Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book 3) [Hardcover]

Maggie Stiefvater (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2011 | Series: Wolves of Mercy Falls (Book 3)

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 thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, July 2011: Forever is a fitting finale to the lovely Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater (after last year's Linger). This time, the stakes are higher than ever: while Isabel’s father plots to wipe out the wolves once and for all, Sam and Isabel search for ways to save the pack, and Cole races to find a cure for Grace. But the real centerpiece of the series is the romance--between Sam and Grace, of course, and between Cole and Isabel--and Stiefvater’s luminous, poignant writing does not disappoint. Sam and Grace steal breathtakingly sweet moments together between Grace’s unpredictable transformations, and Cole and Isabel struggle to melt each others’ icy exteriors. Readers will melt, too, and find a satisfying, but not too-perfect, ending to this bestselling saga. --Juliet Disparte

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Brenna Yovanoff and Maggie Stiefvater: Author One-on-One

Brenna Yovanoff is is the author of The Replacement and has published in various journals. She lives in Denver, Colorado. Recently she sat down with Maggie Stiefvater to discuss Stiefvater's Ballad and The Wolves of Mercy Falls series. Read the resulting interview below, or turn the tables to see what happened when Maggie interviewed Brenna.

Brenna: Even though we all know that characters are not authors, we also know that characters sort of are their authors (at least a little bit). Which of your characters would you say is most like you as a person?

Maggie: Well, most of my characters are delightfully single-minded, because that is what characters do. So if I were arguing a high-level thesis paper, I’d probably declare that, in fact, all of my characters are really me, just exaggerated, stripped of gray areas and less than crystal clear motivations. Even the evil ones. Maybe especially the evil ones. >br/>
That said, I’ve been told I’m quite like Isabel from the Shiver [Wolves of Mercy Falls] series and James from Ballad.

Brenna: If Cole from the Shiver trilogy and James from Ballad had to fight each other in a snark-off, who would win?

Maggie: James, I’m afraid. Cole has learned to rely far too much on his appearance to win these things and sometimes, my friends, a finely crafted chin will just not get you ahead in life.

Brenna: When your characters are romantically involved, they’re willing to fight desperately to be together, often against seemingly insurmountable odds. Like when their significant others turn into wolves and run away into the forest. Where do you stand on the topic of true love?

Maggie: I’m a fan/ believer/ proponent of true love. I think it’s worth waiting for, and I also think it’s worth fighting for once you’ve found it. I’m one of those madly in love people who just doesn’t understand why anyone would stand for anything less. I also find long-term dating confusing. I was engaged after a month and a half because, like Grace in Shiver, I am bad at shopping. I just see what I want, and then I go and get it.

Brenna: Cole St. Clair’s band Narkotika is, understandably, not a real band. However, if it were a real band, what would it sound like?

Maggie: Well, I think that Narkotika, like love, is in the eye of the beholder. It’s supposed to be an edgy, hard, slightly unsettling band, and that varies depending on what you listen to. Also, it was originally an electronica band (think Blaqk Audio). These days I go through life thinking that possibly they would sound like Ringside. Or Korn. Or Carolina Liar. Or Three Days Grace. I realize that these bands sound nothing like each other. I have no good explanation for that.

Brenna: What would you say to all the woefully optimistic girls out there (i.e., me) who want to know if Cole would date them? What if they said please?

Maggie: Oh, Cole would date you. I guarantee you he would date you. If by “date,” you mean “make out with you in a dark hallway, remove some of your clothing, completely avoid giving you his contact information, disappear, and make you have a resulting existential crisis about why you date boys who treat you badly.”

The please wouldn’t be necessary.

