The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys
By Maggie Stiefvater
The Raven Cycle #1
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publication Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Rated: ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
5 out of 5 Stars
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Related Reviews: | The Dream Thieves | Blue Lily, Lily Blue |
Categories: Supernatural, Ghosts, Treasure Hunt, ESP

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“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.

This series has been on my TBR pile for quite a while now, and I can't be happier that I finally got around to reading it! I loved it, everything about it! I am always a huge fan of treasure hunts, and The Raven Boys is full of wonderful treasure hunting. The boys are searching for a long dead king by the name of Glendower that they believe is still alive. Hidden on a powerful ley line, they feel that he is still alive somewhere underground, waiting for one worthy to wake him from his eternal sleep. If the king is is found, the one that wakes him is able to ask a favor of him. All of the characters have a different favor to ask. I feel that as the books continue, the favor will begin to merge into one that they all agree on.

Blue has seen Gansey, the leader of this misfit group of treasure hunters, on the Corpse Road. Which means that he will be dead within a year's time. Gansey is the first spirit that Blue has ever seen. Her family is full of powerful psychic women, but Blue has never had many powers. The only thing she feels that she is able to do is increase other's powers around her. She is a battery, meant to recharge and amplify others psychic powers. But when she able to see Gansey's spirit on the Corpse Road, there are only two possibilities behind the vision. Either she is the one who kills him, or he is her true love. But Gansey is just another Aglionby boy, rich and privileged, spoiled and stuck up. Or is he? Not to mention the fact that for all of her life, every psychic that meets Blue has told her that she will kill her true love by kissing him. There is no possible way that she could ever fall in love with Gansey, this rich, broken boy on a quest. But sometimes, even knowing the outcome, there is nothing one can do to stop the inevitable.

I love the story line, the characters, the world, the supernatural aspect.. all of it! I connected with each and every one of the characters in this story. Blue is my favorite, and I see a lot of myself in her. Eccentric tendencies and all! The way that she dresses, the fact that she doesn't give a shit what other people think.. I instantly connected with her character. Gansey is another of my favorite characters.. yes, he is rich, privileged, maybe a little spoiled; but he is also a broken man. From his almost death, to his vision of the ley line and Glendower, he is on a never ending quest to find his King and free him from his sleep. Adam's character is a little less likable. He is not like the other boys, rich and spoiled. He is a scholarship student living in a trailer park. His self loathing and embarrassment of himself got a little old after a while. He constantly thought that he wasn't good enough to be around the Aglionby boys, and that he had nothing to offer them. I found myself hoping that Blue and him would not get together, regardless of how perfect for each other that they were. I wanted to throat punch him most of the time! Ronan's character is complex, and I can't really describe him all that well. He is angry and dark, and the reader eventually finds out exactly why he is this way. I found myself drawn to him and his sarcasm, regardless of the powerful anger that he expressed. He is also a tortured, broken man; trying to understand himself and his world that never seems to make sense. And Noah. Well, he is a bit more interesting than we first thought. I can't give any spoilers, but just know that his character is revealed in a really crazy way that leaves the reading thinking, 'what the hell?' I have to give the characters 5 out of 5 stars, because I fell in love with each of them in their own way.

The world building is wonderful. I absolutely adore the story of supernatural, psychic abilities in this misfit group of teenagers. The treasure hunting aspect added a whole new dimension that I instantly was drawn to. Cabeswater, an enchanted forest that the group discovers on the ley line, is magical and exciting. A place of great power and mystery. Their sleepy Virginia town is not so boring anymore! I cannot express enough how much I loved this book, just read it! I am officially recommending it to everyone, everywhere, read it! I am more than looking forward to reviewing The Dream Thieves for all of you, as I have already finished reading it! As soon as I get some time this weekend, look out for that review, as well as for Blue Lily, Lily Blue!

"“I guess I make things that need energy stronger. I'm like a walking battery." "You're the table everyone wants at Starbucks," Gansey mused as he began to walk again. Blue blinked. "What?" Over his shoulder, Gansey said, "Next to the wall plug.”" -Gansey & Blue

"“How do you feel about helicopters?" There was a long pause. "How do you mean? Ethically?" "As a mode of transportation." "Faster than camels, but less sustainable.”" -Blue & Adam

"“When she opened her eyes, she was both in her body and watching it, nowhere near the cavity of the tree. The Blue that was before her stood inches from a boy in an Aglionby sweater. There was a slight stoop to his posture, and his shoulders were spattered darkly with rain. It was his fingers that Blue felt on her face. He touched her cheek with the backs of his fingers. Tears coursed down the other Blue's face. Though some strange magic, Blue could feel them on her face as well. She could feel, too, sick, rising misery she'd felt in the churchyard, the grief that felt bigger than her. The other Blue's tears seemed endless. One drop slid after another, each following an identical path down her cheeks. The boy in the Aglionby sweater leaned his forehead against Blue's. She felt the pressure of his skin against hers, and suddenly she could smell mint. It'll be okay. Gansey told the other Blue. She could tell that he was afraid. It'll be okay. Impossibly, Blue realized that this other Blue was crying because she loved Gansey. And that the reason Gansey touched her like that, his fingers so careful with her, was because he knew that her kiss could kill him. She could feel how badly the other Blue wanted to kiss him, even as she dreaded it. Though she couldn't understand why, her real, present day memories in the tree cavity were clouded with other false memories of their lips nearly touching, a life this other Blue had already lived. Okay, I'm ready- Gansey's voice caught, just a little. Blue, kiss me.”" -Blue's vision

"“Fate," Blue replied, glowering at her mother, "is a very weighty word to throw around before breakfast.”" -Blue & her mother

Related Reviews
| The Dream Thieves | Blue Lily, Lily Blue |

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