

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole. 

 

There were so many things I expected of this book and I don't know if they were completely delivered. Regardless there were so many things I loved about this book.

To start if you have not seen the  book trailer check it out. For me the trailers for all three of the books are wonderfully done and tell so much about the books, some of which I didn't make complete sense of until I read the books.

The tone of Stiefvater's first Mercy Falls book Shiver is continued perfectly here.  Linger is poetically and beautifully written. Stiefvater's writing flows smoothly and her occasional use of poetic style is well done. The one problem I had was that things moved sooo slowly. I wish things there had been more of a sense of urgency.

Grace and Sam's love is tested even as it builds. There were moments where I felt like there was a gap between them that didn't feel natural for two young lovers, but Stiefvater was able to pull them back together. Grace's parents drove me nuts in their suddenly inconsistent behavior, but in a way it worked to build some suspense. Hopefully there will be some resolution to their actions in the third book.

The additional focus on newcomer Cole and Isabel was probably where I found myself the most conflicted. While their story lines were interesting and I really enjoyed the interactions between the two of them, I found them a distraction to Sam and Grace's story. Shiver was really about them discovering their love, but here with the added multiple points of view I just felt less connected to them. 

The ending was a bit hard for me to take. About two thirds into the book, I knew what was going to happen and I wasn't happy with it. While the first book in the trilogy left me with hope and a light feeling, Linger was anything but. There was a confusion of action and then boom! it was over exactly like I expected. I have hope the third book will work better for me.

  

Review of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Published: August 2009
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc

ISBN: 9780545123266
Available: Amazon

GoodReads Blurb:

Grace and Sam share a kinship so close they could be lovers or siblings. But they also share a problem. When the temperature slips towards freezing, Sam reverts to his wolf identity and must retreat into the woods to protect his pack. He worries that eventually his human side will fade away and he will left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance.


***


So, I have to start off by saying that the book blurb is absolutely horrible. Siblings? Really? And I'm supposed to find that attractive in a romance? Thank goodness there is no hint to that type of relationship between them in the actual book! 


There were some very strong points that had me loving the book so much that I was able to put aside the frustrating and over used YA scenarios. The first is Stiefvater's beautiful poetry. It's spread throughout the novel and truly captures the essence of what the characters are feeling and how their worlds are changing. The second is that, despite this riding the coat tails of Werewolf craze courtesy of the Twilight phenom, it was a unique take on werewolves. I didn't feel like I was having to read someone's version of Jacob's story. I was completely absorbed into Sam and Grace's lives. The final thing I loved (actually two things) is the cover and book trailer. Both are so beautiful. The cover isn't depressing, or try too hard, and the trailer gave me chills. although, it makes much more sense if you watch it after reading the book.


So what didn't I like? Well, here come the over used YA scenarios. Good girl meets bad boy, who really has a heart of gold and would die for her. Boy obsesses over girl that never notices him, until one day that randomly changes. Girl's parents are artsy and completely uninterested in her life, not even noticing that her boyfriend now lives with them. Girl and boy immediately (upon finally noticing the other) realize this is their soul mate. 

Like I said, lots of over used scenarios, but if you can get past that and simply enjoy the beautifully lyrical writing of Stiefvater this is a very enjoyable read. Make sure you go in with the knowledge that it is a trilogy and don't expect complete closure at the end of this one.