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Though she is from a family of clairvoyants, Blue Sargent's only gift seems to be that she makes other people's talents stronger, and when she meets Gansey, one of the Raven Boys from the expensive Aglionby Academy, she discovers that he has talents of his own--and that together their talents are a dangerous mix.Tags
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humouress College kids in America involved with a king who will come again from British myths.
Member Reviews
I didn’t expect to like this. I don’t know: the title, the cover, ravens, boys… But a small part of me knew I was being silly, because it was a book by Maggie Stiefvater, after all. So I husbanded it until I had read a string of not-so-good books and needed a really good one to restore my faith in the act of reading for enjoyment. Needless to say I was not disappointed.
Blue Sargent is 16 and she has never kissed a boy. It’s not that she hasn’t thought about it, but there are a couple of barriers. She comes from a rather poor, eccentric, rural matriarchal Virginia family of psychics, all of whom are convinced that if Blue kisses her first love, he will die. Furthermore, most of the eligible boys are from the elite Aglionby show more Academy. As Blue describes it:
"’It’s an all-boys school. For politicians’ sons and oil barons’ sons and for’ – Blue struggled to think of who else might be rich enough to send their kids to Aglionby – ‘the sons of mistresses living off hush money.’”
Blue doesn’t like these boys, who drive around town in their fancy cars wearing the Aglionby raven emblem like “an advancing army”:”
"They think they’re better than us and that we’re all falling all over ourselves for them….”
The townies call them Raven Boys. Well, part of this plot arc is easy to discern. Blue gets involved with some Raven Boys and comes to see them as friends and possibly more.
But this is not just a coming of age/love story. The Raven Boys, led by Dick Gansey (called Gansey by his friends), are trying to find the remains of Owen Glendower, a medieval Welsh noble who disappeared from Wales after fighting the English for Welsh freedom.
Gansey has come to believe Glendower’s body was brought to this area of Henrietta, Virginia which is rich in “ley lines” or trackways emitting a special psychic or mystical energy.
Blue is well aware of the ley lines in the area, thanks to the supernatural talents of her family. Blue herself does not display their sense of “vision,” but on the other hand, her presence seems to enhance the skills of the others, so they include her in their readings and other spiritual activities. As she explains to Gansey, “I guess I make things that need energy stronger. I’m like the walking battery.” Gansey has a better analogy:
"’You’re the table everyone wants at Starbucks, Gansey mused … Next to the wall plug.”
Blue is unable to resist joining up with Gansey and his friends in their quest to find Glendower. Legend holds that:
"The king sleeps still, under a mountain… Fortunate is the soul who finds the king and is brave enough to call him to wakefulness, for the king will grant him a favor, as wondrous as can be imagined by a mortal man.”
But Gansey and his friends aren’t the only ones drawn to this area in the hunt for Glenower. And not all of those on the quest are benevolent.
Discussion: The answer to why Maggie Stiefvater writes such cute and endearing and appealing books is because she is that way. There’s just no two ways about it! I follow her blog, and she is irresistibly charming and funny and talented, and so are her books, even if they have titles like “The Raven Boys” which makes you think you will in no way like this one even though you’ve LOVED every other one by her. What a non-surprise then for me to find that I loved this book as well!
Evaluation: I didn’t expect the magical elements in this story, although this is not a new departure for Stiefvater. Perhaps a bigger surprise was that the “villain” was a bit cardboardy. I did adore the other characters though. In conclusion, so far I don’t love, LOVE it like I did The Scorpio Races or the "Shiver Trilogy", but I definitely won’t be able to resist the next installment of this planned four-volume series! show less
Blue Sargent is 16 and she has never kissed a boy. It’s not that she hasn’t thought about it, but there are a couple of barriers. She comes from a rather poor, eccentric, rural matriarchal Virginia family of psychics, all of whom are convinced that if Blue kisses her first love, he will die. Furthermore, most of the eligible boys are from the elite Aglionby show more Academy. As Blue describes it:
"’It’s an all-boys school. For politicians’ sons and oil barons’ sons and for’ – Blue struggled to think of who else might be rich enough to send their kids to Aglionby – ‘the sons of mistresses living off hush money.’”
