Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Series: Wolves Of Mercy Falls (#3)
Pages: 384
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: July 12th, 2011
IBSN: 9780545259088

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. 

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.

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.

In Forever the tables have turned -- now Grace is the wolf, and Sam's the one waiting for his Summer Girl to turn back. Cole is still struggling with himself, and Isabel is just trying to get her life back into her shade of normal.

Maggie Stiefvater's classically lyrical and poetic prose featured again in Forever. It sets the tense, haunting, and melancholic tone of the story. Stiefvater's prose is among the most emotional I've ever read. Reading about Sam and Grace's struggle with the role reversal was heart-wrenching enough, let alone told in such an achingly beautiful fashion.

Back with our four main characters from Linger -- Sam, Grace, Cole, and Isabel -- it took no time to get reacquainted with them. Their voices are clear and so distinct that the changes in narration don't cause any confusion, and all perspectives give something extra to the story.

The characters feel real, and their narration raw and honest. All four main characters are so likeable and realistic and that it's almost impossible to not feel for them. It was so easy to forget sometimes that Cole and Isabel weren't always major parts of the story.

While still at heart a character and relationship-driven novel, the major plot (one carried on from Shiver and Linger) was the most urgent of the series. The drama increases and the stakes get higher with each instalment, and the strong connection built with the characters will have you just as anxious as they are about how it will be resolved.

A perfect and fitting conclusion to one of my favourite series! A must-read for fans of the series.

I give Forever a 5 out of 5.