Book Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

A trend in today's book loving world is the genre of YA or young adult. Many known adult authors have started writing for this genre so they would have something their children could read. We have seen many new names as well who seem to popped out of nowhere within this genre. The secret of YA books is that they are not only read by the younger generation around us. There are hoards of adult readers of all ages who rush out to the local bookstore on Tuesdays to pick up the latest YA release. I admit that I am one of them.

The latest book I have chosen to relive the angst of my teenage years through is Linger by Maggie Stiefvater. This book is the second of The Wolves of Mercy Falls Series, and the second series from Ms. Stiefvater. I was excited for the release of Linger due to how much I enjoyed the first installment of the series, Shiver. I had read a review for Shiver that described it as "if Jacob had won" and was immediately intrigued since we all know I have a thing for shifters. Linger continued the love story of Grace and Sam from where we left off.

Grace is your normal seventeen year old from a small town. Well, almost. When our your heroine was a small child, she was bitten and taken by a pack of wolves who lived in the woods that line her backyard. She survived the attack but felt a pull to the woods ever since her rescue. The drawl to the unknown was intensified by a single wolf with yellow eyes who stopped at the property line and watched her through the years.

We now know that the wolf of her childhood was Sam, the love of her life. They have had a blissful few months together since he discovered a cure to the issue of shifting into a wolf when the weather turned cold. Their happy ever after has been compromised by the actions of Sam's adoptive father, Beck and Grace's parents discovering they don't really like the boy who has been hanging around their daughter. To add to the issues, Grace starts to feel ill and Sam is afraid to admit that he knows what is ailing her. Will they be able to overcome the obstacles in their way or will the consequences of other's actions tear them apart for ever?

Linger is a well written book about the emotions and issues of being a teenager with a few added conflicts added in for fun. The story is told from four different character's points of view so the reader knows what emotions are being felt from all sides of the story. Stiefvater portrays the issues of young love and conflict so well that you feel as if you were in their shoes. Many issues are dealt with including untimely death, drug addiction, unrespected love, and teenage sexual pressure. By showing the multiple points of view, answers are given for attitude and choices that would seem idiotic to the average person. You really feel for the characters, especially the ones that you would write off as crazy or just plan mean.

Overall, I thought Linger was a well written story about teenagers trying to survive in an adults world without any help from those they have grown to trust while growing up. There are many issues touched that sensitive topics and I feel they were handled in a graceful way. I feel this book helps enlighten adults into the teenage mind and lets teenagers know that they are not the only ones dealing with the issues they face. Even if those issues don't include an ex-werewolf boyfriend. I give Linger by Maggie Stiefvater Four out of Five Stars.