This is the first book in a brand new series from bestselling author, Maggie Stiefvater. Fans of SHIVER (9781407115009), LINGER (9781407121086) and FOREVER (9781407121116) will love this new quartet! Blue has spent the majority of her sixteen years being told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. When Blue meets Gansey's spirit on the corpse road she knows there is only one reason why - either he is her true love or she has killed him. Determined to find out the truth, Blue becomes involved with the Raven Boys, four boys from the local private school (lead by Gansey) who are on a quest to discover Glendower - a lost ancient Welsh King who is buried somewhere along the Virginia ley line. Whoever finds him will be granted a supernatural favour. Never before has Blue felt such magic around her. But is Gansey her true love? She can't imagine a time she would feel like that, and she is adamant not to be the reason for his death. Where will fate lead them
The Raven Boys
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Jen @ Reading Lark
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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4.5 stars
There's something about a book by Maggie Stiefvater... like dark chocolate, I don't need a lot of it to find myself deeply satisfied. Her writing is really a cut above, and I simply can't blast through one of her books in a day in the same way as I can't eat a whole bar of dark chocolate in one go. I like to put it down, wander off, have a think and then come back later. Every book by Maggie seems to get better and better too, and The Raven Boys is no exception to this rule.
I particularly liked The Raven Boys because this was the first time Maggie has written in the third person, as the narrator, and she is a brilliant one at that. Anyone who has been to one of her signings will know she tells fabulous stories, and this read out like sitting with her in person listening to her tell the story... at times I felt like I could really hear her as she used some of her simply delicious adjectives.
The book centers around Blue, a young girl who lives with an entire family of psychics. She is used to weird stuff happening, and she takes what they say seriously. So when she was told that she would kill her true love when she kisses him, she made a vow not to kiss any boy, just in case. I felt pretty sorry for her about this, because there were several boys distinctly worth kissing in this book! Blue falls in with a friendship group from the nearby private school, Aglionby. She has pretty much hated the Aglionby boys her whole life, but Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah are a little bit different than the usual suspects who wear the school raven covered crest. These particular raven boys are treasure hunters, who seek a mystical line of power which supposedly runs through her town.
Blue is able to help them on their quest using a special power of her own, and she finds it exciting to spend time with the boys. She is drawn to them because she can see the real people when the Aglionby masks slip. In their quest to uncover the ley line they discover some weird stuff and it all gets a little spooky! I particularly loved the inclusion of all the ravens... they are great birds, and Ronan's pet raven was too cute.
As far as the raven boys go, I thought they were interesting and slightly mysterious characters. Gansey is the lynch pin of the group and they all orbit around him; he is the obsessive ley line hunter, and the others are along for the ride. Speaking of rides, his orange Camaro was something that made me smile a lot. I know Maggie has one, and I pictured hers... her love for it certainly came across loud & clear! Ronan is a boy with serious issues, and there isn't a lot to like about him... yet. I think he will come into his own in the future; he is the sort of boy that you might instantly dismiss as a tool, but there are chinks in his armour, and he may yet turn out to be my favorite. Adam has a complete inability to accept how awful his home life is, and he won't let his friends help him due to an inferiority complex which at times was a little irritating. That said, he is a total sweetheart. Noah... well, he was kind of a lurker, but a nice one.
I really did enjoy this, and I thought there was a fabulous moment where they all discover a real humdinger of a plot twist. I didn't give this five stars because I didn't laugh or cry, and there was no kissing to suck me in... Blue didn't feel like risking any lives this time. But as The Raven Boys is written as part of The Raven Cycle series, I feel sure there will be some point when I do all of those things and I give a five star rating out. I loved this and I can't wait for the next instalment in the adventure!
There's something about a book by Maggie Stiefvater... like dark chocolate, I don't need a lot of it to find myself deeply satisfied. Her writing is really a cut above, and I simply can't blast through one of her books in a day in the same way as I can't eat a whole bar of dark chocolate in one go. I like to put it down, wander off, have a think and then come back later. Every book by Maggie seems to get better and better too, and The Raven Boys is no exception to this rule.
I particularly liked The Raven Boys because this was the first time Maggie has written in the third person, as the narrator, and she is a brilliant one at that. Anyone who has been to one of her signings will know she tells fabulous stories, and this read out like sitting with her in person listening to her tell the story... at times I felt like I could really hear her as she used some of her simply delicious adjectives.
