The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) (The Raven Cycle, #1)

by Maggie Stiefvater

'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.'

Every year Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them — until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, 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 is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, thenbsp; fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher 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 doesn’t believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

• ISBN13: 9780545424936
• Publish Date: 30 July 2013 (first published 1 September 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Scholastic US
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[mary]

4.5

I agree with all the hype surrounding this series. So glad I decided to pick this up, was wonderful in so many ways. Most importantly it did a fantastic job with character development. Already placed a hold for the Dream Thieves at my library. Can't wait to continue on with this intriguing series.

[Stephanie]

Every time I read this, I cry. But also, I noticed so many things I missed on the other re-readings. GOSH.

[Angie]

Rereading!

[bestmessever]

Well this was a really weird ride. I really enjoyed it though and the characters stole my heart. This was a great first book can't wait to finish the other books. #readraven

[Nessa Luna]

Actual rating: 4,5. Back when I was still in my 'I don't want to read books about vampires or werewolves' phase, the Shiver series by Maggie Stiefvater came out. I vowed to myself that I would never pick up these books, though later on after I went through the phase, I added the first book to my TBR list. Then, I heard about her other book series, called The Raven Cycle, with The Raven Boys as first book. I was intrigued and added it to my TBR. Then, as I was at a friend's house, we started talking about books, and she told me how she loved TRC. She lend me her copies of the series, and I promised her I would read them asap.

The Raven Boys tells the story of Blue Sargent, who lives in a house full of psychics, but isn't one herself. She has also been told her entire life that she will kill the person she loves the moment she kisses him. Enter the Raven Boys, which is the collective nickname of boys that go to Aglionby, the local all-boys' school for rich people. We meet four students from that school, who are on a special mission. Soon, the lives of Blue and the Raven Boys come together, and they find out that magic is, in fact, real.

I was very intrigued by this book because of the line 'when you kiss your true love he will die', which is the exact opposite of the whole true love's first kiss part in fairy tales. At the beginning of this book, Blue is told she will meet her true love this year.

We meet a lot of characters in this book. The main character is of course Blue Sargent. I liked her, and the house she lives in. She lives with Maura, her mother, Orla, Calla, Persephone and Neeve in a big house. Everyone in the house is a psychic of some sort, apart from Blue, though she has a special power - she makes everything 'louder' for the psychics, which is why they love having her around during readings. Then there are the Raven boys, Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah, who I didn't really like much at the beginning. I liked Adam a bit, because he wasn't one of the rich kids, but other than that I didn't really like Gansey and Ronan. And I hardly knew anything about Noah so I didn't really feel anything for him. That is until they met Blue. I honestly liked the boys much more after they'd met Blue and they started on their adventure together.

Gansey and his gang are looking for Glendower (or Glyndŵr in Welsh), and Gansey believes that he might be in Henrietta. I wasn't really sure what to think about this whole search, and I honestly wasn't that interested in it at the beginning of the story. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Gansey because at the beginning of the book we find out he's going to die within twelve months. and though Glendower ended up being important to the plot of the book, I don't know I just didn't really care that much about it. Even if it's a Welsh king and I honestly really love Wales.

I also didn't care about Whelk at all, and I was annoyed by any chapters from his point of view. I didn't know what he added to the story - until later on of course - but even after that I didn't know why he had to have his own POV. I liked reading from Blue's POV, and from Gansey and Adam (I believe those were the only ones?), but Whelk was just annoying imo. When I found out Noah was actually dead and a ghost, and that it was Whelk's old friend Czerny, THAT is when I started to really like this book. I had liked it before this part already, but when the group found out about Noah I didn't want to put down the book anymore. I honestly think that - even though Noah had actually admitted he'd been dead for seven years in the first chapter or so - this reveal was so good, and I hadn't seen it coming.

