The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
pages: 408
released: September 2012
publisher: Scholastic
cover love: ♥♥♥♥♥

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 Goodreads)

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 7/16/2012 ON BOOKSLIKESTARS.NET

Review:

When I set out to BEA this year, The Raven Boys  was one of my most anticipated books to bring home. I thought the premise was definitely up my alley plus it’s a new series by Maggie Stiefvater. And though it did intrigue me (eventually), my high hopes were brought down a few notches. After I finished the last page, I really had to sit down and think about what I would rate this book. And it was a hard decision. Because The Raven Boys  wasn’t exactly great but it wasn’t just good either. I believe this is the natural relationship I’ve come to have with Maggie’s books. I had the same dilemma when I read Shiver. I didn’t like it that much but the story’s plot was so good I had to keep reading and the ending just blew me away. That’s kind of how The Raven Boys was for me too.

My main issue with the book was that its synopsis leads you to believe that Blue and Gansey will develop into a relationship despite all the predictions that it will end in despair. I got the notion that this would be a supernatural romance. However, it’s more or less just supernatural with tiny crumbs of what will happen between Blue and Gansey. Hints of what’s to come in another installment, so the synopsis is misleading. Most of the book is centered around ley lines, powerful energy lines that connect with the dead (and other things not of this world) and Gansey and his group of misfit friends searching for a myth-induced, all powerful sleeping king named Glendower.

In the beginning, I was hooked. But from page 50 to about page 150, I became uninterested and unable to connect with the story or the characters. Mainly because the story is written in third person omnipresent, a god-like POV, in which the narrator knows everything about everyone. Which is a good way to get to know every character personally but can still, unfortunately, create a lot of distance between you and them.

Glady, the next 250 pages were packed with awesome and finally a bond was made! Thank God, because The Raven Boys  was so full of potential and I wanted to love it. And there were parts that I did. Like Blue (her full name is Blue Sargent, and I shan’t be forgettin’ it) and her home full of female psychics. The itsy bitsy pieces of romance were enjoyable, I just wished it would’ve kept going. But from what I read, I know there’s more to come and it’s gonna be good 🙂 . Of the four Aglionby boys (prep-schoolers Blue dubbed the Raven Boys because of the school crest on their uniforms), I liked Adam the most. His issues ran deep and painful and he had more to deal with than the others. The second would be Gansey, because he’s just…Gansey. I didn’t really like Ronan that much, he was kind of weirdo-slash-wannabe-jerk. Noah’s virtually non-existent for the most part but he has his reasons.

All in all, even though it took me forever to get into The Raven Boys, I’d say it brings a whole lot of promise to a new series that I’m absolutely sure will be fantastic. Of course now I’m dying to know everything about the next book: the name, the cover, the plot. Waiting is the worst.

3.5