Forever by Maggie Stiefvater Series: Wolves of Mercy Falls #3
Published by Scholastic Press (7.12.2011)
Genres: Romance, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 388 pages
Source: I own it
then.
When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their loved moved from curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.now.
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.forever.
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.
My thoughts
As far as series endings go, I felt like this one was kind of mediocre. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did. Just not as much as the rest of the series.
I feel like not much really happened in this book. In fact, it moved a little bit slow and I was pretty bored in the first half. There were only two scenes that really stuck out to me, and in turn those were the only two scenes that elicited any sort of feeling from me. The first scene: When Grace was stuck in the mud pit. There was just something so realistic and desperate about that scene – the way it was described, I could picture it perfectly, and it affected me. I felt for Sam, watching her helplessly, and I felt for Grace, being stuck and helpless. The second scene: When all of the wolves were running for their lives. View Spoiler »
Other than that, the strong point of this story is the characterization. They are very well-written and realistic. Like the last book, I really liked Isabel. She’s still pretty bitchy, but she’s human. She just has some faults. I think that’s why I liked her so much. Also, Cole surprised me. I’m actually looking forward to reading Sinner, from his point of view now (whereas I was kind of leery about it before).
But the ending – what the hell? It was totally open. Which makes me glad that there’s another book. Despite being kind of a spin off, I’m really hoping to find some closure in Sinner! I am so not satisfied with the way Forever ended.
I don’t really have much else to say about this one. The series is good, but this book left me feeling very unsatisfied, and I can’t quite put my finger on why.
Overall Assessment
Plot: 3/5
Writing Style: 3.5/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Pace: 2.5/5
Feels: 3.5/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 3/5
Previous Books
Oh, I can tell you WHY. Because it was open ended and there was no closure – just like you said. I have had a pissy attitude about this book ever since I read it. I saw Maggie at an event here right around the time Forever was released. I hadn’t finished reading it yet, so I didn’t know how it ended. She told a story about how she wrote the entire book and sent it off to her editor, but she felt compelled to start from scratch and write the whole book over. I have always wondered what the original book was like. I feel like the ending was a cop out because so many questions went unanswered and she never addressed several issues that were brought up in the first 2 books.
Your review is perfect and sums up my feelings exactly. I love this author and her books, but this one really struck me the wrong way.
Oh wow! I would love to read the original. I’m sure the ending was better. I wonder if that’s why she wrote Sinner…Wolves of Mercy Falls was supposed to be a trilogy!
I am pretty much obsessed with this series. I was quite worried about the open ending when I heard about it, but I’m actually okay with it – I have faith. Though I think Sinner does make things a bit more concrete; I’ll be reading that book soon, too. :) I’m not crazy about Isabel, but I adore Cole, and Grace and Sam are one of my top OTPs. Lovely review!