Book Review: The Raven Boys

[Kia Brushman]

Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fantasy
Series: The Raven Cycle

Summary: “She wasn't interested in telling other people's futures. She was interested in going out and finding her own.” - Maggie Stiefvater - The Raven Boys

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her. His name is Gansey, 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 is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher 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 doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.


Pros: I personally adored it, it was dark and wonderful and just overall fun to read and really dragged me into the rest of the series. The whole plot and idea of it being based around a real Welsh folk tale just fascinated me.

Reading the Raven Cycle got me more into Maggie Stiefvater. I had read the Scorpio Races a couple months back and loved it, especially the writing style. Steifvater writes so beautifully, the way she uses words to describe and set a mood to the scene blows me away every time.

“She recognized the strange happiness that came from loving something without knowing why you did, that strange happiness that was sometimes so big that it felt like sadness.”

But can we just talk about the plot again, I mean it was so unique and fantastic and I would just really love to know what goes on in Maggie Stiefvater's head that gives her this ability to dream up these wonderful plots. There's ghosts, Welsh kings, ley lines, psychics, romantic tension, the only thing this book is missing is dragons? It's a complex, yet marvelous story.


Cons: My problem was that it got really confusing in some parts. That could honestly just be me because I skim in some parts, but for this book, I had to re-read a lot in order to understand. Especially the ending which was so confusing for me and I had to take it to the wiki to understand completely. But again, that could be me. This was really the only reason this book did not get 5 stars in my book, but obviously, other than that I adored it and would 110000% re-read it again.

But nonetheless, if you enjoy a unique read, I would highly recommend this book!

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

It's so amazing you post there now, Kia! I just read The Raven Boys for the first time a week or so ago, then read The Dream Thieves and now am reading Blue Lily, Lily Blue.

I gave The Raven Boys 5 Stars at Goodreads

I enjoy books which talk about magic; I enjoy books in which magic is a part of the life of the characters. THIS book, when I read it, I *felt* the magic. Magick. This book is like events taken from out of the real world and put into words. That said, it's also a very good read and had some unexpected (to me) corners and curves! A very Good Read.