The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
publisher/year:September 18th 2012 by Scholastic Press
genre: Fantasy
Whats’s it about?
‘There are only two
reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve. Either you’re his true
love... or you killed him.’
Every year, Blue
Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon to be dead walk past.
Blue never sees them-until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and
speaks to her.
His name is Gancey,
and he’s a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a
policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only
mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain.
He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the
scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce
soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher
who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she
can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die.
She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem. But
as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven
Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
The Review
I went into this book
very cavalier in some ways because I’ve read one book by Maggie Stiefvater in
the past, Shiver, and I walked away less
than enthused about the rest of that specific series which lead to me not
wanting to pick up the rest of the books and avoiding Maggie’s work all
together. After starting The Raven Boys on my 12 hour bus ride home from university
I soon found that it definitely will not be the case this time around!
The Raven Boys is
fast paced with plot twists almost around every corner. I simply couldn't get
enough of it. Just when I thought that I knew what was going to happen Maggie
turns around and has me fail miserably but that is what I really appreciated about
this book. The blurb on the back of the novel should be rewritten in my opinion
because it sells the whole story short. What I expected to be an insta-love
Edward and Bella rendition turned out to be a lot more with characters that I
found myself investing in, rooting for and at times confused by.
Maggie did a terrific
job with each and every one of these characters, I felt like I knew them all. I
also loved the fact that the book was written in third person which meant that
we were given an inside whirl inside most of the characters thoughts at random
moments throughout the book. It kept everything very exciting and it made the
reader, character bond so much easier to form or the reader hate character bond
(some characters had major issues that I simply could not deal with).
The protagonist Blue
is a sixteen year old girl with major boy problems and a house filled to the
brim with psychics, her mother included. Blue however was not graced with the
gift the rest of the women had but she some how magnified their gifts which
made her as they put it the Starbucks table everyone had to have, near the
plug. Obviously this was not what Blue wanted, she wanted to see more than we mere
mortals which is what made her reconsider her policy towards boys, specifically
the Raven Boys and I must say I’m so glad she does think twice.
Why you may ask? Because
A; Adam and B; they are a crazy bunch of boys but weirdly troubled which is
something I really appreciated. The friendship between Gansey, Adam, Ronan and
Noah is one that can be admired. Even though I found it a little weirdly
intimate at times I could see that it was raw and real which is what fuelled my
Maggie appreciation. Let’s just say I’m a fan.
There is one thing
however that I didn’t appreciate. Seeing that this is such a crucial element
and that I’m willing or more than willing actually to continue with this series
I advise you to not read too much into my last impression but I feel it must be
said. The ending left me seriously dumbfounded and not in a good way. Compared
to the rest of the novel the ending and the climax was rushed and confusing! My feelings toward one of the characters were
seriously called into question but before I knew it, everything was over and I
seemed to be the only one confused as to why things were being swept under the
rug and everything was back to normal again? Seriously? That’s it? I understand
that this is a series and that some things have to remain unsaid but with two
chapters remaining you can’t tell me that you couldn’t spare a few sentences to
clear up the mess?
Ahhh anyway...I don’t want to go into too much
detail because I don’t want to spoil any of the major plot twists that left me
reeling and very much devouring the story word for word! I will say that this
book takes psychics, magic, death and (weirdly enough) energy lines to a whole
new level that the possibility of each of those things seem a lot more plausible
(Thanks for the nightmares btw).
Who do I recommend this
to?
If you like food or
air than I definitely recommend this to you! Haha if that’s too broad than I’ll
recommend this to people who love paranormal books in general and books where
love and romance plays a role but it doesn’t completely dominate the story. I
for one had a blast and I’m sure you will too.:)
Have you read this book? What were your thoughts? Also if you have read the rest of the series let me know if they get bad or if they stay this awesome? I don't want to be dissapointed :(
About the Author
New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.
All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She's made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.
find maggie:
website: http://www.maggiestiefvater.com
twitter name: mstiefvater
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