Linger

One of the newcomers is Cole St. Clair, a famous young rock musician who wanted to disappear from his own life so badly that he chose to become a wolf. The other new voice belongs to Isabel Culpeper, rich, sarcastic and grieving, whose brother was lost to the pack. Stiefvater now tells the story through four narrators, and the friction between Cole and Isabel brings sharp humour and tension to a book that otherwise moves slowly.

This is the middle book of a trilogy, and it feels like one. Much of the story is about waiting, worrying and arguing, with the central question, what is wrong with Grace, unfolding gradually. The writing remains lovely, full of cold light and music. Cole's past includes heavy drinking and reckless behaviour, mentioned without lurid detail, and the parental conflict will strike a chord with many teenagers.

Is it as magical as Shiver? Not quite, but it deepens the characters and ends on a strong note that leads straight into Forever. Isabel and Cole, in particular, steal many scenes, and their prickly exchanges are some of the best writing in the trilogy. About 360 pages in the Scholastic paperback.