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Werewolves are tricky business. They are right up there with vampires in the "played out" category. But Bree Despain got in before the market was flooded and gave us a different kind of werewolf book. She gave us one full of mythology and faith and curses and real wolves. In The Savage Grace, her Dark Divine series comes to a thrilling and bittersweet conclusion.
Grace has sacrificed everything for Daniel. She has been infected with the Urbat curse (werewolfiness), she has forsaken her family (granted her brother just tried to kill her), and she was forced to kill Daniel, the man she loves. Of course she only killed his wolfie, evil half, but now he has transformed into a giant white wolf and he can't shift back into a human. As each day passes, Daniel, the pack's true alpha, loses more and more of his connection to humanity and gets farther away from Grace. Not to mention he has left her with the "Lost Boys", the boys from Grace and Daniel's pack, now that Daniel has claimed Grace as his mate (a fact her father was NOT thrilled to learn about).
Grace throws herself into finding a way to bring Daniel back to the two-legged, less furry kind of boyfriend, but she is so concerned with saving Daniel, she doesn't realize how much danger she could be putting her friends and family in. Not to mention, she has two crazy packs after her for two very different reasons. Caleb, Daniel's insane father, has a pack of Urbats, demons and vampires ready to overthrow the pack and kill as many people as he can. That doesn't even consider Sirhan's ancient pack, who want Grace because they think she is the Divine One. But Grace feels like anything but Divine. She feels like she has failed everyone she has ever loved. Is redemption even a possibility at this point?
I am always a little skeptical about a book that has religion as a backdrop and not the focus. If it is the focus, I know what I am getting myself into and what to expect. If religion is a backdrop, it can either be handled very well, or it can become too preachy where it feels like a sneaky way to shame and guilt. I hate that. So I know I was skeptical at first that there was a religious element to this book, but it wasn't preachy or obnoxious in any way. In fact, it was so much a part of Grace and her family that a beautiful and faithful acceptance came out of all of them. It was the type of faith you can respect and appreciate rather than feel lectured by. I loved this part of Grace, and in the end, it was her compassion that set her and Daniel apart from the rest of the Urbats out there. In a world of hurt and viciousness, Grace is a healer with the compassion to care about even the people who want to kill or enslave her. That is a beautiful underlying moral in this story.
As a conclusion, this story had it all: action, fighting, redemption, and a bittersweet finale. It was an ending you don't totally expect, but are completely satisfied with. There are some losses, of course, but there are also some beautiful connections. The first half of the book is all about saving Daniel, and the second half is all about the threat of the other packs, so the book is very divided from one end to the other. But this doesn't feel forced or stretched at any point; it is just the evolution of Grace in this final installment. If you loved the rest of the series, this is a graceful (pun intended) way to say goodbye to your beloved characters. You won't be sorry, except to see them go.
It is hard seeing the final book of a beloved series be released, knowing it means that is it for your favorite characters. And the worst is if your started the series with the first book, waiting a year or more for each installment. After a few years, you look forward to that last book with as much anticipation as dread. That is how I felt about Forever, by Maggie Stiefvater, the conclusion of the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy.
Grace saved Sam from becoming a wolf forever by injecting him with meningitis, which fought off the wolf. Bought what neither of them expected, was that Grace was becoming a wolf. The horrible fever she had as a child that stopped her from shifting wasn't permanent. Just as Sam is cured, Grace is lost. Without Grace, Sam is completely lost. it doesn't help that Grace is officially missing and the entire town, Grace's dad and the police included, think Sam killed her. But there are bigger problems in Mercy Falls than Grace and Sam. Isabel's father, seeking revenge on the wolves he thinks killed his son, has finally won his petition to remove the Mercy Falls pack from the protected list and organize a hunt via helicopter- one where the wolves will have no chance of survival.
With Grace, Beck, and the others out in the pack, Isabel, Sam and Cole are desperate to find a way to stop the hunt. Cole takes a different means of attack by trying to simultaneously find a way to catch a wolf (Grace in particular) and cure them or turn them human again (even if only briefly). While Cole's ego is tough to take at times, his devotion to Grace and Sam leads him to practice his concoctions on himself. Even Isabel, who can't admit she loves him, thinks he has lost it. What they don't understand is that Cole has never really had family before, and he considers them family and will do anything to save them. When the hunt is moved up, they must do anything to get the wolves to safety, even if it means trusting people they never thought they could trust. The fate of the Mercy Falls wolves are in the hands (or paws) of a few teenagers. Can they pull it off?