The book centers around Blue, a young girl who lives with an entire family of psychics. She is used to weird stuff happening, and she takes what they say seriously. So when she was told that she would kill her true love when she kisses him, she made a vow not to kiss any boy, just in case. I felt pretty sorry for her about this, because there were several boys distinctly worth kissing in this book! Blue falls in with a friendship group from the nearby private school, Aglionby. She has pretty much hated the Aglionby boys her whole life, but Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah are a little bit different than the usual suspects who wear the school raven covered crest. These particular raven boys are treasure hunters, who seek a mystical line of power which supposedly runs through her town.
Blue is able to help them on their quest using a special power of her own, and she finds it exciting to spend time with the boys. She is drawn to them because she can see the real people when the Aglionby masks slip. In their quest to uncover the ley line they discover some weird stuff and it all gets a little spooky! I particularly loved the inclusion of all the ravens... they are great birds, and Ronan's pet raven was too cute.
As far as the raven boys go, I thought they were interesting and slightly mysterious characters. Gansey is the lynch pin of the group and they all orbit around him; he is the obsessive ley line hunter, and the others are along for the ride. Speaking of rides, his orange Camaro was something that made me smile a lot. I know Maggie has one, and I pictured hers... her love for it certainly came across loud & clear! Ronan is a boy with serious issues, and there isn't a lot to like about him... yet. I think he will come into his own in the future; he is the sort of boy that you might instantly dismiss as a tool, but there are chinks in his armour, and he may yet turn out to be my favorite. Adam has a complete inability to accept how awful his home life is, and he won't let his friends help him due to an inferiority complex which at times was a little irritating. That said, he is a total sweetheart. Noah... well, he was kind of a lurker, but a nice one.
I really did enjoy this, and I thought there was a fabulous moment where they all discover a real humdinger of a plot twist. I didn't give this five stars because I didn't laugh or cry, and there was no kissing to suck me in... Blue didn't feel like risking any lives this time. But as The Raven Boys is written as part of The Raven Cycle series, I feel sure there will be some point when I do all of those things and I give a five star rating out. I loved this and I can't wait for the next instalment in the adventure!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Pangela
Format:Paperback
This is probably one of the most perfect books I have ever read. I don't do reviews, but just have to with this one.
I have loved Maggies writing since the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. Something about the way she writes just speaks to you, right inside. I think Raven Boys however, is better than her previous work. I have a tendancy sometimes to read through books too quickly, and not linger as I should. I found I could not do this with Raven Boys. I had to read slowly and deliberately to fully appreciate all that was going on, and didn't feel I had to be rushed in anyway. Like one of the reviewers above me, I like to read and then think a little on this, and I am strangely content to do so with this book.
The book is full of plot lines to thrill, emotions, layer upon layer, and subtle layers at that. The characters are real, people you could imagine meeting and talking with. The twists in the plot, well, I thought I had been quite clever on a couple of occasions, coming to the right conclusion before it was revealed, but then the main twists hit and I realised I wasn't as clever as I thought :)
The book is oddly self contained, although it is obviously part of longer series. I am looking forward to the rest, but don't feel I have been left hanging in a way that has spoilt my enjoyment of this book.
If you love Maggie, read this. If you have never read her stuff, start here. If you want a quick, round the pool in a day read, don't pick this. Leave it until you have time to do it justice, you won't be disappointed.
I have loved Maggies writing since the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. Something about the way she writes just speaks to you, right inside. I think Raven Boys however, is better than her previous work. I have a tendancy sometimes to read through books too quickly, and not linger as I should. I found I could not do this with Raven Boys. I had to read slowly and deliberately to fully appreciate all that was going on, and didn't feel I had to be rushed in anyway. Like one of the reviewers above me, I like to read and then think a little on this, and I am strangely content to do so with this book.
The book is full of plot lines to thrill, emotions, layer upon layer, and subtle layers at that. The characters are real, people you could imagine meeting and talking with. The twists in the plot, well, I thought I had been quite clever on a couple of occasions, coming to the right conclusion before it was revealed, but then the main twists hit and I realised I wasn't as clever as I thought :)
The book is oddly self contained, although it is obviously part of longer series. I am looking forward to the rest, but don't feel I have been left hanging in a way that has spoilt my enjoyment of this book.
If you love Maggie, read this. If you have never read her stuff, start here. If you want a quick, round the pool in a day read, don't pick this. Leave it until you have time to do it justice, you won't be disappointed.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Doha
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I want to say The Raven Boys is a puzzle, but that's not quite right. It's more...like a tapestry. It doesn't make sense at first - just a loosely-connected collection of glittering vignettes. You go along with it because by now, you trust her. Maggie. You know it'll be worth it. You know she'll take care of you. You keep reading. And again, she tells you she's telling you a story about one thing, but in fact the story she tells is much bigger - a story about EVERYTHING. A story that needs an omniscient third person narrative - different to Maggie's previous books.
