(4 1/2 stars) books that actually reshape your brain forever at thirteen ( )

Meh, meh, a resounding meh. I'm giving it two because I don't care enough to give it one.

I don't care about any of the characters, and the plot doesn't have a lot to recommend it---the whole thing is very character-driven and interpersonal. Why does Kavinsky kill himself? It's a real cop-out as far as having to address conflict to advance the plot. Is it because we care about him? (I don't.) Because we care about Ronan caring about him? (I don't.) Is he going to come back from the dead? Probably. Are we being set up for a Ronan/Adam thing? Probably, and that should be a trainwreck and a half. Do they even talk to each other? Have they ever had a conversation longer than a sentence where one deliberately provokes the other? I honestly don't recall.

I like every other character more than I like Gansey, though. His motivations are bullshit. (Rich boy wants something (unspecified) from his quest that money can't buy? IDK.) His personal struggles to be accountable for his class privilege in relationships are uninteresting to me in the absence of a larger political vision motivating it. But at least he's an emotionally mature sensitive teen heartthrob, which is an improvement over most male love interests in YA lit.

The bits I got most engaged in were the tarot bits, and only because of my outside interest---I had fun trying to interpret the cards before turning the page to see how the characters interpreted them.

ETA 4 August 2017:

I think the problem with these books is that I would read the heck out of a version that was centered around Blue and her family, where Blue gets a bigger share of the interests and motivations that are currently allocated to Gansey, and where all the boys are secondary characters and love interests. Blue has a lot more obvious motivation to be interested in the Raven King than Gansey does: she's surrounded by magic but not magical herself, so a magical quest that requires her to do lots of research into myth and history and paranormal science and come up with ways for standard scientific equipment to detect magic would be tempting. It's plausible as "the reason all the other kids at school think I'm a weirdo," which could be a great source of tension---along with, "why do you spend so much time hanging out with the ultra-wealthy assholes from the private school?" and "ugh, Adam, that kid thinks he's too good for us." And Blue investigating the nature of her own curse/fate? Awesome. ( )

Just like the first book, the ending of this one intrigued me enough to want to read the next, so I guess that's a good thing? Overall I think I liked the first book better, but this was still a solid contender in the series. It was nice to learn so much about Ronan and his family and his history and I'm looking forward to seeing where Blue lily, lily blue leaves off. I would recommend this book. 4 out of 5 stars. ( )

In some ways I enjoyed Dream Thieves even more than Raven Boys. I loved following Ronan's misadventures; like most the characters in this series, he's a walking stereotype (the broken Irish-American misfit), yet has a rich interior life that it's a pleasure to watch unfold.

Blue and Gansey are out of the spotlight this volume, so some their scenes together just did not do it for me. I felt they needed a little more page time. Luckily we get it in volume 3. ( )

YOU CANT LEAVE ME HANGING LIKE THAT MAGGIE ( )