Wolves of Mercy Falls: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
| Wolves of Mercy Falls: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Loralei Haylock
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| Summary: An ending that won't please everyone, but left this reviewer feeling very satisfied. A great ending to a superb series. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 448 | Date: July 2011 |
| Publisher: Scholastic | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1407121116 | |
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Spring is in the air at Mercy Falls, and for Sam Roth that means a chance to be reunited with his girlfriend Grace, who has spent the cold winter as a wolf in the forests near the town. Grace's transformations are tied to the temperature – and Sam knows only too well how hard it can be to hold on to your humanity, because he was once a wolf too, before he was cured.
But even if the temperature was high enough for Grace to remain human, things wouldn't be easy. Grace's parents are convinced that Sam kidnapped and killed Grace when she disappeared from hospital months ago, which doesn't make going about his daily business easy. Then there's Cole St. Clair, runaway rockstar turned wolf, who just happens to be a big, reckless genius. Cole wants to find a proper cure for werewolfism, so he and Grace don't have to rely on getting lucky like Sam, and he's perfectly happy to conduct his dangerous experiments on himself.
So when Isabel Culpepper warns Sam her father is planning to kill all the wolves in the forest, Sam, Cole, Grace and Isabel have to put aside their problems and differences to work together to save their family and friends who are trapped in wolf bodies in the forest.
It seems that authors can do no right by some people when it comes to ending popular series. I've watched with some bemusement the internet backlash against concluding parts, and from what I can tell, half of readers are generally happy with conclusions, while the other half are outraged. How could they leave it on such an open ended note? How could they wrap up all the little plot threads in such a neat bow? Real life doesn't work like that! How dare they kill that character? How could the end be such an anticlimax?
I myself am as guilty as the next person for taking extreme views. I hated the end of Twilight, couldn't bear the sappy '19 Years Later' section of Harry Potter, but would defend the conclusion of The Hunger Games ferociously, and I will defend the end of this series to anyone who wants to try and tell me it was rubbish too.
I guess it's all a matter of opinion, and you'll have to read the book to decide whether Stiefvater pulled off a worthy conclusion to her romantic story of teenage werewolves. But for what it's worth, I loved it.
The characters are conflicted, confused and troubled, their situations are desperate and frightening, and nothing is ever simple. The issue of the wolf extermination adds a nice sense of threat that doesn't feel too contrived, while the tentative re-discovery of Sam and Grace's relationship after their winter apart, keeps the romance fresh. Cole remains a larger than life delight, and I never failed to enjoy Isabel's biting narrative. The writing is as beautiful and lyrical as in the previous instalments.
And the end – I can't really say much without spoiling it, but for me it was perfect: hopeful, wrapped up enough to be satisfying without being twee, enough left open to keep you wondering about a few things, but not in an irritating way.
Overall, this was a great conclusion to a series I've very much enjoyed. It won't be for everyone, but for me, this was perfect.
My thanks to the publishers for sending a copy. We also have a review of The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.
Fans of the series might enjoy Maggie Stiefvater's Ballad. For a superb teen romance story slightly more based in reality, but with a fantasy twist, If I Stay by Gayle Forman is another lyrical, beautiful love story.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Wolves of Mercy Falls: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Wolves of Mercy Falls: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater at Amazon.com.
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