If you want to know what the book's about, you can read the synopsis: ever since Blue was a kid, she's been told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. On St Mark's Eve, as the soon-to-be-dead walk the corpse road, when she's not meant to be able to see anyone, Blue sees Gansey - either because he is her true love, or she will kill him. But the synopsis won't tell you what the book is ABOUT. I can tell you it's about Blue, the only non-psychic in a family full of psychics, or about Gansey, scholarly, distracted, rich, and obsessed with finding the vanished king Glendower. But that doesn't tell you the half of it. That tells you nothing about Adam, carving his way out of a dead-end of a life, or surly and unpleasant Ronan, or shadowy and quiet Noah. It tells you nothing about the bond between these four friends, and their attachment and loyalty to Gansey, or his to them. It tells you nothing about the intricacy of magic and legends woven into the fabric of the story, or the painful immediacy of lives without magic. And it tells you nothing of the artistry with which Maggie's storytelling is executed. Even when you think you know what's coming, you *don't*. Jaw-dropping happened.
Oh Maggie, even though I'm getting the feeling you're about to break my heart, you still make me titter out loud in the middle of the night.
At 3 am, I put the book down, only chapters from the end. You see by then I *knew* Maggie would break my heart, and so I wanted her to do it slowly and while I was fully awake to appreciate it. I wanted to watch the trailer another time or twelve. I stuck on 1.02 at the trailer and felt like that image summed up everything important about The Raven Boys.
I love love LOVE the earnestness of the friendship: the complexity and contrasts of the Aglionby boys, the way that parts of them seem to mismatch but somehow that becomes a symbiotic whole. I like Blue, who is both like Puck and not like Puck, like Isabel and not like Isabel: she's not as desperate and vulnerable as Puck, and she's not as damaged and driven as Isabel. She's a puzzle to herself, and she's tough and smart and not generic (which she's be pleased about, since she works so hard at eccentricity, to the point of artform and coolness).
Also, I love the...togetherness of Blue's family. Maggie's definitely not a preacher - if you've read any of her books, you know they're not full of exemplary parents/adults. But Blue's family leaves you with a warm sense of exactly what family ought to be: trust and love, care and service. And I love the way there is a drawing together of older and younger generations, an intertwining story that rejects the 'adults are useless' and 'only kids can save the world' tropes. Everyone needs everyone - perhaps I'm feeling it more because of my time of life, being caught somewhere between fully adult and sympathy for one's younger selves. We need it to be true, for there to be a middle ground where mother and daughter exist equally and wholly in each other's worlds.
And then I finished.
So sad. In that kind of aching, sharp-edged, dry-eyed way that Maggie is so good at inducing. But also, it ended on a good note, without that awful sense of incompletion. Maggie is good to her readers, not all self-indulgent at her book's expense - she's a reader, she understands. She wraps up with a kind of surgical precision: neither overdone and written into a corner, nor a frustrating confusion of loose ends. She knows we have to wait for a year(/three) for the next one(/three), and I can do so now with some equanimity.
I love this book without reserve. I want to talk about so much more (especially how fascinated I am by Gansey and his layers), but then this review will be endlessly long and impossible to read. Of course it's not perfect, but I think it comes pretty damn close. I stopped so many times - my book is bristling with post-its - to go back over a sentence, a few words, reading and rereading, to savour the way they were put together, appreciating the deliberation with which every word was chosen and arranged. But the best compliment you can really give Maggie about her book is this: when you've turned the last page, and breathed out your final sigh...you flip back to the beginning and start again.
If you want to know what the book's about, you can read the synopsis: ever since Blue was a kid, she's been told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. On St Mark's Eve, as the soon-to-be-dead walk the corpse road, when she's not meant to be able to see anyone, Blue sees Gansey - either because he is her true love, or she will kill him. But the synopsis won't tell you what the book is ABOUT. I can tell you it's about Blue, the only non-psychic in a family full of psychics, or about Gansey, scholarly, distracted, rich, and obsessed with finding the vanished king Glendower. But that doesn't tell you the half of it. That tells you nothing about Adam, carving his way out of a dead-end of a life, or surly and unpleasant Ronan, or shadowy and quiet Noah. It tells you nothing about the bond between these four friends, and their attachment and loyalty to Gansey, or his to them. It tells you nothing about the intricacy of magic and legends woven into the fabric of the story, or the painful immediacy of lives without magic. And it tells you nothing of the artistry with which Maggie's storytelling is executed. Even when you think you know what's coming, you *don't*. Jaw-dropping happened.
