Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Reviews by Bookish Sarah 
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 This has been the most up-and-down series of books I've ever read. Shiver was so-so for me - 3 stars. Linger was beautiful and surprising (in a good way) - 5 stars. Forever was terrible - 2 stars, and I only gave it two because Stiefvater creates amazing imagery and moves me with her words alone. The story itself was less than satisfactory. 
 Forever picks up a few months after the events of Linger. Sam is basically a shell of himself; waiting, waiting... waiting. Grace is a wolf, and now that the sun is beginning to warm up the days, she should be shifting back to a human soon. The rest of the world thinks Grace is still missing, and maybe even dead at the hands of Sam. 
 Meanwhile, Cole has been looking for a "cure" for "werewolfism"; testing dangerous concoctions on himself in hopes of preventing the eventual death of every member of the pack. And Isabel? Cole and Isabel are as feisty with one another as ever. 
 After a dead girl is found in the woods near Sam's house, Tom Culpeper has all the ammunition he needs to rally the rest of the town and have the wolf protection order lifted. A plan is devised to eliminate every last one of them. At last, it's the moment of truth. 
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 **Some spoilers ahead!** 
 As I said before, I have no quarrels at all with Maggie's writing style. On the contrary, I find it poetic and inspiring. I say this in every single review I do for one of her books because it's just the obvious truth. 
 That being said, Forever was nothing like what I wanted in a finale to this trilogy. I don't think it had the key element a finale should have: CLOSURE! ANSWERS! AN ENDING! 
 A.) The "cure". First it was a cure, then it wasn't a cure. Now I am confused altogether as to what it is or is not. Sam was "cured", but then he shifted. Grace was "cured", but then she almost died because she couldn't shift. The entire idea of the "cure" was never wrapped up. I am guessing that was why Cole survived in the end - so he could keep trying to find a cure? Did he? Loose end A - untied. 
 B.) Cole and Isabel. Um.. am I wrong when I say that there was a budding romance there? I think not. There was all this angst and tension between the two of them, and I liked it because I assumed it was going somewhere. I assumed Isabel and Cole would, in a way, "heal" each other. They were both angry, damaged people. It seemed that they were the perfect match. Did we find out if this was the case? Of course not! We trudged through all the arguments and harsh words between the two; all the frustrated kisses and back-and-forth "I cares" and "I don't cares" only to be left hanging? I think the readers deserved a bit of closure on that. Loose end B - untied. 
 C.) Beck and Sam's relationship. Cole forces Beck to shift back so Sam can question him, and the only question Sam asks is "Who was driving?" -- ARE. YOU. SERIOUS. Who was driving the vehicle when the wolves attacked Sam and turned him? That's all that matters? I wanted those answers too! I can't be the only reader who wanted to hear what Beck had to say about that. I couldn't understand how Sam could love Beck so so so much when he turned him into a wolf, thus making what happened to him in that bathtub, ultimately, Beck's fault. How could he not see that? He's supposedly mature and sophisticated enough to live on his own, take care of the entire pack, have sex, marry his girlfriend, etc. etc. - but he can't understand what Beck did was sick and wrong? Denial, I guess, but did he ever understand? Did he ever come to the realization? I truly would've liked to see that. Loose end C - UN-FREAKING-TIED. 
 There are more, let me tell you.. but these were the ones that bothered me the most. Of course, those and the ending. I cannot believe it just dropped off completely like that. I swear to you, I read that last page three times over. I kept saying to myself: Surely, this cannot be it? It was it. I can't even find the proper words to express how much I loathed that ending. I just can't. I do not mind some speculation, I truly don't - but the entire storyline? Sheesh, that's too much speculation for me. 
 The last thing I need to complain about is these characters. These people are so content with being ignorant that I just want to slap all of them. 
 Sam - He is such an emo little boy. He sits there pouting throughout the entire book. He takes no action. Cole and Isabel have to force him to do just about everything. If they didn't make him take action he'd be sitting there with his thumb up his rear, crying about how much his life sucks without Grace around. Your sun cannot rise and set with one person. That makes his character weak and ridiculous. I know it's meant to show us how much he loves Grace, but I didn't get that alone. I got that he is a weakling who won't take charge, make decisions, or do anything worthwhile for himself or the people around him. 
 Grace - She spends most of her time comforting Sam. It's like a full-time occupation for her. She is nothing but an enabler. 
 Grace's parents - Wow. She pops up after being missing for months and all they have to say is OMG WHY DID YOU GO AWAY WITH SAM? Her mom is willing to give her anything she wants to make her sleep in her own bed at night, and her dad is throwing threats and insults around like there is no tomorrow. Something about the way they acted upon seeing her just didn't sit well with me. Not to mention the fact that they let her tell them she wasn't staying at home right then and there. After Grace just told them what crap parents they were; how much they weren't around; how much leeway they gave her to mess up her life. After that they still let her walk right back out the door. They didn't assert themselves as parents and they basically let it be okay that she ran off for months and didn't even call them. What? No. 
 I will say this: I liked Cole. I liked that someone was taking action. He was looking for answers; looking for a cure; trying to talk to Beck. He wasn't moping around like Sam, or too worried over Sam's feelings like Grace. Everything that happened; all the wolves who were saved was thanks to Cole and Isabel. 
 I thought Sam would step up in the end, but I don't feel that he did. Leading the wolves was all Cole's idea and it was because of his actions that the plan had taken any shape at all. 
 Final words? It seems the majority of fans enjoyed Shiver and thought Linger was so-so. If this was the case for you, I wouldn't even waste your time reading this book. I can't understand why so many people loved this book. It must be the illusion Maggie's writing creates. It makes it seem like a better story than it really is. If you choose to read it, I hope you're in the majority, 'cause no one should feel this mad after reading a book. 
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 Book source: Borrowed (thank goodness I didn't buy it :/) 
 Publisher: Scholastic