The Raven Boys – Book Review

Book Title: The Raven Boys (The Raven Boys #1)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fantasy
Target Audience: Young Adult
Publication date: September 18th 2012
Format: Paperback

People shout when they don’t have the vocabulary to whisper

Why I chose this?

A lot of the people I follow on blogs and bookstagram and Twitter and possibly more places absolutely rave about this series and I wanted to see how it goes.

What it’s about

“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.

Author

New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.

All of Maggie Stiefvater’s life decisions have been formed by a desire to leave a mark, resulting in spray-painted cars, sharpie-covered computer printers, ink-splattered walls, and stories told in books, in magazines, and on stages. Maggie Stiefvater lives in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her husband, kids, and a bunch of fainting goats.

First Impressions

I’ve got to say I am certainly intrigued by the line “If you kiss your true love, he will die. It’s like the opposite of a fairy tale where a true loves kiss breaks the spell. I can’t wait to dive into this.

What I Thought

This is the second time I have attempted this book and I felt I was trying to push my way through it. 28% in and Blue still doesn’t really know much about the raven boys other than sticky rich boys with more money than sense except for Adam.

OK, I’ll admit this got better however it was once I got around the 50% mark which was a better start than The Cruel Prince which got good at about 75%.

I like that each character got to establish their own personality before the 5 of them got together. Blue as the only girl in the group was wonderfully written especially when Gansey tries to buy her things she stands on her own two feet and won’t bow down to anyone.

Gansey needs to get his head in the real world which he, unfortunately, has never lived in and that seems to be the ultimate price of people who were brought up flush with cash. Living near the Lake District you get to see an abundance of people like Gansey who find it easier to flash a credit card than actually have manners or use them on the “lower class.” This is why his friendship with Adam confused me at first because they seemed like chalk and cheese. One is a rich arsehole who fights arguments with flowery words and the other is a poor trailer park boy who would much prefer to not argue at all and sit back and let others take the wheel. Adam seems like a person who is way over his head and currently treading water until Blue. Their relationship/friendship is cute and I’d love to see where it goes even if unlikely to blossom.

Ronan is somewhat perplexing and I’ve not made my mind up about him. He’s an enigma.

I love the weaving of Wales and the lay lines with the spiritual undertones which resonated with me as I do believe in life afterlife.

I’m aware that it shouldn’t have taken so long to read but I’ve done it and it is time to move on to book two.

Star Rating

Have you read The Raven Boys? Let me know in the comments

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