Oh Maggie, even though I'm getting the feeling you're about to break my heart, you still make me titter out loud in the middle of the night.
At 3 am, I put the book down, only chapters from the end. You see by then I *knew* Maggie would break my heart, and so I wanted her to do it slowly and while I was fully awake to appreciate it. I wanted to watch the trailer another time or twelve. I stuck on 1.02 at the trailer and felt like that image summed up everything important about The Raven Boys.
I love love LOVE the earnestness of the friendship: the complexity and contrasts of the Aglionby boys, the way that parts of them seem to mismatch but somehow that becomes a symbiotic whole. I like Blue, who is both like Puck and not like Puck, like Isabel and not like Isabel: she's not as desperate and vulnerable as Puck, and she's not as damaged and driven as Isabel. She's a puzzle to herself, and she's tough and smart and not generic (which she's be pleased about, since she works so hard at eccentricity, to the point of artform and coolness).
Also, I love the...togetherness of Blue's family. Maggie's definitely not a preacher - if you've read any of her books, you know they're not full of exemplary parents/adults. But Blue's family leaves you with a warm sense of exactly what family ought to be: trust and love, care and service. And I love the way there is a drawing together of older and younger generations, an intertwining story that rejects the 'adults are useless' and 'only kids can save the world' tropes. Everyone needs everyone - perhaps I'm feeling it more because of my time of life, being caught somewhere between fully adult and sympathy for one's younger selves. We need it to be true, for there to be a middle ground where mother and daughter exist equally and wholly in each other's worlds.
And then I finished.
So sad. In that kind of aching, sharp-edged, dry-eyed way that Maggie is so good at inducing. But also, it ended on a good note, without that awful sense of incompletion. Maggie is good to her readers, not all self-indulgent at her book's expense - she's a reader, she understands. She wraps up with a kind of surgical precision: neither overdone and written into a corner, nor a frustrating confusion of loose ends. She knows we have to wait for a year(/three) for the next one(/three), and I can do so now with some equanimity.
I love this book without reserve. I want to talk about so much more (especially how fascinated I am by Gansey and his layers), but then this review will be endlessly long and impossible to read. Of course it's not perfect, but I think it comes pretty damn close. I stopped so many times - my book is bristling with post-its - to go back over a sentence, a few words, reading and rereading, to savour the way they were put together, appreciating the deliberation with which every word was chosen and arranged. But the best compliment you can really give Maggie about her book is this: when you've turned the last page, and breathed out your final sigh...you flip back to the beginning and start again.
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than expected
Took awhile to get into but after that I couldn't put it down. I blame that on Maggie's writing style, it's very descriptive which isn't bad but at the beginning I found myself... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Hendy 123
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible
It's funny, sinister and heart breaking and I genuinely feel lost now that my time in their world is over. Read more
Published 1 month ago by RoseyLemonDrops
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amazing start!
I really think you shouldn't hesitate to buy this book if you want something different than the usual girl meets boy who happens to be a vampire or the likes. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ell
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as hoped
Maggie Stiefvater has written the famous book 'shiver' and 'Linger' so I thought this book was a safe bet on the book being easy to get into the story and dramatic, although... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Thinker
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing
I very much enjoyed this book.
It borrows very heavily from Welsh legend, not entirely sure how the welsh would find their beloved Owain Glyndwr portrayed as Arthur... Read more
It borrows very heavily from Welsh legend, not entirely sure how the welsh would find their beloved Owain Glyndwr portrayed as Arthur... Read more
Published 1 month ago by R.J.K.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptional writing
In a market overflowing with badly written YA fiction, it was so nice to read one that had substance. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Miss Coads
2.0 out of 5 stars
too slow
From the synopsis I expected more from this book. To be honest I found it an irritating read so full of unnecessary chit chat. I expected more magic & was disappointed. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Miss Denny S. Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly Brilliant
I'd never read Stiefvater's books before, and decided to see if this one was suitable for our school library. As a primary school librarian I can safely say it is not. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Raven Boys
What can I say? Maggie Stiefvater sure knows how to combine plot and characters to produce a truly atmospheric novel. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rosie McCaffrey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
I hope there's a second book, it was fantastic!!!!! I love the story and the way it's written, and her style of writing paints a clear picture in my mind.
Published 2 months ago by BookLover1000
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