Title: The Raven Boys
Author:Maggie Stiefvater
Release Date:September 18th 2012
Publisher:Scholastic
Synopsis:
“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.
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.
Anyone who knows my reading tastes knows that I love me some intense,complicated and intricately crafted storytelling when it comes to my books.The Raven Boys' synopsis screamed all of this, and I knew I am going to love this book even before I read it. Plus, Maggie Stiefvater has a huge fan following, and some of the bloggers I know are die hard fan of hers, *cough* Cait *cough*, and I was so tempted to read at least one book by her, which made me take up Raven Boys.
P.S- Plus this book is released on my birthday! Which explains why it is so awesome!:)
Blue grows up with a bunch of psychic women which results in her being not a stranger to prophecies, tarot card readings and mythology. When she encounters a group of boys, who are on a quest to find the ley lines inspired by Welsh mythology, she joins them, and The Raven Boys is their journey full of mystery, revelations and a lot of awesomeness.
“My words are unerring tools of destruction, and I’ve come unequipped with the ability to disarm them.”
The best thing about this book, at least for me, are the characters.I am a huge fan of character driven novels and if you are too, you'll love this book as well.Raven Boys has such developed, beautifully crafted characters with a lot of depth. To tell the truth, some might find it overwhelming to have too many main characters to get used to, but all of them are great in their own way, so that won't be something to complain about either:)
“The fact was, by the time she got to high school, being weird and proud of it was an asset. Suddenly cool, Blue could've happily had any number of friends. And she had tried. But the problem with being weird was that everyone else was 'normal'".”
Blue is a quirky wonderful girl with her short hair and addiction to yogurts.Gansey is the interesting and intriguing leader of the Raven Boys, who has a thirst to discover the Ley lines.Noah was the quiet, adorable, silent boy in the sidelines. Adam was a conflicted character who is often driven by his pride and insecurity. And Ronan- my favourite- is a damaged,broken guy who brings out ravens from his dreams and someone I really wanted to know more about.
“Ronan didn't need physics. He could intimidate even a piece of plywood into doing what he wanted.”
Stiefvater's writing is addictive.She writes in third person and there's a magical and lyrical quality to her writing that I adored.Plus she also had a way with grabbing and keeping the reader's attention,so much so that, I finished this book in one sitting, as I often do when the writing is so addictive for me to take a break.
“When Gansey was polite, it made him powerful. When Adam was polite, he was giving power away.”
I also loved the whole use of Welsh mythology. I am a huge fan of myths of all kind, but Welsh is something I've never heard of, and Stiefvater's take on it was brilliant! I found it unique and utterly mesmerising and something I want to explore more as the series progresses.
“The king sleeps still, under a mountain , and around him is assembledhis warriors and his herds and his riches. By his right hand is his cup,filled with possibility. On his breast nestles his sword, waiting, too, to wake.Fortunate is the soul who finds the king and is brave enough to call him to wakefulness, for the king will grant him a favour, as wondrous as can be imagined by a mortal man.”
Overall, Raven Boys is a beautiful book. It's perfect for any urban fantasy fans, who also prefers strong characterization, wonderful writing style and unique concepts. I really enjoyed this original and fabulous tale,which lived up to the fact that anything that comes out to the world on September 18th would be amazing!;)
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