Saturday, October 27, 2012

The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date: September 28th, 2012, Hardcover
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Group: Young Adult Literature
Rating:
 
“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 the Shiver 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.
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If you haven't read this book yet, you need to do so immediately. I haven't read anything like it before. It is just written beautifully and the characters are so wonderful. I can finally say that Maggie Stiefvater is one of my favorite authors; she ranks right up there with Suzanne Collins and Cassandra Clare in my opinion. I fell in love with the Wolves of Mercy Falls, then with the Scorpio Races, and finally with the Raven Boys.

This story wasn't what I expected at all. From reading the summary, I thought that it would be more of a love story but it isn't at all. Even though there is some romance it isn't a lot. It is mostly an adventure story about four friends: Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Noah. Then there is Blue whose family is full of psychics. Each character has an own backstory and personality. The characters are the most important for me when it comes to a story, and these were the best. I enjoyed Gansey and Adam's friendship the most and it comes into play a lot during the end of the book. I just want them to hug it out so bad! I loved them!

I will admit, when I first started this book I was slightly confused. I didn't really understand what was going on. I even had to reread the first couple chapters. Once I started to understand what this book was going to be about, I loved it. It is about Gansey on the search for the resting place of a Welsh King Glendower. The first to do so will be granted a favor. I was really confused about this during the first half of the book. I kept wondering why Gansey was so obsessed with this and why did he keep wanting to find it? What was the backstory behind this? It is finally revealed towards the middle of the book and then it all started to make sense. My only complaint is that I wish that we would have had that sooner. It would have helped me a lot during the first fifty pages or so.

I really liked how the chapters had different POV's. It would switch from Blue, Gansey, and then to Adam. There were even some chapters told from the villain in this story. I am not sure how I feel about Blue and Gansey's relationship when I seem to love Adam and Blue so much more. I do like Gansey, but there is something about Adam that I like too. I feel so sorry for him with his family issues and everything.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. It is one of my favorite reads in 2012 for sure. This is an excellent start for this new upcoming series. I just can't wait to get my hands on the sequel! I know that it will not disappoint!
 
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