Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - Juhina

Title: The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle #1)

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Publication date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic Press

Genre(s): Young Adult (Paranormal/Supernatural)

Source: Publisher
Format: ARC

Pages: 408

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“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.

The Raven Boys is a story that is full of fantasy and supernatural occurrences that actually originate from factual, real life beliefs that I actually looked up after finishing the book. However, with this stellar and rich plot, The Raven Boys has a cast of unique, individualistic characters that you can’t help but fall a little bit in love with and also be jealous of their friendship and want to be a part of their posse. Four boys, The Raven Boys, the name given to boys who go to Aglionby, the private school for rich kids, are what the story revolves around, along with Blue, the girl that somehow triggers everything around them. 

I honestly think what landed this book in my top books of 2012 list are the characters, their friendship with each other, and how the four boys, even with their differences and their distinct personalities, mesh so well together and would do anything for each other. Then enters the psychic’s daughter, Blue. She’s destined to either fall in love or kill one of these four boys, and we find which one at the beginning of the novel. Also, prophecies from all psychics have warned her about kissing the love of her life because with that one kiss, death will do them part. Blue quickly becomes a part of their group and I really liked how there are no lies, deceits, and backstabbing happening between them. 

Blue ends up getting close to someone but who is NOT the Raven Boy we were promised in the synopsis and that our hearts, well at least mine, has been dying to get them together. But I must warn you, if you are expecting romance to be the leading theme, or even the secondary theme, then you are mistaken. The first theme is most definitely the boys’ obsession with finding out the ley line (click on the link to find out more about Ley Lines) and finding the buried one. The second is the friendship between them and how normal life still gets in the way of their quest to unraveling the supernatural that this world does indeed have. Maggie’s writing was so enchanting in The Raven Boys; I was holding my breath in so many scenes. I also somehow became as obsessed as the boys were in trying to find the ley lines. Also, Gansey, one of the boys, has totally stolen my heart. He was like the father of all the boys. He busted their butts when they weren’t studying, saved them when they got into fights, and vouched for them when they were going to get kicked out of school or were abused at home. 

If you are not a fan of The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, then I still urge you to read The Raven Boys. This book is not in the least bit similar to the Shiver series. I honestly wouldn’t have guessed for the life of me that the same author wrote both books. I am so glad Maggie has decided to explore her own fascination in ley lines and create such a powerful and memorable novel that had me yearning to get my hands on the second book when the first hasn’t even come out yet!