Book Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
12:30 AM
The Raven Boys
by Maggie Stievfater
Ebook edition, 312 pages
Published September 2012, by Scholastic Press
✰✰✰✰.5
“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.
WOW. I know a lot of people were raving about this series, saying it's unique and whimsical, but I'm not expecting this! I've read Wolves of Mercy Falls series, and I really enjoyed it. It's one of those series that is slow paced, but the beautiful and poetic writings makes you slowly fall in love with it. The magical and magical writing really stick to me the most, and I'm glad to say that The Raven Boys gives me the same feels.
“Aglionby Academy was the number one reason Blue had developed her two rules: One, stay away from boys because they were trouble. And two, stay away from Aglionby boys, because they were bastards.”
The story take place in the sleepy old town of Henrietta, where everything is ordinary and boring, except for Blue's family. The description of the sleepy town and the unique life Blue's living is really interesting.
Even though there's nothing much happening in this book, plot-wise, but the character are so unique and entirely different from each other. Blue is just so confident with herself, Gansey is just really nice, and I could understand why he's so desperate in searching the sleeping king. Ronan is like wearing layers of barbed wire around himself, but seeing him with Chainsaw really melts my heart. Adam is typical I guess? Typically mundane, with normal problems like money, grades, and family problems compared to the others. I hope to get to know him better in the next book. But Noah. Oh my. He's my favorite. He's a precious cinnamon roll that has to be wrapped with fuzzy blanket and protected from all the evils in the world. BUT THEN THE REVELATION COME.
I was really in shock when I read it, I literally threw my phone a way (it's a good thing I was reading on bed) and e-mailed my friend. How could I fall in love with someone spoiler who has been dead even before the story starts??? I think I have a thing for dead characters *cries*. spoiler ends.
My brain really doesn't compute. But other than that? It's fantastic. The other-worldly-ness of Cabeswater makes me want to visit the place myself.
I knock the half star because I was a bit confused about what happened, but overall I really really pleased with this book. It's such an amazing series starters and I can't wait to read The Dream Thieves (and re-read this book for more understanding.).
12 comments
I'm glad you liked TRB! I was a bit hesitant to read this at first because I felt like it would be cliché (Seriously, "Your true love will die if you kiss him"?), but that wasn't the case at all! I think my favorite character of all is Noah. He's just so adorable and cute and I JUST WANT TO HUG HIM SO BAD. (I also like how he was joking about him being cold when he wasn't actually really joking. Welp, then.)
ReplyDeleteI know, I also kind of scared to read this book because I thought it would be cliche and just meh. But it turns out to be amazing, and yes, NOAH IS PRECIOUS AND NEED TO BE PROTECTED. He and Ronan are honestly my faves!
DeleteI don't know why but I still haven't picked up this book! Maybe now that the series is complete (it's complete, right?) I'll finally give it a shot! I'm glad you enjoyed it!! :D
ReplyDeleteTracy @ Cornerfolds
Yes it's complete now! The final book was released last month, so go binge read the series! I hope you'll enjoy it!
DeleteI remember the first time I read this book-my experience was much like yours! Although I wasn't sure quite what happened, I knew I loved these characters and the sort of magic and mystery that surrounded them. The series just keeps getting better and better, in my opinion! :D
ReplyDeleteI know right? The story is a bit confusing XD But the characters are really magical<33 It definitely is! I can't wait to see how The Raven King would wrap it all up!
DeleteaHHH YAYYY!!! *SHRIEKS* I'M SO GLAD YOU ENJOYED IT!! This is seriously my all-time favourite series *hugs al the Boys* I cannot even choose a favourite. THEY ARE ALL ADORABLE. And Blue is the most relatable thing of ever. And I agree the story is slow, but the writing is just perfect to me, so I didn't even mind. XD
ReplyDeleteYES I KNOW I'M GLAD I ENJOYED IT TOO. This book has such a large fanbase and a lot of hype I was scared I won't enjoyed it! I think the thing that keeps me hooked besides the character is the writing! Maggie definitely has way with words!
DeleteI agree! I really liked it, basically for the characters and the atmosphere! And I have wanted to do a reread so badly before starting Dream Thieves too but I doubt it will happen hahah. I hope you enjoy the rest of the series- we should read them before we're spoiled! :D
ReplyDeleteToo many books to read, it's hard to find time to do a re-read right? XD I know, we have to be extra careful now since TRK is already out and so many people just shrieking their thoughts! Spoilers everywhere! *sigh*
DeleteI have heard nothing but glowing reviews about this series, so I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed it too and thought it was a satisfying conclusion to the series. Definitely going to have to pick this one up now! Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous review! ❤
ReplyDeleteIt definitely deserves all the hype, so I hope you'll read it soon and enjoyed it! XD
DeleteHi guys! Thank you so much for visiting, feel free to leave a comment and talk to me, I don't bite :D