Title: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: September 18th, 2012
ISBN: 0545424925
Rating: 5/5
Cover Impressions: I absolutely love this cover, it’s so
beautiful.
With an average rating on Goodreads of 4.03 out of 5 stars,
this book is definitely a keeper so here goes:
Synopsis: 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.
Review: I love the way the
narrative is split in this novel. It was not the standard first person perspective
that Stiefvater usually favours. Instead, it was divided between Blue and
several of the Raven Boys and told using the third person omniscient narrative,
which enabled the reader to uncover buckets of knowledge, which made for an immensely
enjoyable read.
Although I wasn’t gripped right
from the beginning, once I had read a few chapters, I was captivated by the
story. I loved the setting and the search for ley lines and the ancient Welsh
king Glendower was fascinating. Stiefvater has truly outdone herself with her novel
The Raven Boys. Stiefvater has
a way of submerging the reader and making them feel like part of the story.
The characters in this book
were amazing. Blue and the Boys were so original and realistic, each with their
own little quirks, I loved them all. I enjoyed reading about Blue, because
unlike many other YA heroines, she definitely had common sense and the ability
to hold her own while she was around the Raven boys. I also liked the fact,
that there were no sparkling vampires or demi-gods, just an ordinary group of
boys with ordinary problems who just happened to have stumbled upon a supernatural
adventure.
While I always love a good
romance, I am more often than not disappointed by the fact that a seemingly
supernatural thriller fast derails from its paranormal angle and ends up as a cheesy
love story protagonists. Not so, with The Raven Boys. The book is
packed with intricate details, delightful patches of history, legends,
scientific facts and unexplainable phenomena, it was unlike anything I've read
before.
The Raven Boys is utterly unlike Maggie Stiefvater's previous works,
which makes this story all the more intriguing. Stiefvater's writing features
words strung together in lovely, vivid ways that I've come to expect and enjoy.
The characters, especially the leads, shine brightly with their vivid
personalities - they demand your attention, and I was more than happy to give
it. The Raven Boys is electric,
mesmerizing, and somewhat strange (but in a good way). Overall, I give The Raven Boys five out of five stars.
That last line… just wow, I can’t wait to read The Dream Thieves,
thank goodness I can see from here.
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