Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love. Her policy is to stay away from the rich boys at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The boys there — known as Raven Boys — can only mean trouble.
Have you ever had those books that utterly consumed your life? Where all you can think about is the next time you’re free to read. When walking down streets turns into a fun game of trying not to trip as you read and walk simultaneously because — god forbid — you stop reading to travel from one destination to another. Dishes pile up in the sink and boyfriends get ignored as you and your book become one, forgetting that life exists outside the pages of your literary drug of choice. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater was one of those all-engrossing novels that I hated having to put down.
The Raven Boys was the perfect mix of character story, love story, mystery, and magic. Blue, the protagonist, is intelligent, confident, witty, and quirky (but not in an annoying manic-pixie-dream-girl kind of way). Her living situation is unique in that she lives with her mother and multiple extended members of her family, all female. I extremely enjoyed the portions of the book that had interactions between her family, and although they are infrequent, I am happy to see more of them in the sequel (which I am currently reading).
The Raven Boys, Adam, Ronan, Noah, and Gansey all have quite different personalities and that makes their dynamic fun to read. I definitely had a large crush on Adam with his bashfulness, kind demeanor, intelligence, and motivation. That might be changing now in the second book but we will see. Ronan would be a dick if not for the fact that you can’t help but feel for him after his father’s murder, and laugh at his offensive yet sometimes true commentary. Noah is almost a shadow in the background of the story, but for a good reason that you will find out upon finishing the book. Gansey is a difficult one; I never really knew if I liked him or if I thought he was another rich boy obsessed with an unsolvable mystery because he’s bored with his rich life.
There are so many mysteries in this book that I, as described above, basically couldn’t put it down. The plot is fast-paced and will pull you in right off the bat.
Rating: 4.75/5
Similar Books: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins, A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty, and The Diviners by Libba Bray
Shelfies & Selfies 