Blue doesn’t like these boys, who drive around town in their fancy cars wearing the Aglionby raven emblem like “an advancing army”:”
"They think they’re better than us and that we’re all falling all over ourselves for them….”
The townies call them Raven Boys. Well, part of this plot arc is easy to discern. Blue gets involved with some Raven Boys and comes to see them as friends and possibly more.
But this is not just a coming of age/love story. The Raven Boys, led by Dick Gansey (called Gansey by his friends), are trying to find the remains of Owen Glendower, a medieval Welsh noble who disappeared from Wales after fighting the English for Welsh freedom.
Gansey has come to believe Glendower’s body was brought to this area of Henrietta, Virginia which is rich in “ley lines” or trackways emitting a special psychic or mystical energy.
Blue is well aware of the ley lines in the area, thanks to the supernatural talents of her family. Blue herself does not display their sense of “vision,” but on the other hand, her presence seems to enhance the skills of the others, so they include her in their readings and other spiritual activities. As she explains to Gansey, “I guess I make things that need energy stronger. I’m like the walking battery.” Gansey has a better analogy:
"’You’re the table everyone wants at Starbucks, Gansey mused … Next to the wall plug.”
Blue is unable to resist joining up with Gansey and his friends in their quest to find Glendower. Legend holds that:
"The king sleeps still, under a mountain… Fortunate is the soul who finds the king and is brave enough to call him to wakefulness, for the king will grant him a favor, as wondrous as can be imagined by a mortal man.”
But Gansey and his friends aren’t the only ones drawn to this area in the hunt for Glenower. And not all of those on the quest are benevolent.
Discussion: The answer to why Maggie Stiefvater writes such cute and endearing and appealing books is because she is that way. There’s just no two ways about it! I follow her blog, and she is irresistibly charming and funny and talented, and so are her books, even if they have titles like “The Raven Boys” which makes you think you will in no way like this one even though you’ve LOVED every other one by her. What a non-surprise then for me to find that I loved this book as well!
Evaluation: I didn’t expect the magical elements in this story, although this is not a new departure for Stiefvater. Perhaps a bigger surprise was that the “villain” was a bit cardboardy. I did adore the other characters though. In conclusion, so far I don’t love, LOVE it like I did The Scorpio Races or the "Shiver Trilogy", but I definitely won’t be able to resist the next installment of this planned four-volume series! show less
I had a writing teacher once, whose advice for beginning authors was to collect little universal truths from our daily lives and intersperse it into even the most dramatic fantasy setting imaginable. He insisted that explaining how trees worked or what Great Aunt Sally did with her eyeglasses would give our story the impact and believability necessary for a great work of fiction.
I never entirely bought that until this book. It is full of tiny, extraordinary truths, often hilarious, and it comes together to create five incredibly powerful, well-characterized people who in turn put together a phenomenal story about family, privilege, going your own way, and unearthing extraordinary magical phenomena that tie into their daily lives in the show more most extraordinary way.
I don't think I've ever read a book where I formed such strong emotional attachments to more than one or two characters, the rest left firmly in the background. Not so with Raven Boys. Even the background characters are enjoyable, while the title boys and the stubbornly independent Blue became real people that I cared about very much. Not a single one of them is anywhere near perfect, and you could write stand-alone works of fiction about each of them (which is what I hope Ms. Stiefvater intends to do).
Furthermore, the plot was excellent. Not exactly the pinnacle of ingenuity, but more than compelling even if the characters had been flat. Numerous loose ends were tied together in a creative, interesting way. All aspects of the plot found ways to be important and while some were predictable (Blue's father, Neeve being a creeper, the basic plotline of Quest to Magical Point A and watch a villain epically screw things up, The Other Boy and splendiferous true love), others were complete, story-changing shocks (and not to spoil anything, but Noah! Omigosh, NOAH!). Honestly, the worst part about this book for me is and will remain the way it ends up being summarized, that makes it sound like painfully emotionless YA romance #35.
It is not. It is a secret agent in disguise, and positively lovely in every way possible. I have already gotten my claws on the sequel and intend to cling heartily.
