The Raven Boys
by Maggie Stiefvater
Published: September 18, 2012
Genres: Supernatural, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover (409 pages)
Source: Purchased
“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.”
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.
I loved the first line of Raven Boys.
Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she’d been told that she would kill her true love.
-Maggie Stiefvater, Raven Boys pg 1
And then I was bored for the next 200 pages. Don’t get me wrong – there were a lot of things I liked. I really loved the characters, especially the four Raven Boys. They reminded me of Logan and his friend from Gilmore Girls. They had this spoiled, prep school/bad boy vibe but were somehow likable even though they were kind of condescending sometimes. I thought the mythology of ley lines and the quest for them was very unique and creative in the young adult genre. But I didn’t feel like the conflict was strong enough to carry a whole novel. The entire conflict is based on that first sentence and it doesn’t get developed much more for the rest of the book.
In addition to the killing-her-true-love thing, there is a mysterious quest that helps pull the story forward but that story line didn’t get interesting until about half-way through the book. Part of my lack of interest in the Raven Boys’ quest was because I didn’t understand the motivation behind it. When I finally found out why they were looking for ley lines, I was excited and totally on board but I wish it had been foreshadowed earlier in the story. In fact, I didn’t like the foreshadowing in most of the book. I felt like the author, Maggie Stiefvater, tended to reveal important details after the fact (like with the scene when Adam does something for Ronan). It would have had a much bigger impact on me if I knew why Adam was helping Ronan while it was happening instead of it being explained after the fact.
Once I did get halfway through, the quest got really cool and I loved their modern quest for the paranormal. There was a Beautiful Mind kind of twist that happened that perked up my interest. And kudos to Maggie Stiefvater writing a paranormal novel that did not involve vampires, werewolves, mermaids, fairies etc.
I was a little sad that there wasn’t much romance considering that she was supposed to meet her true love then kiss and/or kill him. And the ending was confusing to me. I think it was supposed to be an open ending to draw you into the next book to find out what happened, but I just didn’t get it. I’m not sure I even know fully what happened. I’m on the fence about whether I’m going to pick up the next book in the series.
Overall, it was a creative paranormal story with strong and interesting characters, but the conflict was just too weak to keep my interest.
Content Rating: High, for strong language. The f-word shows up about 15-20 times.
About Maggie Stiefvater
All of Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she's tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She's made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
I must admit that I am conflicted about reading this book. I keep hearing that the first half is hard to get through but worth it. Your review is making me feel that I am making the right decision to put it off a bit longer.
I 100% agree. I liked the characters. They are interesting (once you get to know them) and have depth, but the plot fell flat after page 1. I was drawn in by the conflict, but I never felt that the book got it’s full momentum. It’s too bad really. I wanted to like this book more, but it was just okay for me. Like you, I’m not sure if #2 is calling my name.
Word. I’ve heard so many mixed reviews on this one–people seem to either love it or hate it. I know Britt (my co-editor over at AOTB) liked it, as well as the sequel (which she called “trippy”).
I liked The Raven Boys, but I completely agree that the first 200 pages were soooooooo slow! The Dream Thieves isn’t as slow, but still confusing (not necessarily in a bad way). I still felt like I didn’t really have a resolution to anything, but I liked the direction it was heading.