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Front Street Teens

Author Crush!

This month I’m crushing on Maggie Stiefvater, author of the Wolves of Mercy Falls series and the Raven Cycle, along with a few standalone novels and short story collections. This is the perfect time to start reading her books, because all of her current series are complete. Binge readers, get your coffee (or tea) and couches ready! Her books are atmospheric, romantic, and suspenseful and she gives tried and true paranormal ideas like werewolves and psychics a new twist.

The Wolves of Mercy Falls series, which includes Shiver, Linger, and Forever, is one of her first and most popular series, in which she reminds us that werewolves can be (and are) just as sexy as vampires. Grace has been watching the wolves outside of her house for years and one yellow-eyed one in particular has always captured her attention, but what she doesn’t know is that he’s also had his eyes on her. When she finally meets the wolf, Sam, in human form, they come to realize that time is not on their side because Sam won’t be human forever. Also, there is a companion book to this series, Sinner, which follows the enigmatic Cole St. Clair as he tries to prove his love for Isabel – two secondary characters from The Wolves of Mercy Falls that take center stage in this edgy yet sweet love story.

If you’re not in the mood for werewolves, the Raven Boys from Aglionby Academy might be exactly what you need. Blue is from a family of psychics, but oddly enough isn’t one herself, instead she amplifies others’ psychic gifts. It has been said that if she kisses her true love, he’ll die, but then she meets Gansey, one of the Raven Boys, and together with the help of his three friends they must find a connection to the ‘sleeping’ Welsh king. This alternate, magic-filled world will certainly stick in your mind long after you’ve read the first book and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Do you prefer shorter stories? Try The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories and The Anatomy of Curiosity, in which Maggie Stiefvater, along with Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff have published several unedited versions of their short stories from their blog, The Merry Sisters of Fate. Each page has a wide margin, in which they’ve scribbled in notes to themselves or the others about their thoughts on the stories. Each story has a paranormal theme with comments on the writing processes and possible edits along the way. It gives a very interesting insight into these three popular authors’ writing processes and also proves that no matter how amazing a book may be, editing goes a long way in the writing process. It’s also fun to think about the fact that amazing authors like these start out writing just like any of us who enjoy writing: at a blank computer screen with an idea in their head.

Maggie Stiefvater’s books are the perfect mix of edge of your seat suspense, sweet romance, and the sometimes eerie paranormal that will keep you wanting more – I know I can’t wait for another book to see what she comes up with next!

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777 Front Street Lisle, IL 60532 | Phone: 630-971-1675 | Fax: 630-971-1701 | Hours: M-F 9:30am-9:00pm, SAT 9:30am-5:00pm, SUN 1:00pm-5:00pm