Review

Praise for Shiver

#1 New York Times Bestseller

"A lyrical tale of alienated werewolves and first love... Stiefvater skillfully increases the tension throughout; her take on werewolves is interesting and original while her characters are refreshingly willing to use their brains to deal with the challenges they face." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This novel is perfect for Twilight fans or a Romeo and Juliet list. It is sensuous, intense, riveting, and so very satisfying." — Voice of Youth Advocates

"Readers will be able to enjoy Stiefvater's fast-paced storytelling and dedication to the old-fashioned art of creating a believable and enduring romance. Shiver is beautifully written, even poetic at times, and a perfect indulgence for readers of all ages." — Bookpage.com

Praise for Linger

#1 New York Times Bestseller

"This sequel's poetic prose skillfully captures the four teens' longings for love, forgetting, remembering, righting wrongs and life itself. The riveting ending will leave readers panting for the next sequel." — Kirkus Reviews

"This riveting narrative, impossible to put down, is not only an excellent addition to the current fangs and fur craze, but is also a beautifully written romance that, along with Shiver, will have teens clamoring for the third and final entry." — Voice of Youth Advocates

"Leaves readers hanging in anticipation for the next installment." — Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; First edition (July 12, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545259088
• ISBN-13: 978-0545259088
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (196 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

All of my life decisions have been based around my inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which I've tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists, musicians, and artists (I've made my living as one of these since I was 22).

I now live an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia, with my charmingly straight-laced husband, two small kids, two neurotic dogs who fart recreationally, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.

I'm an avid reader, an award-winning colored pencil artist, and play several musical instruments, including the Celtic harp, the piano, and the bagpipes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Forever? You Decide, July 20, 2011

By 

Tamela Mccann "taminator40" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book 3) (Hardcover)

Forever is the final book in the Mercy Falls trilogy, and it's just as gripping and filled with emotion as the first two, Shiver and Linger. Beginning a few months after Grace has shifted into a wolf, we find Sam and Isabel waiting for her return as the weather warms, and Cole still intent on discovering a cure. Meanwhile, suspicion has turned on Sam due to Grace's disappearance, and Isabel's father is determined to rid Boundary Woods of all wolves, no matter the cost. When he gets lawmakers on his side, Isabel knows time is running out and she has to do something.

I love Cole St. Clair. I just had to say that. He is comic relief, determination, arrogance, and romance all rolled into one character, and while his story is secondary, he's actually the one I felt closest to throughout Forever. I loved the banter between he and Isabel, and the scene in her mother's clinic is perfect. Don't get me wrong, I love Sam as well, but Cole...he's the most three dimensional figure in the series.

Forever runs mostly on emotion, with the love and longing of Grace and Sam taking center stage. I love how these two work together and I swear I could feel the longing between the two when Grace kept shifting. Both characters have a lot of childhood issues to deal with in Forever, and things don't always work out as planned. It's during those times that both Isabel and Rachel shine; I would want both of these girls on my side in a crisis.

Possible spoiler...While I loved Forever, and feel it's a strong finale, I am disappointed in the ultimate ending. For the last of a trilogy, it's just too open-ended. I can imagine what I hope will happen, and the title of the book gives me a clue that perhaps I'm right. But to leave things unsettled really bothers me, to the point that I took a star off my final review. I felt as though, rather than making a statement, the ending was almost a cop out; perhaps the author had originally intended for either Grace or Sam to die and then just couldn't do it herself so she left the possibility? And if she wanted them to live, why not just extend the book a bit more or add an epilogue? It just doesn't make sense in a series that has been carefully plotted and developed so well up to that point. Don't get me wrong, I loved Forever and will recommend this series to others. I just will always wish the author hadn't left it up to me to decide the ultimate fates of two people I'd grown very close to over the course of three books. One way or the other, I needed more closure than was provided, and that mars my overall enjoyment (slightly) of this book.

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Frustrating conclusion, July 17, 2011

By 

Courtney - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book 3) (Hardcover)

This is going to be a hard review for me to write! I hate writing reviews when I didn't really connect with the story but I feel like because I wrote reviews on the last to books I should conclude the series.

I loved reading Shiver! There was a tiny part of me that felt like I shouldn't continue reading after Shiver but I really connected with Grace and Sam and I wanted to find out what happens with their story. Then I read Linger and I was a bit frustrated at what happened with them and the story just didn't flow well. However, I thought that Forever would clear up any frustrations I had and leave me satisfied with a good conclusion. I was wrong!

