Book Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys
Raven Cycle #1
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Reading Level: YA/MG
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Released: September 18th 2012
Review Source: Scholastic Press
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) “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.

Having read Scorpio Races I am very familiar with Maggie Stiefvater’s work. Her mysterious and intriguing style of writing lures her readers into an exciting new read. Ms. Steifvater’s characters in the novel are all very well rounded, each having their haunting troubles. A fresh and unique plot gives readers something extremely new and entertaining.

In the little town of Henrietta, something mysterious is going on. Even mysterious to the daughter of the local psychic. Blue is a teenage girl whose entire life has been filled with the paranormal. Blue however receives a very disheartening reading where she learns that the boy who will give her, her first kiss, shall die. With that astonishing piece of news, enters a group of boys who will change her life forever.

Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Noah all have their separate inter turmoil which threatens to rip each of them apart. How will Blue handle these problems, well that is the ultimate question left to be answered throughout the novel. The Raven Boys is a great novel. Although the start was somewhat slow paced, the story as a whole, makes up for it with the events throughout, especially the ending. With twists and turns in the plot so surprising, that it left me saying “what?!” this book is definitely one to check out and one that I’ll recommend to my friends that are looking for next great read!