Linger is book 2 in a series by Maggie Stiefvater, book 1 is Shiver. Do not read this review unless you have already read Shiver as there will be spoilers in here for that book.
Linger is the continuing story of Sam and Grace. In the end of Shiver we see that Sam has turned back into a human and returned to Grace because of the 'cure' that they thought up of infecting Sam with bacterial meningitis to give him a high fever and "kill the wolf" within him. Now, Sam is back working full time at the book store, Grace is in school and still friends with Rachel but is closer to Isabel after all they have been through. Olivia is still lost to the woods as a wolf and presumed to have run away. New to the story are the newly infected wolves that Beck brought into the picture. Grace's parents have decided to become parents finally, but it may be too little too late for this family. Sam has now taken over Beck's role in his family and has to keep track of the pack and whoever may shift back to human form. He doesn't really want this responsibility but this is what he must do, especially with new shifters running loose like Cole St. Clair. People that are unpredictable and have nothing to lose are hard to control and teach rules to. Sam and Grace have their work cut out for them in this second installment that is filled with romance, suspense and plenty of new drama.
Ok, so one of my biggest concerns with Shiver was the lack of parental guidance and intervention in Grace's life. Circumstances come around that cause Mr and Mrs Brisbane to go into parental overkill in Linger and that turns out to be even more disasterous than no parents at all. Their change in parenting was sudden and extreme and although it fit the actions of the story it still irritated me that they would decide now, at 17 1/2 years old, that they would become parents to Grace.
Isabel is a much bigger part of the story this time which I really enjoyed. I like her attitude and I loved getting a little deeper into her mind. Cole is a very interesting addition, he added a lot of spunk to this book and so much personality too.
This book was very well written and Stiefvater did a wonderful job of introducing new characters into an already known storyline and having them meld right in like they always belonged there. It's hard to imagine Cole not being a part of the story now. This story goes a different direction than Shiver did. Shiver was so immersed in the love story between Sam and Grace and the desperation to keep Sam human. Linger continues the love between the two of them but builds on other areas and adds more points of view. Rather than back and forth between Sam and Grace, we are entertained by the minds of Isabel and Cole as well. I found myself flipping back every now and then to remember which character's mind I was reading through. It flowed well and didn't happen often. It actually really worked for me and I enjoyed the change of view in mid conversation to see first person from several views in one setting. Sounds complicated to read, but it really wasn't. Once again, just like Shiver, I'd rate this 3.5 stars for a regular read... 4 if you're a YA fan.
****SPOILERS******
Grace and Sam are still sleeping together in Grace's room when she gets very ill and screams out causing her parents to come in and find them together. Her parents become furious and decide to become parents and not only ground her but forbid her from seeing Sam ever again. She becomes extremely rebellious and speaks to them with complete disrespect (expected if you read Shiver you'll know) sneaks out of her house when they're gone and eventually runs away to live with Sam... which only lasts one night when she gets violently ill and goes to the hospital. Sam is always respectful of her parents and doesn't want her to go against them. Isabel is alone with Cole multiple times while he's naked after having just shifted and there are references to what she's thinking as she looks at him, nothing profane, just that he is a good looking fit guy. She tries, at one point, to seduce him but he refuses because she is a virgin and he will not make her regret more of her life later on. If you let your teen read Shiver then they can read Linger also, if anything there are a few extra lessons on integrity and compassion in this one.