This is a book to read if you like falling unexpectedly in love with brilliant characters, if you prefer uniqueness that is at once believable and a little tragic, and if you need reminding of how a good plot twist works. Also if you want to observe emotionally vindicating scenes, like Misters Whelk and Parrish getting their just desserts in a cathartic way. Plus the book is funny. Did I mention that? Primarily it is an adventure drama, but it manages to be humorous as well, and honest, and basically amazing and everyone should read this and begin to believe in magic just a little more. show less
I never entirely bought that until this book. It is full of tiny, extraordinary truths, often hilarious, and it comes together to create five incredibly powerful, well-characterized people who in turn put together a phenomenal story about family, privilege, going your own way, and unearthing extraordinary magical phenomena that tie into their daily lives in the show more most extraordinary way.
I don't think I've ever read a book where I formed such strong emotional attachments to more than one or two characters, the rest left firmly in the background. Not so with Raven Boys. Even the background characters are enjoyable, while the title boys and the stubbornly independent Blue became real people that I cared about very much. Not a single one of them is anywhere near perfect, and you could write stand-alone works of fiction about each of them (which is what I hope Ms. Stiefvater intends to do).
Furthermore, the plot was excellent. Not exactly the pinnacle of ingenuity, but more than compelling even if the characters had been flat. Numerous loose ends were tied together in a creative, interesting way. All aspects of the plot found ways to be important and while some were predictable (Blue's father, Neeve being a creeper, the basic plotline of Quest to Magical Point A and watch a villain epically screw things up, The Other Boy and splendiferous true love), others were complete, story-changing shocks (and not to spoil anything, but Noah! Omigosh, NOAH!). Honestly, the worst part about this book for me is and will remain the way it ends up being summarized, that makes it sound like painfully emotionless YA romance #35.
It is not. It is a secret agent in disguise, and positively lovely in every way possible. I have already gotten my claws on the sequel and intend to cling heartily.
This is a book to read if you like falling unexpectedly in love with brilliant characters, if you prefer uniqueness that is at once believable and a little tragic, and if you need reminding of how a good plot twist works. Also if you want to observe emotionally vindicating scenes, like Misters Whelk and Parrish getting their just desserts in a cathartic way. Plus the book is funny. Did I mention that? Primarily it is an adventure drama, but it manages to be humorous as well, and honest, and basically amazing and everyone should read this and begin to believe in magic just a little more. show less
(First of 4:The Raven Cycle Urban fantasy, paranormal)
I borrowed this book from the library on the enthusiastic recommendations of several LTers and it took me a long time to finish it because I kept it as my book to read while waiting for my kids to finish classes. I never considered abandoning it, though, because the story engaged me; in fact I started it twice more from the beginning because the details were becoming disjointed between the times I was able to give to reading it. This time I was determined to finish it and once I got further into the book, it was one of those that I wanted to know what came next so I made time to read it.
And before I’d even finished it, I went out and bought the whole series for my own shelves.
The show more story begins with Blue Sargent who has grown up in a family of psychic women (her mother Maura and various aunts and cousins) in Henrietta, a not so well off town in Virginia which happens to have Aglionby, a private school for the sons of very rich people, whose emblem (for reasons unknown) is a raven. Thus ‘raven boys’. Blue has grown up with the 'them and us' attitude resulting from this social divide.
When we are introduced to Blue, we immediately learn that various members of her family have prophesied that her true love will die if she ever kisses him. We also learn that Blue herself has no psychic abilities although, unusually, she amplifies the powers of those around her.
Ravens are known as creatures of omen and prophecy and are associated with the Welsh god Bran.
The four 'raven boys' we are concerned with are Gansey (Richard Gansey III), Ronan, Noah and Adam (who is actually a local Henrietta boy at Aglionby on partial scholarship; he is conscious of the difference in status even if no one else is). They are bound together and driven by Gansey's need to find Owen Glendower; most of them live in an abandoned factory called Monmouth Manufacturing which Gansey has bought. (Monmouthshire is a Welsh county on the English border; thus the link back to the legend.)
Owain Glyndwr was the last Welsh prince of Wales. He led a rebellion, beginning in 1400, against Henry IV and later Henry V to gain Wales's independence from England. When it was quashed, Glyndwr disappeared and the myth grew up that he (like Arthur) was a hero in waiting; not dead, but waiting for the call from his countrymen to return in time of need.