In Forever there was a lot about Isabel and Cole and not so much about Sam and Grace, the true characters of the Wolves of Mercy Falls. It's not that I don't enjoy Isabel and Cole, I actually did and I was okay for the most part that a lot of the story was about them because I wanted to see them grow and work through all their issues. I never really felt like that happened with them. The resolution with them felt false and the ending just didn't click with me.

The best thing about this series was Sam and Grace. Yet in Forever we are left with only tiny tidbits of their connection and it felt forced. The reunion was awful and I was so disappointed in the scenes that involved them. I was more impressed when they weren't together but were thinking of each other than I was when they were together. There was just a huge lack of emotional connection.

There was a lot of issues completely unresolved or resolved weird. For instance, things were never really concluded with Grace and her parents, well they sort of were but we are left still wondering. The cure and its conclusion sucked and I was disappointed how that ended. The ending was frustrating and you are left to try to understand what happened and who survived and who is cured or not. I guess the author wanted you to come to your conclusion but there were just too many unresolved issues to come to a conclusion that I enjoyed on my own.

I know that Stiefvater is a good writer because it was very evident in Shiver and even though I was very un-satisfied with Forever, it wasn't for the lack of good writing.

Now that I'm done with the series, I look back and think that I probably wasted my money buying all the books. I should have never kept reading after Shiver and in fact I probably would have been fine if I never read Shiver to begin with. I am disappointed.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Ending, July 14, 2011

By 

Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf (PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book 3) (Hardcover)

After reading Shiver and Linger in less than two days, I started Forever right away, dying to know what would occur next. Would Sam and Grace find a way to be together? Would Cole find the cure? Would Isabel and Cole ever get together as well? There were a myriad of questions in my head. Thankfully, Forever answered the majority of them and provided yet another addition of the Wolves of Mercy Fall series I adored.

It's been a couple of months since Grace turned into a wolf, leaving Sam, Isabel, and everyone else behind until the summer. In the meanwhile, Sam has been picking up the pieces Grace left behind, and counting the days until his summer girl becomes his once again. Cole, on the other hand, has been working on the wolf cure, hoping this time he will get it right finally. Then the day comes...Grace becomes a human for the warm season once again. However, there's danger in the air, as Isabel's father has declared all the wolves will be dead in a couple of weeks. Knowing they can't let the wolves lose their lives, Grace, Isabel, Sam, and Cole team up to save the day, but will their plan work? More importantly, will they be able to find a cure before it's too late? Only time and more pages can tell in this fast paced conclusion!

Just like in the two previous additions, one of my favorite aspects of Forever was the characters. All four main characters grew and developed more than ever. Sam begins to overcome his fears, and becomes stronger because of it. Grace is dealing with her new wolf half with new feelings towards it, ones she didn't think she would have- I enjoyed seeing how this played into her character. Isabel begins to become a little less ice queen-ish, and once again, that wit and sarcasm is out for all to see. More development is given into Cole's past, and he begins to become just a little more human.

More importantly, the relationships and friendships they have formed do much of the same- grow and thrive. I loved seeing more into Grace and Sam's relationship, even if there was some sulking involved. Cole and Isabel also begin to move in the right direction, and I loved that- it probably was one of my favorite parts of the book!

The plot in this was also fantastic, especially the last hundred and so pages. For the majority of the book, I had no clue how everything was going to end, and I liked that a lot. Maggie's writing was yet again beautiful and stunning- once again painting a vivid picture. This book even made me cry a little in some places, especially towards the end- I still get a little sad thinking about it!

The ending...there's been some debate it whether or not it was too open-ended, just the right amount, or some cases a little too tied up. I'm somewhere between just the right amount and too open-ended. I liked that Maggie left some questions up in the air with just the right amount of hope and I can see why she did it, but in some ways, I wish some clearer answers were provided.

Regardless, Forever is yet another amazing addition to the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. I'm going to miss Isabel, Cole, Sam, and Grace, but I'm still holding out for a continuation someday. Until then I'm eagerly awaiting Maggie's future books, starting with the already buzzed about Scorpio Races.

Grade: A-