The writing was really good, and I have nothing else to say about it. I hadn't read a Maggie Stiefvater book before, but I had heard so many good things about them before, so I am happy to say that I am now hooked on Maggie Stiefvater. I will definitely pick up the rest of this series (obviously, since I have the other two books that are out as well and will obviously read the fourth one as well), and maybe I'll even buy my own copies, because these covers are A-MA-ZING!

In the end, The Raven Boys, was a very thrilling story about magic and an ancient Welsh king (YAY WELSH). I can't really compare it to any other books, but I guess if you love paranormal stories you should try this one out!

My opinion on this book in one gif: 

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

Series Review

Individual ratings:
The Raven Boys: 4 ★
The Dream Thieves: 4 ★
Blue Lily, Lily Blue: 4.5 ★

Recommended for lovers of: Southern Gothic, Paranormal, Mysticism, Psychics, Welsh Mythology

Suggested age group: 14+

{I’m doing a compiled review for this series because I completed it before becoming a full-time reviewer.}

I initially gave each of these installments four stars when I read them last August (2015). Looking back, I can remember why I gave The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves those ratings, but I can't recall anything significant enough to detract a whole star from Blue Lily, Lily Blue. The first installment starts off a little slowly, but only to build the incredible setting. This is difficult to appreciate as a first-time listener (or reader) because the setting and context for this story are so unlike what is traditionally seen in the YA genre. The Dream Thieves changes perspective just a bit and focuses more on Ronan, which I'm sure delights his multitude of fans, but Ronan was never my favorite. Overall, the second installment interested me slightly less than the first, but was still extremely enjoyable. The third (but not final!) installment was much more action-oriented and where the story really seemed to pick up momentum. I've decided to bump it to 4.5 stars because this really is one of my favorite series. Over time, the appeal of this series has greatly increased in my mind. This series is like molasses. It's thick and slow and smooth and rich and completely worth the wait. It's the good kind of slow. The kind that builds up over time and has more of an impact on you after already consumed. It's the kind of slow that seeps into your soul and sticks to your ribs. The kind you can't shake. The vivid imagery of the setting Stiefvater created has withstood the test of time and remains almost just as vivid in my mind today as it was in August. Her writing is so uniquely impassioned that I just can't help but *Blanche Deveraux swoon*. I'm looking forward to the fourth installment almost as much as I'm looking forward to The Winds of Winter, which is to say one hell of a lot.

Narration review: The other point that really stands out to me is the narration. Kudos to M. Stiefvater (or whoever is responsible) for choosing Will Patton to narrate The Raven Cycle. Whenever I think about this series, I still hear his voice in my head. The writing and the narration are so perfectly paired that it was hard to separate them for review. I don't think either one would be quite as powerful without the other. Based on voice narration alone, this is quite possibly my favorite narrated series. Patton's voice is so soothing, with a sleepy Southern drawl that fits the setting perfectly, without being overly twangy or playing up to stereotypes. Either this guy is really a Southerner or he is just a fantastic actor. He somehow manages to capture the essence of each of the characters individually, while maintaining the same overall reverent, but eerie tone that the story evokes. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't include the musical additions to the audiobook. If I remember correctly, the author herself composed, arranged, and performed all of the original music for this series, which did so much to set the "feel" of the story and imprint it in my soul. I cannot begin to tell you how much the voice narration and the original music enhanced my audiobook experience with this series. I can count on one hand the number of series that are so improved upon by voice narration that they are actually better than their physical forms. This is in the top three. ♣︎

Overall series rating: 4.25 ★

[shannonmiz]

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
So, I am very glad I was peer-pressured into reading this one. It is not about avian-human hybrids, so for all the exactly zero other people who thought that... you're safe. It started off a little slow- though not boring, just slow. I liked Blue and I wanted to know what her deal was, and I liked some of the Raven Boys, but not Adam. He can go get bit by a rabid raven or something, that would probably bring more ravens into play, no? Anyway, there were some very cool twists that I did not see coming, so that added to my enjoyment. I will definitely be picking up The Dream Thieves, so thank you, everyone!!