According to Gansey's research, Glendower's body was spirited away to the west - which could mean all the way to America, probably Henrietta. To the person who finds him, he will grant a wish. And Gansey needs that wish; but there are others on the trail who want to find Glendower and claim the wish.
Despite their social differences and Blue's dislike of raven boys, in a town the size of Henrietta their paths eventually cross and she is intrigued enough to join them on their quest.
I like the way Stiefvater writes; the pacing is good, her characters are engaging, she doesn't talk down to you and you want to follow the quest with Blue and her raven boys. I like the touches of humour
Gansey had once told Adam that he was afraid most people didn’t know how to handle Ronan. What he meant by this was that he was worried that one day someone would fall on Ronan and cut themselves.
and the way that, although there are touches of paranormal, suddenly and unexpectedly - you're right in the middle of it. The characters have real world problems and rich kid problems and teenage problems; as an adult I can be amused that some of these don't matter while appreciating that, to a teenager, they all matter in a life-changing way. In spite of the myth they are chasing, the characters are real.
And then there's the mystery of Blue's father.
Captivating. Well worth the read.
4.5 stars***** show less
I borrowed this book from the library on the enthusiastic recommendations of several LTers and it took me a long time to finish it because I kept it as my book to read while waiting for my kids to finish classes. I never considered abandoning it, though, because the story engaged me; in fact I started it twice more from the beginning because the details were becoming disjointed between the times I was able to give to reading it. This time I was determined to finish it and once I got further into the book, it was one of those that I wanted to know what came next so I made time to read it.
And before I’d even finished it, I went out and bought the whole series for my own shelves.
The show more story begins with Blue Sargent who has grown up in a family of psychic women (her mother Maura and various aunts and cousins) in Henrietta, a not so well off town in Virginia which happens to have Aglionby, a private school for the sons of very rich people, whose emblem (for reasons unknown) is a raven. Thus ‘raven boys’. Blue has grown up with the 'them and us' attitude resulting from this social divide.
When we are introduced to Blue, we immediately learn that various members of her family have prophesied that her true love will die if she ever kisses him. We also learn that Blue herself has no psychic abilities although, unusually, she amplifies the powers of those around her.
Ravens are known as creatures of omen and prophecy and are associated with the Welsh god Bran.
The four 'raven boys' we are concerned with are Gansey (Richard Gansey III), Ronan, Noah and Adam (who is actually a local Henrietta boy at Aglionby on partial scholarship; he is conscious of the difference in status even if no one else is). They are bound together and driven by Gansey's need to find Owen Glendower; most of them live in an abandoned factory called Monmouth Manufacturing which Gansey has bought. (Monmouthshire is a Welsh county on the English border; thus the link back to the legend.)
Owain Glyndwr was the last Welsh prince of Wales. He led a rebellion, beginning in 1400, against Henry IV and later Henry V to gain Wales's independence from England. When it was quashed, Glyndwr disappeared and the myth grew up that he (like Arthur) was a hero in waiting; not dead, but waiting for the call from his countrymen to return in time of need.
According to Gansey's research, Glendower's body was spirited away to the west - which could mean all the way to America, probably Henrietta. To the person who finds him, he will grant a wish. And Gansey needs that wish; but there are others on the trail who want to find Glendower and claim the wish.
Despite their social differences and Blue's dislike of raven boys, in a town the size of Henrietta their paths eventually cross and she is intrigued enough to join them on their quest.
I like the way Stiefvater writes; the pacing is good, her characters are engaging, she doesn't talk down to you and you want to follow the quest with Blue and her raven boys. I like the touches of humour
Gansey had once told Adam that he was afraid most people didn’t know how to handle Ronan. What he meant by this was that he was worried that one day someone would fall on Ronan and cut themselves.
and the way that, although there are touches of paranormal, suddenly and unexpectedly - you're right in the middle of it. The characters have real world problems and rich kid problems and teenage problems; as an adult I can be amused that some of these don't matter while appreciating that, to a teenager, they all matter in a life-changing way. In spite of the myth they are chasing, the characters are real.
And then there's the mystery of Blue's father.
Captivating. Well worth the read.
