BOOK REVIEW The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater @mstiefvater @Scholastic

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2012 | Series: Raven Cycle

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is 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 has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, 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 never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of theShiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

About the Author

Maggie Stiefvater is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the novels Shiver, Linger, Forever, and The Scorpio Races. She is also the author of Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception and Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie. She lives in Virginia with her husband and their two children. You can visit her online at www.maggiestiefvater.com.

Details Reading level: Ages 12 and up Hardcover: 416 pages Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 18, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0545424925 ISBN-13: 978-0545424929

SOURCE: AROUND THE WORLD ARC TOURS

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

Blue lives with a strange cast of characters, all psychic in some way or another.  One thing about her family, is that they are never wrong in their predictions, they only disclaim that they are not specific.  So when they all predict that Blue will kill her first true love after she kisses him, she swears she will never fall in love or if she does, she will never kiss him. Blue doesn't think she has any powers of her own, only that she amplifies others' abilities. She also stays away from the private school for boys near her home since they are reportedly nothing but trouble with unlimited funds.  So when Blue sees a spirit on St. Mark's Eve - her first ever -- she starts a series of events that might possibly end up in death.

Gansey is the boy she sees as a spirit and knows his death is now predicted and even though Blue is drawn to him, she finds him to be an enigma.  She soon falls in with more of his group from Aglionby, whom she refers to as The Raven Boys. As she gets to know each of them, Adam, the boy on scholarship and from Blue's part of town, strikes her as the most down to earth, but he has some devastating secrets at home. Ronan, although from wealth, has found that his life has been turned upside down when his father dies amid extenuating circumstances and even more secrets.  The last boy of the group is Noah, quiet, observant and at times, strangely omniscient.  This group comes together to search for the magical resting place of a Welsh king like knights searching for the holy grail.

So as the mystery surrounding the boys is revealed, more mysteries become present.  Gansey with the help of his money has been searching for this mystical king for what seems like most of his teen years. Blue, since she is the daughter of a psychic sees his quest as acceptable.  There are lots of twists and turns as each element of the plot is sloooowly revealed.  Yes, at times, I though the book could have had a quicker pace, but I can see that towards the end, everything comes together perfectly and the next installment should be a lot faster pace - fingers crossed!  There are a few surprises and a few convenient occurrences but overall this is one beautifully written story.  There is some physical violence, mentions of alcohol use, but no overt sexual situations and of course, some use of four letter words. I really recommend this to anyone looking for a good paranormal - mystical mystery.

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