“In Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.”

The conclusion to any much-loved series will always be a bittersweet affair. Maggie Stiefvater’s Forever is no exception to the rule.

When we last left Mercy Falls, Grace had disappeared from her hospital room where she lay bleeding, only to shift into a wolf and go missing in Boundary Woods. The tables had turned for Sam, now that he was cured, he was the one looking out into the woods, waiting for winter to end and for Grace to hopefully return. With our characters’ lives scattered, Forever picks up all the pieces and completes the Wolves of Mercy Falls puzzle.

I think with this series many people had the same reaction as I did. We fell head over heels with Shiver, got a bit disorientated with Linger, but all hoped that Forever would put things right again. And it did, mostly.

Forever is very well written, and I love the way it’s put together in such a beautiful, lyrical way. I never found myself bored, but I did wish that there was a bit more of Grace and Sam’s love shown, it was a bit muted this time around. The emotions we were missing from Sam and Grace, we find in Isabel and Cole.

The ending was definitely – wow. Maggie certainly brings the action, and the tension is heart stopping. It’s not until you reach a certain point that you stop to take a breath because you realize you’ve been holding it all this time.

I hate when you reach the end of a book and you find yourself scrambling through the last pages, desperate to find more of the story, the whole time thinking “wait, no no no, that can’t be it?!” Mostly because there were some parts that just felt like they needed a few more pages, a bit more explaining, particularly for Isabel and Cole. I really, really hope there will be a spin off novel for them at some point because I found them so fascinating this time around – their snark, humor, dark pasts and twisted nature really shone on the page making them a real highlight.

Bit of a random note, but kudos to Maggie for making the wolves come across so authentic. They weren’t people in wolves clothing, they were the animals they truly become.

Ending a series is never easy but Maggie Stiefvater does a pretty good job of it. Besides a few qualms, it’s still a great read. It’s emotional, heart stopping, bittersweet…but just a little bit unsatisfying. Reaching the end is worth it, not just to finally see how it all works out or to say a sad goodbye to Mercy Falls, but for Maggie’s message in the last paragraph in the author’s note. Beautiful.

Pages:390
Publication Date: July 2011
Publisher: Scholastic
Challenge: n/a
Rating: : ★★★★☆

Teaser Quote: “Sam Roth, you bastard,” Cole said. There was admiration in his voice, which probably meant I’d made a poor decision.”