On Wolves

How do I love thee, Maggie...let me count the ways. 


So, I just finished reading the last in Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls series and could wax poetic about it for just...well, Forever. Suffice it to say, if you have not read Maggie, get thee to a bookstore QUICKLY!


Linger, book number 2 in the trilogy, was a wonderful follow-up to Shiver. Seeing what life is now like for Sam and Grace now that Sam is "cured"...wondering what will become of the wolves since Mr. Blah is determined to rid Mercy Falls of them...how Isabel will recover from the loss of her brother...and oh, yeah, what of that newly turned wolf Beck just brought to town? Oh, and what's wrong with Grace??? So many questions and so much action and just the right touch of romance...I just couldn't put it down. Maggie can definitely weave a good yarn.

Which leads me into Forever. It is the last book in the trilogy and I was thrilled with the story, although sad to say goodbye to the characters. In this last part of Grace and Sam's story, there is much tension derived from Grace now having shifted to a wolf and it's Sam's turn to watch for her and wonder about her. Cole, whom we discover has many redeeming qualities, is in search for a true cure since we now know that Sam's cure isn't a true cure. And he and Isabel chink away at each other's armor with fascinating results. We even end up forgiving Grace's parents...well, somewhat anyway. 


This series made me think about the meaning of true love, the value of real friends, the boundaries of loyalty among friends, and doing the "right thing."  Maggie did a splendid job of tying up all the loose ends and leaving us with the feeling that Forever, for the characters involved, will be a remarkable journey with a happy ending.