Book Review: Forever (plus news!)

Forever, the last book in Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls series, had fairly giant shoes to fill in my life. I took it with me on a very tumultuous, round-the-world plane journey, one I knew was destined to be the worst of my life on many levels. I brought Forever with me because I figured it was the only thing that could actually bring some enjoyment to my journey, and it did that and more. For me, it was one of those reads that seems to speak for you, that reaches into you and illuminates dark places.

"When we kissed, it didn't matter that I had been a wolf hours ago, or that I would be a wolf again. It didn't matter that a thousand snares were laid for us as soon as we left this moment. All that mattered was this: our noses touching, the softness of his mouth, the ache inside me."

Forever is, among other things, a story about a boy and a girl trying to find a way to be together when everything around them seems to want to keep them apart. Grace has turned into a wolf and Sam, her boyfriend, is now firmly human and trying to figure out how to make her so. Stiefvater's writing is sometimes funny, sometimes haunting, and always beautiful. She has an amazing feel for using dialogue, and the gaps in conversations, to enhance the mood she's trying to evoke. The plot strikes a good balance between light and shade, doling out fist-pumping moments and achingly sad ones in fairly equal measure. I wish we could have spent more time with Cole and Isabel, whose strange bond was one I really enjoyed getting into, but I liked where Stiefvater left the series. If you haven't read it, I really think you should.

As an avid follower of Maggie's blog I don't think I've ever felt as close to a writer. She evokes a sense of fearlessness that has often inspired my own writing and the way I try to approach it. So I was fairly psyched to have the opportunity to co-interview Maggie with my friend Fiona for The Book Burglar, a blog Fiona writes for Boomerang Books. Check it out to see Maggie's answers to my many fan-girl questions, here.