Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3)

by Maggie Stiefvater

A human girl and her werewolf boyfriend must fight for their love as death comes closing in.

• ISBN10: 1407121111
• ISBN13: 9781407121116
• Publish Date: 13 July 2011 (first published 1 July 2011)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 20 March 2014
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Scholastic
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[ladygrey]

I wanted very much to read this and my library made me wait which was not fun. And then I got to the end and I'm not sure I can remember much of the beginning. Koenig was a pleasant surprise. Cole was as excellent as I wanted him to be. The scene with Beck. I remember that even if it wasn't what I expected it to be. Cole said he had reasons for needed to talk to Beck but they seemed like something in turning him to a wolf more than the logistics of moving the pack. Maybe I read too much into it. Sam wanted answers but the only one he got that Beck drove the attack on him I felt we already knew. But reading that scene and everyone interacting was interesting. I liked the way it amplified the sense of Sam and Cole as brothers. Their relationship and interaction is one aspect of the book I liked. Cole and Sam are totally precursors to Ronan and Gansey. I maybe like the wolves better, but only a little. Like a lot of books it ended quickly, the major threat resolved without much else to say even though before the climax it felt like there were so many unresolved things. But then after it, there weren't.

In the end, I think I really liked the writing perhaps a bit more than the story. It's different and it's very Maggie Stiefvater and it's good.

[Leah]

Maggie Stiefvater is just an evil, evil writer. She put me through so much with Shiver and Linger and I think she’s damn well killed me with Forever. I’m kind of just sitting here in a daze, unable to believe everything that’s happened… That it’s all over* but it’s not really over because THAT WAS NOT THE END OF THE BOOK. That cannot possibly be the end! Yes, it ended. Yes, the ending was okay, but it wasn’t exactly happy ever after now WAS IT? WAS IT???????!!!!!! No. So I’m kinda peeved, because I like my endings happy-ever-after style, wrapped in bows, etc. I WANT ANOTHER ONE, MAGGIE. WITH PROPER CLOSURE, PLEASE.

It honestly, genuinely feels like Maggie Stiefvater ripped out my heart, stomped all over it and then attempted to put it back together. Right from the Prologue, I was devastated (even though I didn’t know it until later – Shelby was just the worst, OK? THE. WORST.) and it gets to the point where you’re wondering just how much worse it can get? How much can two people really go through, before they can be happy? If that’s even a possibility. And what of Cole and Isabel, both self-destructive and volatile? It’s a lot to take in for one 500 page book, but Stiefvater pulls it off easily. I was panicked throughout, worried about everyone – all the wolves, Grace being a new wolf, Sam and Grace being apart, Cole and his inability to not inject himself with things that might kill him, there was so much tension and angst there, but it was incredible, too? Proving, once and for all, that I am clearly a masochist.

Grace and Sam’s love story will stay with me forever (unintended pun), it’s one of those unforgettable stories that you find yourself thinking of in odd moments. In fact, the whole series will be pretty hard to forget, because it was incredible. As it turns out, it was everything I wanted in a series – and then some. I can see now why everyone LOVES Maggie’s books, why they rave about the Wolves of Mercy Falls series because it’s intoxicating, incredibly hard to put down and the characters feel so real it’s as if you can see it all playing out, like you’re watching TV instead of reading a book. I don’t feel ready to let any of the characters go, I feel like I could read about them forever (OH GOD, THERE I GO AGAIN). I do, however, wish someone had told me to stock up on the tissues. What is it with authors, final books in a series, and their wish to just kill people’s emotions, until their eyes are just continuously leaking fluid? If you read this series: BRING SOME TISSUES, for the love of wolves. Yes, I should have known better; yes, I’ve read enough series finales and watched enough series finales to know death is inevitable (I’m looking at you Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Arrow) but I hoped for different, and I was proven wrong and thoroughly devastated. But don’t let that put you off, because I promise you: This book series is extraordinary and I still feel stupid for not having read it sooner. It’s perfect in every way.

*Except for the companion book, Sinner, which doesn’t count??? As it’s about Cole and Isabel???

[girlinthepages]

My reread of the final installment in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy brought out a lot of mixed feelings. I’m firmly in the camp that Shiver would have made a beautiful, and powerful, standalone novel. The next two installments are equally beautiful in prose and in the quiet love story between Grace and Sam, but they offer a lot of questions and open a lot of plot lines without satisfactory conclusions.

In this book I was really looking forward to getting answers. Answers to how the werewolf toxin worked, if the meningitis indeed cured same or if it was a temporary fix, if Grace was going to take the risk to try to be cured or if they were going to live as wolves together, etc. I wanted to see more of a relationship blossom between Cole and Isabel, and see what life held in store for the wolves now that a possible cure existed. This book presents a major plot point early on (Tom Culpeper’s legally approved plan to hunt and kill all of the wolves) that hangs thick in the air around the characters throughout the novel, but most of the characters remain stagnant, stuck in the same rut they were in during Linger: Cole and Isabel dance around each other, Sam becomes useless without Grace, Cole seems to make scientific headway regarding the wolves condition without really explaining his findings, and all of the characters grapple with the main question of “What makes these humans wolves?” Yet frustratingly, there is almost no resolution to any of these questions.