4.5 stars***** show less
(First of 4:The Raven Cycle Urban fantasy, paranormal)
I borrowed this book from the library on the enthusiastic recommendations of several LTers and it took me a long time to finish it because I kept it as my book to read while waiting for my kids to finish classes. I never considered abandoning it, though, because the story engaged me; in fact I started it twice more from the beginning because the details were becoming disjointed between the times I was able to give to reading it. This time I was determined to finish it and once I got further into the book, it was one of those that I wanted to know what came next so I made time to read it.
And before I’d even finished it, I went out and bought the whole series for my own shelves.
The show more story begins with Blue Sargent who has grown up in a family of psychic women (her mother Maura and various aunts and cousins) in Henrietta, a not so well off town in Virginia which happens to have Aglionby, a private school for the sons of very rich people, whose emblem (for reasons unknown) is a raven. Thus ‘raven boys’. Blue has grown up with the 'them and us' attitude resulting from this social divide.
When we are introduced to Blue, we immediately learn that various members of her family have prophesied that her true love will die if she ever kisses him. We also learn that Blue herself has no psychic abilities although, unusually, she amplifies the powers of those around her.
Ravens are known as creatures of omen and prophecy and are associated with the Welsh god Bran.
The four 'raven boys' we are concerned with are Gansey (Richard Gansey III), Ronan, Noah and Adam (who is actually a local Henrietta boy at Aglionby on partial scholarship; he is conscious of the difference in status even if no one else is). They are bound together and driven by Gansey's need to find Owen Glendower; most of them live in an abandoned factory called Monmouth Manufacturing which Gansey has bought. (Monmouthshire is a Welsh county on the English border.)
Owain Glyndwr was the last Welsh prince of Wales. He led a rebellion, beginning in 1400, against Henry IV and later Henry V to gain Wales's independence from England. When it was quashed, Glyndwr disappeared and the myth grew up that he (like Arthur) was a hero in waiting; not dead, but waiting for the call from his countrymen to return in time of need.
According to Gansey's research, Glendower's body was spirited away to the west - which could mean all the way to America, probably Henrietta. To the person who finds him, he will grant a wish. And Gansey needs that wish; but there are others on the trail who want to find Glendower and claim the wish.
Despite their social differences and Blue's dislike of raven boys, in a town the size of Henrietta their paths eventually cross and she is intrigued enough to join them on their quest.
I like the way Stiefvater writes; the pacing is good, her characters are engaging, she doesn't talk down to you and you want to follow the quest with Blue and her raven boys. I like the touches of humour
Gansey had once told Adam that he was afraid most people didn’t know how to handle Ronan. What he meant by this was that he was worried that one day someone would fall on Ronan and cut themselves.
and the way that, although there are touches of paranormal, suddenly and unexpectedly - you're right in the middle of it. The characters have real world problems and rich kid problems and teenage problems; as an adult I can be amused that some of these don't matter while appreciating that, to a teenager, they all matter in a life-changing way. In spite of the myth they are chasing, the characters are real.
And then there's the mystery of Blue's father.
Captivating. Well worth the read.
4.5 stars***** show less
I borrowed this book from the library on the enthusiastic recommendations of several LTers and it took me a long time to finish it because I kept it as my book to read while waiting for my kids to finish classes. I never considered abandoning it, though, because the story engaged me; in fact I started it twice more from the beginning because the details were becoming disjointed between the times I was able to give to reading it. This time I was determined to finish it and once I got further into the book, it was one of those that I wanted to know what came next so I made time to read it.
And before I’d even finished it, I went out and bought the whole series for my own shelves.
The show more story begins with Blue Sargent who has grown up in a family of psychic women (her mother Maura and various aunts and cousins) in Henrietta, a not so well off town in Virginia which happens to have Aglionby, a private school for the sons of very rich people, whose emblem (for reasons unknown) is a raven. Thus ‘raven boys’. Blue has grown up with the 'them and us' attitude resulting from this social divide.
When we are introduced to Blue, we immediately learn that various members of her family have prophesied that her true love will die if she ever kisses him. We also learn that Blue herself has no psychic abilities although, unusually, she amplifies the powers of those around her.
Ravens are known as creatures of omen and prophecy and are associated with the Welsh god Bran.
