Series: The Raven Cycle #2
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: September 17, 2013
Pages: 448, Hardcover
Source: ARC obtained at BEA
Source: ARC obtained at BEA
Now that the ley lines
around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and
Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply
into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking
life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the
same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...
Maggie Stiefvater’s books have secured a place in my heart as well as on my shelf for all of my reader days. She has proven herself to be both extremely talented and wonderfully unique in her storytelling. And I am completely won over by everything she writes.
The Dream Thieves is a fantastic continuation of the story introduced in The Raven Boys. Gansey, Ronan, Adam, Noah and Blue are still stirring up trouble in Henrietta in their search for Glendower but this is no longer the main focus of the story. Ronan dropped quite the bomb at the end of TRB and therefore the attention has shifted to him and his story.
Ronan is such an intriguing character that I was thrilled to learn that this book would be largely from his perspective. And I feel like readers benefit a lot from this. TDT explores a whole new side of Henrietta such that the world, the characters and the story really develop in this second book. Stiefvater definitely took more risks this time around, but I feel like they paid off in the end.
Typical of Stiefvater’s style, this book is carefully constructed, intricately detailed and elegantly presented. It is not a ‘fast-read’ but a literary work of art to be appreciated. The characters she gives us are wonderful. I really feel for all of them in some way and I am deeply invested in each of their stories. The setting is magical and rich and really projects a fitting atmosphere for the story to unfold. And the story itself, if anything else, is pleasantly original. You have not read anything else like it, I promise you.
As much as I loved this book, it did not WOW me as much as TRB did. I think this was because it contained fewer surprises. And the ending did not pack the same punch as TRB. However, I do not want to do a disservice to this book because it was still wonderful and far superior to the average YA read. I really loved it.
I am very curious to see where Stiefvater will take the third book. The ending to TDT is open ended enough that really anything is possible. But I have no doubt that it will be as enjoyable as the first two.