The novel also brings Shelby into the mix constantly, with her antagonizing Grace and Cole as wolves and Sam often reliving flashbacks of her cruel and strange behavior as a child. We see small glimpses of Beck through the journals Cole finds, but the novel focuses much more on Sam’s feelings of resentment and loss toward Beck rather than shedding light on his background or motives. As the last book in the trilogy I was hoping to find out so much more about this whole pack who have raised Sam and taken in the wounded and destitute, yet instead the reader experiences the deaths of at least a half a dozen wolves throughout the course of the novel, without even the identity of which wolves surviving the series being revealed. And the ending. I remember how agitated I was upon reading Forever for the first time, and this time was no exception. There’s no closure to any of the major questions, and it begs the question as to what the point of the book was other than to leave a raw, open wound for readers, aching to know what becomes of the yellow-eyed boy and the girl who loved him as either wolf or human. Will they stay together? As humans? As wolves? Do they get to go to college? Are they freed from the influence of Grace’s parents?

Despite the lack of closure in almost all aspects of the book and series, the book wasn’t necessarily bad. Stiefvater is a beautiful writer, especially when it comes to characters, and there’s such enjoyment as a reader residing in the minds of either Isabel’s artic, emotional armor or Sam’s tortured yet poignant inner monologue. This book- this series, really- has so many small, quiet scenes that strike such deep chords of sadness within me at times, such as when Sam goes to pick up Grace after she shifts but is too late, finding only a pile of discarded clothes on the ground, as empty as his hope that he may be united with her again. Stiefvater’s talent is reaching readers in these very small, nuanced ways, building them up to create such an atmospheric tale.

Overall: In many ways this book feels circular, similar to Linger in the same plot problems occurring over and over without any real closure or resolution. Yet the series still resonated with me in the beauty and utter sadness that coexist within one another in these books, and certain places and moments and relationships really dig deeply into me on an emotional level in this series, from the silent, barren woods to the safety and warmth of Beck’s great room. While not without his flaws, Sam is a truly stunning character in YA literature with his profound struggle with humanity and eloquent sadness in his introspective narrative.

This review was originally posted at Girl in the Pages

[Stephanie]

This series grew on me. And I am a big fan of Maggie Stiefvater's work already, so I'm glad this finished on a high note. Now I am going to finish this review with a quote from the Author's Notes at the end, that really knocked the series home for me:

"Mutual, respectful, enduring love is completely attainable as long as you swear you won't settle for less."

[KitsuneBae]

>, Is that the ending? What a lame job! Grrrr... And the typos and grammatical errors are just....Argh!

This series was really amazing, the writing was fantastic the story was original and so tragic and beautiful at times and I loved all the characters. The alternating point of views were awesome and all the characters were great. One of the best books I've read in a long time.

[ellieroth]

¿Es siempre tan difícil hablar de algo que te apasiona? Tenía una "reseña" para este libro, pero luego de una leída profunda decidí no ponerla, me parece que es de las peores reseñas que escribí.

Esta es una de las series de libros que más me gusta. Estuve esperando mucho tiempo por este descenlace y por fin pude hacerme con el libro, sobra decir que me lo devoré en un instante. more

[Kelly]

After the first novel, I was silently willing the series to redeem itself, but sadly, it didn't. The story is beautiful written. The plot and flow of the book was perfect, but the ending left me feeling peeved that I even bothered to read the series in the first place.

[celinenyx]

This makes me very sad. I was so invested in this series. I liked Shiver, loved Linger. And absolutely hated the ending of Forever.

Grace has started shifting. In the months without her Sam barely lives. They have to find out a cure that makes sure they will be able to be together, forever.

Starting these novels, you know they aren't going to be action-packed. They're romance books of the dreamy kind. You float through them on a happy cloud of beautiful descriptions. Ms Stiefvater is a very talented writer, and her language is amazing.

Sadly, Forever fell flat for me. It was as if every bit of spirit was sucked out of the main characters. Dreamy Sam turns into whiny Sam. Independant Grace turns into numb Grace. They just mope around, feel bad for themselves and do absolutely nothing about it. Not even Grace who is such a do-person instead of a thinker. Cole and Isabel are a great couple, but there was way too little of them in the book. I wanted more chemistry, but instead there were more fights.

I'm one of those people that can't just abandon a series mid-way. I stick with the characters to the end. I want to know where they end up, and with who. I want to know who lives and who dies. Doesn't matter how long it takes, I like to have the closure of a series ending. I will not spoil it for you, but Forever ends on a big droopy cliffhanger. It ends with someone maybe or maybe not dying. That my friends, is not what I call closure. That isn't even what I call an ending for "open interpretation". That just damn sucky.

I wish I liked Forever better, I really do. It ruins the series for me now. Not feeling like rereading Shiver any time soon, to be disappointed by this book all over again.

[elysium]

2.5 stars

Sam doesn’t turn into wolf anymore but now Grace turns when weather gets colder. When a girl’s body is found and Isabel’s father and the town wants to hunt down the wolves.

I’m having hard time writing this and I still don’t know what to think or say about this book and I’ve had 2days to think about it. I loved Shiver and I enjoyed Linger but I have to say I’m disappointed with Forever. And I wanted it to be great!

The book is very slow and nothing happens, action or emotional wise. Sam is just moping since Grace has gone away and you would think they will have great emotional reunion but no. I didn’t feel any chemistry between them and I feel like they were completely different from Sam and Grace at Shiver. I would have liked to see more of Sam and Beck and how Sam felt after hearing more about the time when he was turned.

I felt like there was no answers but just more questions that wasn’t answered. And the thing that disappointed me most was the ending. I mean how can a book end like that?! Did I miss chapter or two? It just ended!

I’m just so sad that it had to end like this and it feels like a totally separate book from the serie.