Book Review: Shiver and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

"Most people had an acquired kind of beauty--they became better looking the longer you knew them and the better you loved them."  This is the sentence that most struck me as I read Linger and is the most likely to stick with me.  I have long held this sentiment, but had never managed to put it into such beautiful language as Maggie Stiefvater uses in this sequel to Shiver.  And this lovely prose is the strength of both books.  A reader could open either book to any random page and find an exquisite passage to roll around on the brain and the tongue.  I remember that Oprah once described a certain book club pick as "liquid poetry."  That is what kept coming to my mind as I read Linger, and I do recommend reading both Shiver and Linger for the sheer pleasure of exulting in Stiefvater's bewitching prose.

Despite my delight in this aspect of Linger, I did not care for the story.  To me, Shiver was a near-perfect book that stood on its own and needed no sequel.  I will admit that it has been quite some time since I read Shiver, but I remember it as complete...everything resolved, no threads left hanging.  When I read Linger, it seemed to me that perhaps Stiefvater's publisher had put pressure on her to come up with a sequel because the first book had been such a success.  I know nothing of the sort; that is only conjecture on my part because the plot in Linger seemed contrived.  The author had to (in some sense) "change the rules" of the werewolf phenomenon that affects the main characters.  So,  we went from book #1, in which the plot and conflicts are laid out and then resolved in a clear and rational way, within the confines of a fantasy story, to Linger, where what we thought we knew, especially regarding the "cure," is turned on its head and a new set of much more nebulous rules regarding the "disease" and "cure" are laid out.  Shiver felt like a complete book with a satisfying conclusion, while Linger felt inadequate and left me restless, but not in the same way a good cliffhanger, such as Suzanne Collins's Catching Fire, leaves us breathlessly awaiting the next installment in a series.  Stiefvater may be setting us up for the next in a series, and I am sure I will read it, but in my mind, I would prefer to leave Sam and Grace in Shiver and be satisfied with their fates, rather than move on with them to Linger where they are in that nebulous ever-after.

Another thing that I don't like about the books is the author's treatment of parents.  All the parents in the books are one-dimensional and range from outright cruel (Sam's) to merely neglectful and disinterested (Grace's in Shiver).  I won't say much else except to say that the only good parents are the parental figures (i.e., Beck) and none of the natural parents show any kind of love for their own children nor even any common sense.

So, my conclusion is that I recommend Shiver, especially to "Team Jacob" readers of the Twilight series. It is richer and more skillfully written than Meyer's books (although some may think Stiefvater borrowed certain elements, such as otherworldly boy sneaking up to girl's room every night), but parents should read it first and be prepared to discuss any negative elements and decide on age-appropriateness.  As for Linger, as I said above, if you are a lover of language for its own sake, I think you should read it because Ms. Stiefvater writes so beautifully that it might make your eyes sting with tears at times, but if you are more interested in a satisfying werewolf story, read Shiver and don't go on.

Check back with me if a third book in this series ever comes out.  I may have changed my mind completely.