[Linda]

The Raven Boys is a fantastic mystical tale of Blue and three boys from the Algionby academy in Henrietta. The quest for the ley-line and its opening had me at the edge of my seat, and kept me wondering why it has taken me so long to read this book!

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

[laughingrachel]

Beautifully woven magical realism. I read this book because I saw how popular the series is getting, but I wasn't ready to like it so much (I've been spectacularly let down by the hype train before *cough*Divergent*cough*).

The Raven Boys did the opposite of disappoint. A great start to a great series. I really enjoyed the relationships between all the characters and the way they grew. I love the setting and the descriptive language the author uses. I've never really been to Virginia, but I feel very connected to Henrietta and the people in it. Blue is my favorite little low-key feminist.

[rakesandrogues]

Originally published at: http://muggle-born.net/the-raven-boys-by-maggie-stiefvater-book-review/

Let’s face it: mythology-based young adult novels have flooded the market. Some are obviously not well done as the others. THE RAVEN BOYS blew my expectations to a whole new level. The combination of the supernatural, paranormal, and mythology based on Glendower, a Welsh ruler, worked effortlessly in another unique and fascinating novel by Maggie Stiefvater.

What made THE RAVEN BOYS so successful in its execution is Maggie Stiefvater’s ability to craft such-three dimensional characters. The raven boys, Blue, Blue’s mother, and the psychics living at 300 Fox Way had so much depth to them. Maggie Stiefvater is able to craft such intricate backstories for each character so that you feel as if you know them personally. It is hard to pick just one character that I loved because I just felt like I got to know all of them at a personal level, but there is still definitely a lot more that I can learn about the characters in the subsequent novels.

Stiefvater does continue to write in alternating third-person perspectives like her previous novels, but the focus leans most towards Blue and Gansey. Blue Sargent, our main protagonist, has lived with her mother in a house full of psychics since the day she was born. Though her mother and her aunts were all born with the gift, Blue does not have the gift of sight. She is only able to amplify the energy of others, but no one knows why. Since she was little, Blue had been told that if she kissed her true love, he would die. This was the hook that initially propelled me to read THE RAVEN BOYS. Blue is fated to meet her true love, but she doesn’t know who he is and exactly under what circumstances will lead to his death. I found it fascinating to see her struggle between living her life the way she wants to and living her life controlled by her fate.

Like any other Stiefvater novel, there is a hint of romance in THE RAVEN BOYS. THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater is not centered around an epic love story like her previous Wolves of Mercy Falls series, but more about this epic quest to find Glendower and to learn how these people are all interconnected through fate. I sense an epic love triangle in the future books, but surprisingly, I’m not quite bothered by it. I think it will be interesting to see how Maggie Stiefvater pulls it off. It will definitely be a question of fate: who is truly Blue’s soul mate? While off to a good start, I can’t wait to see how Stiefvater will continue to develop the relationships between the characters in the future books.

It amazes me that Maggie Stiefvater is able to pull off a novel with a combination of ghosts, psychics, Welsh mythology, and I guess a little bit of witchcraft. It works. Honestly, I was most fascinated with the psychics at 300 Fox Way and I loved the scenes in which we got to see the women use their powers. The tarot card readings were my favorite part, and like the characters, I loved to compare the predictions to what actually happened in the novel. I think what Maggie Stiefater had set out to do was quite ambitious, but she manages to pull it off successfully in THE RAVEN BOYS.

After 400-something pages, it is a bit disappointing that THE RAVEN BOYS is only the first of a series. Lots of questions were left unanswered and the search for Glendower has only just begun. However, I was left with a sense of satisfaction after finishing the book and I honestly cannot wait to read more. THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater does not end on an epic cliffhanger – thankfully – but it does end with a surprising statement that will only entice your desire for the next book.

I may be just a tiny bit biased, but at the end of the day, Maggie Stiefvater still continues to be one of the most brilliant writers in the young adult genre today. Stiefvater has a magical way with words and THE RAVEN BOYS is a promising start of a new series.