Linger

By: Maggie Stiefvater

Narrated by: Jenna Lamia

Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

in Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past...and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves...and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love - the light and the dark, the warm and the cold - in a way you will never forget.

Listen to the previous book, Shiver.

©2010 Maggie Stiefvater (P)2010 Scholastic

Inklings Read Reviews: Linger

Linger, the second installment of the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, was simply amazing! All of the voice actors were cast so well that I can’t imagine actually reading it. I wouldn’t want to read this… Listening to their narration brought so much dimension to an already great story. Believe me… this audiobook is worth every penny. The thing I really loved about Linger was that not only do you get Sam and Grace’s point-of-views but also Isabelle and Cole’s. They each have their own little side stories that really add to the mix.

Speaking of Cole, at first I didn’t like his character. I found him to be selfish and annoying. But I must say that he really grew on me. If you are looking for some amazing, to-die-for male lead characters then you MUST read this. Sam was great as usual, but what I really enjoyed was the opportunity to learn more about Cole and explore his dark past.

Things really blow up in this book and get very intense. I was on edge for much of the time… Not only was there the desperation and love between Sam and Grace, but there was also murder, secrets revealed, parental issues, and more. There was so much tension that lets just say I didn’t want to get out of my car to go to work…

I cannot express how great the voice-acting is in this audiobook…. All of the narrators were cast to perfection. I honestly cannot imagine a better team. Even if you are not interested in this series, this audiobook exemplifies excellent voice-acting. I cannot wait to see what else comes from this narration team in the future! Linger is an unstoppable force with its top of the line narration and beautiful love story.

Better Than I Imagined

What did you love best about Linger?

I read the book ...twice but I wanted to hear the poetry read and I wanted to hear Sam's song. I especially love the readers for Cole and Isabel they lent the characters just the right amount of snarkyness ( I am sure I made this word up).

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cole, continued to surprise everyone, even himself.

Which character – as performed by Jenna Lamia – was your favorite?

Isabel

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Not warm and fuzzy

I really liked Linger. Notice I didn't say LOVE like I did with Shiver. This book was good, and I loved listening to it, but I like the first one more. The audio version is great. The young voice actors that read the story are amazing. They switched up the voice of Sam in this novel so now he sounds like a hobbit vs the mentally slow older man that they had for him in the Shiver audio version. It's much better. Sam also sings in this edition. LOVE IT. I did love the Cole/Isable story, this book I think was really about them and Sam and Grace were kind of just side characters. I am looking forward to FOREVER, but I don't think I would have felt too bad if I hadn't read Linger.
That said, though, I really did enjoy the book and would recommend the trilogy to everyone I know.

great follow-up

Loved "Shiver", and this is a great follow-up. Not just a teenage novel, enjoyable by all ages. A nice story-line with a fresh spin on werewolves, not overdone. Again a little moody like the first one, but not so much you can't enjoy it. There are four narraters for the main characters whom the perspective switches to and I enjoyed the voice changes to go with it.

Excellant dramatization, almost hypnotic.

What made the experience of listening to Linger the most enjoyable?

The use of a varied cast of actors who sounded the right age to be the characters, but were mature at the same time. They did not come across as a bunch or irritating teenagers. I particularly loved the voice of Cole who gave the whole performance a kind of hypnotic feel.

What other book might you compare Linger to and why?

This whole series has that Twilight thing going, but not in a rip off kind of a way, just if you enjoyed Twilight, you are likely to like this series.

What about Jenna Lamia’s performance did you like?

This is misleading as she is not the only narrator, she is very good at her part though, I assume she is Grace? All the actors are good.

Any additional comments?

I'm a grown women and this series is meant for teenagers, but I loved Twilight and thought I'd give this series a go. Yes it centers around a group of teenagers, but the story is a good one and the characters are well developed so you get to really care about them. Don't shy away from this series thinking it is too teenage. If you like Twilight, you are likely to like this. I read the first book, listened to this one, the second book, and am now reading the third, though would buy all three on tape now as they are so well done.

FANTASTIC!!!!

I read the 1st book, thought it was great but Book 2 was so moving and you could feel the anguish of the two young lovers. Waiting to start book 3 as soon as possible!!!

Read it

Grace & Sam are relatable, their story draws you in, holds you till the end. 2nd time reading this series is still just as good as the first. It's a series that sticks with you. Read it.

Narrator for Sam Reeks!

Is it Dan Bittner? Not sure, but he is terrible. Way too slow, practically ignores punctuation, and has very little inflection- almost monotone. Makes me want to skip over his parts, but I just can't do that, so I'm suffering through him. Just wanted to give all a head's up.

The others are great!

I love it! I would suggest a bit more feeling!!!

I love it! I would suggest a bit more feeling to emphasize the emotion just a bit more. overall perfect!

An optional sequel

I personally always thought Shiver could stand alone very well. Linger isn't as good in my opinion, but it does lend things to the story the first book left out. there are consequences to the romantic fantasy the main characters created in the first book, for instance. It still rings as emotional as the first book, and the addition of Cole and Isabella's perspective ends up being a real treat. It's definitely a story for younger kids with a LOT of themes that ring very nostalgic to the 2000s emo scene, though, and sometimes that's a little cringe for adult me.