4/5 Stars
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: September 18, 2012
I think my expectations for this book were too high. I have
loved all of Maggie’s other stories and after reading The Scorpio Races earlier
this year and loving it beyond all reason I was expecting to enjoy The Raven
Boys just as much. You guess you can see why I was a little bit bummed out when
this novel started off slow and took a while for me to get into.
The Raven Boys is told from 4 different perspectives and
this at first confused me. I like alternating perspectives alright but I
definitely prefer first person. I like that instant connection you feel with
the narrator, and the immediacy that is created by that style of narration. That
may be why I was not instantly drawn into The Raven Boys. Never fear though,
after the first few chapters you hardly notice the shifting narration and
Maggie’s beautiful prose pulls you right in to the story.
By far my favorite thing about The Raven Boys was that the friend dynamic was so fleshed out that I felt like I was
a part of the group right along with the characters. Blue, Gansey, Ronan, and Adam are all
completely distinct individuals with back stories and independent lives, they are the kind of
characters that become so real that you can imagine how they would act in real
life situations, and leave you remembering them long after you have finished the book. For example while reading this book I kept thinking of the song Tea Partay which is a 2006 Smirnoff East Coast rich money parody song and I kept wondering what Ronan and Gansey would think of it. The video is below if you are interested in checking the song out, beware it is funny.
Now, back to the characters. Blue is the daughter of a Psychic in town and she was born
with the power to amplify the powers of those around her. Blue has never seen
anything supernatural until the night of St. Mark’s Eve when she sees a ghost
Gansey in the ancient churchyard. It is said that if you see the ghost they are
either your true love, or you killed them, either way Blue is drawn to Gansey
and ends up being friends with the entire group and joining in Gansey’s quest.
Ronan is one of Gansey’s old friends, and is described as the most Aglionby of all the boys. Ronan lost his
Father under some mysterious circumstances and now has to answer to his older
brother Declan in order to have any kind of money. Ronan is hot-headed, comes
off as a jerk to everyone, but it is obvious he is covering for something and
all this lashing out isn’t the real Ronan. I started to realize Ronan had a
heart at about the time he finds a baby bird and begins caring for it. I’m
actually excited to learn more about Ronan and his family in the next novel.
Adam is on a partial scholarship to attend Aglionby and
someone ends up meeting Gansey. Gansey in a lot of ways forces Adam to be his
friend, without ever forcing him to do anything. It was great to see the
struggle Adam goes through being a “have not” in a school and friend group full
of “haves”. Adam has to work, deal with an abusive father, and still try to
balance life with Gansey who represents everything Adam wants. Honestly, he is
a great character and Maggie wrote him so well that I was both sympathetic to
his situation and understanding when he pissed me off.
That brings us to Gansey…Oh Gansey…I could not love this
character any more then I do. The chapters written from his perspective were by
far my favorite. Gansey has always been rich, he comes from a family of rich
Virginians and money doesn’t mean the same thing to him, it is just kind of
there. He doesn’t particularly care about school instead he is truly passionate
about ley lines and finding an ancient Welsh King said to be buried along the
ley line in Henrietta. The entire reason he choose Aglionby was to hunt for
this King. At first I didn’t understand his obsession with the search but as
the story progressed I wanted him to find the King as much as he did. Gansey is
so genuine and thoughtful and just everything! I liked the dichotomy of the two
different Gansey’s the one he has to put on as a front for the world and the true
Gansey that he keeps hidden. I can’t think of a more well written character
then Gansey, and I already know this little summing up of him does not do
justice to the man that Maggie has created.
The highlight of this book is definitely the characters, the
storyline about ley lines and the supernatural was kind of a back story for all
the character development that takes place. In fact, the end felt kind of
rushed, like Maggie really wanted all of us to know the characters and what
their goals are but then realized that she needed to wrap up the story and just
slapped together an ending.
Overall, I enjoyed The Raven Boys it was a good novel but it
was obviously the start of a series. It felt like it ended just when the
storyline was really starting to get good. I will definitely be eagerly
awaiting the sequel though if for nothing else then the fact that I adore
Gansey and can’t wait to see what happens to him next!
I have this one waiting on my kindle but for some reason I haven't picked it up..
ReplyDeleteI love a character driven book & the way you describe each of them sounds wonderful, especially Gansey!
A great review! Thank you for sharing.
Does this book have romance??
There wasn't really any romance in this book, there was the potential for romance and some flashes of a future with possible romance. I think with a sexy love interest this could have been 5 stars! I have high hopes for book 2.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good post.burun estetigi
ReplyDeleteOhhh interesting. You just gave me a new book to add to my TR list. Great review. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteEmily! What a great review. I just finished this too and I already have The Dream Thieves waiting for me. Ugh work and my busy schedule. I really hope I can get to TDT soon!
ReplyDeleteAs for The Raven Boys, I agree with everything you pointed out. I was initially confused with the 3rd person multiple POVs as well. Friends warned me that it was slow since the focus was the characters and that the action won't happen right away. They were right but I guess I enjoyed it all the more because I was prepared. However, it did take me a long time to finish the book because I felt like I've read a lot already but when I check my progress, there wasn't much. Haha!
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ReplyDeleteTEA PARTAY!
ReplyDelete