The four 'raven boys' we are concerned with are Gansey (Richard Gansey III), Ronan, Noah and Adam (who is actually a local Henrietta boy at Aglionby on partial scholarship; he is conscious of the difference in status even if no one else is). They are bound together and driven by Gansey's need to find Owen Glendower; most of them live in an abandoned factory called Monmouth Manufacturing which Gansey has bought. (Monmouthshire is a Welsh county on the English border.)
Owain Glyndwr was the last Welsh prince of Wales. He led a rebellion, beginning in 1400, against Henry IV and later Henry V to gain Wales's independence from England. When it was quashed, Glyndwr disappeared and the myth grew up that he (like Arthur) was a hero in waiting; not dead, but waiting for the call from his countrymen to return in time of need.
According to Gansey's research, Glendower's body was spirited away to the west - which could mean all the way to America, probably Henrietta. To the person who finds him, he will grant a wish. And Gansey needs that wish; but there are others on the trail who want to find Glendower and claim the wish.
Despite their social differences and Blue's dislike of raven boys, in a town the size of Henrietta their paths eventually cross and she is intrigued enough to join them on their quest.
I like the way Stiefvater writes; the pacing is good, her characters are engaging, she doesn't talk down to you and you want to follow the quest with Blue and her raven boys. I like the touches of humour
Gansey had once told Adam that he was afraid most people didn’t know how to handle Ronan. What he meant by this was that he was worried that one day someone would fall on Ronan and cut themselves.
and the way that, although there are touches of paranormal, suddenly and unexpectedly - you're right in the middle of it. The characters have real world problems and rich kid problems and teenage problems; as an adult I can be amused that some of these don't matter while appreciating that, to a teenager, they all matter in a life-changing way. In spite of the myth they are chasing, the characters are real.
And then there's the mystery of Blue's father.
Captivating. Well worth the read.
4.5 stars***** show less
This may not be the most well-written book (like come on, some of the boys' lines were iconically awful but the whole aesthetic was just *chef kiss*. Gansey with his hyper-obsessions and insomnia is so damn appealing to some mentally ill teenagers like me).
I hate Adam's role in the Glyndower plot so much, but shit I want to give him a big hug. And I love that Gansey does too, and Ronan, in their own way. I love Ronan so much man. I used to think it's weird that he and Adam suddenly had a thing but if we really pay attention, Ronan cared for Adam in his very subtle way in the very beginning.
I hate Adam's role in the Glyndower plot so much, but shit I want to give him a big hug. And I love that Gansey does too, and Ronan, in their own way. I love Ronan so much man. I used to think it's weird that he and Adam suddenly had a thing but if we really pay attention, Ronan cared for Adam in his very subtle way in the very beginning.
I was in from the very moment I read the first line....'Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love.' Maggie Stiefvater is a sucker for these lines, I knew from the start I would not put this book down. God damn it I was meant to go out with friends, oh well (kinda thing) and as books go it only gets better as you read!
I want Blue's family as my own. My mum reads tarots amazingly, but a full family under one roof WOW. I love her house, I love the way they are together, basically I love it all.
St Mark's Eve, Church yard, ghosts of the not yet dead. OMG! YES! Blue can see a boy's spirit though she can't see the others.... She asked, "will you tell me your name?"................. "Gansey", show more he said....... "Is that all?" she whispered.
Gansey closed his eyes. "That's all there is."
"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St Mark's Eve, Blue. Either you're his true love," Neeve said, "or you kill him." ..... Maggie you are trying to kill me!! She is going to kill her true love. Death by kiss. What!
Then the boys are introduced. Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Noah. They remind me of stand by me. That kind of innocence but not innocence at the same time. They know what they are doing and nothing is going to stop them. I love the wildness of it all. Boys being boys plan and simple. So cool when someone gets it so spot on.
I know from half way what I want Gansey to be to Blue. Adam with Blue just annoys me. I love Adam but just as who he is.
You find yourself wanting more Ronan and I feel you need more Noah to really love him.
The group love each other and that is brilliant to be a part of, even if you are just reading. GO AND BUY THESE BOOKS RIGHT AWAY!!
None of my friends read. Which make me depressed, I've been dying to tell someone to read The Raven Boy's for agesss..... show less
I want Blue's family as my own. My mum reads tarots amazingly, but a full family under one roof WOW. I love her house, I love the way they are together, basically I love it all.
