Hi Guys,
This week I'm going to review The Raven Boys, the first book in the Raven Cycle series, by Maggie Stiefvater. I received this books a few weeks ago in the mail as you guys know, because of my "In My Mailbox" post. You guys also know I've wanted to read this book for a while due to my "Waiting on Wednesday" post. I was very excited to be able to read the ARC of this book. This is the second ARC I've finished, and I loved it just as much as I loved the first. This book was very original, and so... *I don't have any words to express what else this book was... it was just... ugh! I LOVED IT! Here is the synopsis from the front flap of the book:
“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.
My first expression was obviously good, you can check out my Waiting on Wednesday post for evidence of that. The cover is amazing, I don't like birds, but this bird looks Gothic enough that I looked past what it actually was. I was drawn to the three "feathered" strokes behind "The Raven Boys", and, thankfully, they explain what they mean in the book. I've never read a book like this, I was wrapped up into the world and the characters within the first couple chapters. I loved the plot, the setting, and most of all the characters of this novel. Each of these characters had their own personality, that complemented the other characters perfectly. I was very passionate about the characters I either LOVED them or HATED them... there was no in-between, and I loved that. My favorite character is definitely Gansey, which is strange, because I really wanted to hate him, but I just couldn't. I really wanted to like Adam, but something about him threw me off. Ronan was a great character, he's one of those characters that seems unimportant, but without him, the book would've been pretty boring. Noah was a great character as well, at first he was my least favorite character, but when I found out his "situation" I started to like him more. Blue was a great heroine, she knew what she was getting herself into, but she couldn't keep away from the "Raven Boys". I liked the psychics of this book as well, (with the exception of Neeve) Maura, Persephone, and Calla were great characters, and I feel that they almost reflected the personalities of the "Raven Boys". You can see why I enjoyed the characters so much, there were so many of them, and they are all so different, it's hard not to be drawn to each of them. The five main characters (Blue, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Noah) reminded me of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys at times, which is a good thing. The magic of this book reminded me of the Caster Chronicles combined with Lord of the Rings. The action, however, was like nothing I've ever expected while reading a book, and I loved it, I can't explain what makes it different, but it just is. I loved the roller-coaster ride that this book was, and I also really enjoyed the ending. (WHY DIDN'T YOU LET THEM KNOW SOONER RONAN? I NEED TO KNOW MORE!) I give this book 5/5 stars, I can't think of anything I disliked about this book. One bonus thing about this book, for me at least, is that the book had a TON of Ancient Latin in it, and I was very excited, because it was one time I could use my knowledge of Latin from school to decode the phrases that were in Latin in the book. Finally something in my everyday life that I can use my skills of Latin in *SCORE*! I'm in my 3rd year of Latin now, and I look forward to taking a fourth and fifth. I loved this book, and I look forward to reading the sequel. This book was totally different than Shiver, thankfully. I hope you guys enjoy the picture of Gansey and Blue at the bottom of this post, I know I do! Definitely check out this book when it is released September 18. COME ON BOOK 2!
