The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Pages: 409, Hardback
Rating:  4 Stars

Goodreads Sumary
“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

Maggie Stiefvater is in my list of favorite authors, so I was excited when I heard she had a new book coming out. The Raven Boys is definitely a bit different then Stiefvater's other books. The Raven Boys mixes paranormal, mystery, great friendships, and adventures.

Blue Sargent lives in a house with her mother Maura, Persephone, and Calla, while they are all psychics Blue is not; Blue does have the ability to enhance their abilities.  She has grown up being told that if she kisses her true love, he will die; so Blue swears off boys, especially Raven Boys.  When 4 Raven Boys come to her house for a reading the boys immediately put Blue's mother on edge; Gansey, the group leader, asks Maura for help on their journey to learn the the resting place of Owen Glendower and the mystery of the ley lines.    Even though Maura refuses, Blue later tells the boys she will help them in their journey.  Breaking her cardinal rule, Blue quickly becomes part of the group and befriends all the boys.  The Raven Boys and Blue embark on a crazy adventure, with peculiar turns, surprising plot twists, and creepy paranormal events surrounding the  mysterious ley lines

The plot takes a while to develop, I felt the pacing was a bit off; the book started off slower that I would have liked but the pace quickly picked up.  Stiefvater does an incredible job developing each character, each Raven Boy really seems to be unique and memorable.   Blue and her family of are all extremely unique, each clairvoyant with her own quirks and eccentric personality.  While the ending is not exactly a cliffhanger it does end on an intriguing note, I think it lays out the framework for the series. There are a lot of  developments in the plot that are left untouched.  Even though this book was not my favorite it was still enjoyable, I will definitely be reading the next one in the series.

 My favorite quote shows was during  discussion Blue and her mother were having because Blue was disobeying her, "In her small voice, Persephone said, 'I have nothing to add.' After a moment of consideration, she added, however, 'If you are going to punch someone, don't put your thumb inside your fist. It would be a shame to break it.' " The quote made me laugh at the odd/randomness and eccentricity of the characters.

** Audio Book**I listened to the audiobook; I think in this case I may have preferred the text version. I may even go back and read the text version before the next book in the series comes out. The reader was not my favorite but the reading does get better as the book went on.  Overall as an audiobook it was average, probably 3 stars.

Check out the Awesome FanArt

Rating: 4 Stars
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3 comments:

  1. This was one of my favorite books of 2012. i thought it was the perfect mix of cliffhanger & resolution. I loved the friendship between the boys. Haha, that quote is hilarious!
    ps: I love the fanart!

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    Replies
    1. Ohh, I agree completely about the perfect mix of cliffhanger and resolution. I liked the fact that it was not a huge cliffhanger, it was actually kind of refreshing :)

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  2. Have read her writing before but this had me simply spellbound.the story is original, heartwarming, and even amusing. Can't wait for the rest of this series.

    Maycee Greene (Skagway AK)

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