St Mark's Eve, Church yard, ghosts of the not yet dead. OMG! YES! Blue can see a boy's spirit though she can't see the others.... She asked, "will you tell me your name?"................. "Gansey", show more he said....... "Is that all?" she whispered.
Gansey closed his eyes. "That's all there is."
"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St Mark's Eve, Blue. Either you're his true love," Neeve said, "or you kill him." ..... Maggie you are trying to kill me!! She is going to kill her true love. Death by kiss. What!
Then the boys are introduced. Gansey, Adam, Ronan and Noah. They remind me of stand by me. That kind of innocence but not innocence at the same time. They know what they are doing and nothing is going to stop them. I love the wildness of it all. Boys being boys plan and simple. So cool when someone gets it so spot on.
I know from half way what I want Gansey to be to Blue. Adam with Blue just annoys me. I love Adam but just as who he is.
You find yourself wanting more Ronan and I feel you need more Noah to really love him.
The group love each other and that is brilliant to be a part of, even if you are just reading. GO AND BUY THESE BOOKS RIGHT AWAY!!
None of my friends read. Which make me depressed, I've been dying to tell someone to read The Raven Boy's for agesss..... show less
I was trying to figure out why I didn't write a review the first time I read this book, and I think (having reread it) that it's the overwhelming scope of the story that I can't wrap a review around and do justice to it. There are just so many elements to it -- love and magic, yes (doesn't that make it sound insipid? It's not), but also deep mysteries and earthworks and murders and wonderful friendships between difficult engaging characters. It's Stiefvater at her best, and I think what I love more than all of those things (understand that I love those things very much) is that it is an effortless read -- a perfectly designed slide into another reality, one so close as to be utterly seductive in all its parts. Like Holly Black, she is show more always giving me a story I could never have predicted -- spiky and satisfying and impossible to walk away from.
Also I love that I now want to go see what's real in the mythos: Glendower? Those Peruvian earthworks? I think there's an Uffington horse, but I'd like to see images again....
Also also, Maggie writes the recap for it on Recaptains -- hilarious! show less
Also I love that I now want to go see what's real in the mythos: Glendower? Those Peruvian earthworks? I think there's an Uffington horse, but I'd like to see images again....
Also also, Maggie writes the recap for it on Recaptains -- hilarious! show less
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Author Information
68+ Works 52,590 Members
Maggie Stiefvater is the author of the bestselling Shiver Trilogy (Shiver, Linger and Forever) and The Raven Cycle Series. She is also the author of a book in the Spirit Animals Series (Hunted). Her title Sinner made The New York Times Best Seller List in 2014. Maggie attended Mary Washington College, graduating with a B.A. in history. She is also show more an artist, equestrian, musician, and technical editor. She enjoys writing full time from her home in Virginia. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Raven Boys
- Original title
- The Raven Boys
- Original publication date
- 2012-09-18
- People/Characters
- Blue Sargent; Maura Sargent; Neeve Sargent; Orla Sargent; Jimi Sargent; Richard Gansey III (show all 25); Ronan Niall Lynch; Adam Parrish; Declan Lynch; Noah Czerny; Barrington "Barry" Whelk; Jonah Milo; Cialina; Ashley; Owain Glyndŵr; Dr. Roger Malory; Persephone; Calla; Robert Parrish; Helen Gansey; Mrs. Parrish; Artemus; Chainsaw (Raven); Mr. Pinter; Mrs. Gansey
- Important places
- Virginia, USA; Henrietta, Virginia, USA (incl. Aglionby Academy | 300 Fox Way | 1136 Monmouth | St Agnes Church); Henrietta ley line, Virginia, USA; Cabeswater (incl. Dreaming Tree); Wales; Nino's (pizza parlour) (show all 7); United Kingdom
- Important events
- St Mark's Eve; The Welsh Revolt
- Epigraph
- Deep into that darkness, long I stood
there, wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever
dared to dream before...
~Edgar Allan Poe
A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.
~Oscar Wilde - Dedication
- For Brenna, who is good at looking for things
- First words
- Prologue: Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love.
Chapter 1: It was freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrived. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)“I guess now would be a good time to tell you,” he said. “I took Chainsaw out of my dreams.”
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.6
- Canonical LCC
- PZ7.S855625
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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