I hate to say it, but I was underwhelmed by this story. The excitement of saving the wolves was basically ignored (with the exception of Cole) until the last quarter of the book. Most of the book was Sam pining for Grace and Grace unable to control her shifting. It left me a little annoyed with the main characters and more interested in the chapters about Cole and Isabel. Cole's character is the most interesting, with his crusty exterior and complete, surprising devotion to the people he now calls family. Otherwise, the story was very slow until the very end. I was surprised and expected more from the final installment of this series.
The story is appropriate for any middle school through high school student. As the last piece of a trilogy, it won't make much sense without having read the first two books. I am sure anyone who got this far will want to read the book to finish out the series. I was, however, very happy with the ending. It was bittersweet, but I think it ended well. Now I will be waiting impatiently for Stiefvater's new series to be released!
When you think of "werewolves" I am sure you think of those creepy man/wolf concoctions that run around on two legs and are entirely too disturbing to really like much (unless it is Oz from Buffy the Vampire Slayer" of course!). But with the Shiver series, we found ourselves loving the kind of werewolves who are really shape shifters- they go between fully human and fully wolf, depending on the circumstances. In Nightshade, by Andrea Cremer, we see this type of wolf. A shifter who can change when the situation calls for it, but who pulls off a relatively normal life considering they are half pooch!
A long time ago, a Witches War was fought and two types of witches emerged: Keepers and Searchers. Keepers try to protect the sacred places of power that tie this world and the nether world together while Searchers try to steal that power. It is a constant struggle that never ends. That's where the Guardians (werewolves) come in. They are the obedient soldiers who help the Keepers protect the powerful places and in return the Keepers give them the best homes, educations, and everything they need to live. The price? Guardians live under the direct orders of the Keepers and they can't even choose their own mates- the Keepers choose who they mate with.
Calla and Ren are the upcoming alphas of two rival packs: the Nightshades and the Banes. They are to be married in order to merge the young wolves of both packs together and create a third pack. While Calla would never think of disobeying an order, she resents the fact that she will never be able to marry for love. When a human boy named Shay comes to the school, he sends her world into a tailspin. He seems to be connected to the Keepers, but still doesn't understand the world around him. When she saves him after a fatal bear attack by giving him her blood, enchanted pack blood, her secret is out. Now Shay will do anything to get to know Calla more, even irritate Ren, the pack alpha who could rip Shay to pieces.
When Calla is ordered by her Keeper to keep an eye on Shay, she reluctantly starts spending time with him. He comes across a forbidden book that the Guardians will only read under the punishment of death. Even though she is scared of the book at first, she lets him convince her to translate and research the book, which turns out to be a history of the Witches War through a prophecy that seems to have something to do with Shay. Unsure of Shay's role in her marriage and the Guardian world, Calla begins to have feelings for Shay, even though she knows it is completely forbidden. What she doesn't know is Shay's role in her world is very dangerous, so dangerous it may put her entire pack and the only life she's ever known in jeopardy. Is Shay worth the risk to Calla's entire world?
The pack dynamic and obedience vs. dominance in this story is very interesting. It transcends through to the Keepers who claim the wolves are their soldiers while Shay claims they are nothing more than slaves. The huge amount of control they have over the wolves is clear, but at first it seems to be an understandable arrangement. It becomes quickly clear, however, that the Keepers take too many liberties with the wolves, including their romantic interests in the young wolves (who have to obey the Keeper's wishes). This is a hard dynamic to deal with and understand, and makes the book very interesting.
The writing for this story is average skill level for junior high to high school students and the content is appropriate for a wide range of ages. The story is gripping right from the first chapter, so despite its length, there is no trouble convincing yourself to stay with the book. There is a pretty standard love triangle, but I am not going to lie, I am a total sucker for a love triangle! And this one is tough because you like and dislike both guys enough that you find it hard to pick a side: Team Shay or Team Ren! I guess for now I will hold off picking a side until I read the next book- maybe that will sway my decision more!
