The Raven Cycle 1
Author: Maggie Steifvater
Pages: 409 pgs
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: September 18th 2012
Review Source:Scholastic
“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.”I fell in love with Maggie's writing from the moment I discovered Shiver, the first books in her The Wolves of Mercy Falls books. So as soon as I learned about her newest series, I knew that I had to read it. And I'm so glad that I did!
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.
Any regular reader of this blog knows how much I love mythology and legends. I'll read just about anything that I can that uses myths as a basis. In this particular series, that's exactly what Maggie did. She took a Welsh myth about sleeping kings and ley lines that was just absolutely fascinating. I found myself wanting to do research on some of the things she'd mentioned. It's explored in a pretty interesting way through this first book so as a reader you don't feel out of the loop.
One of my favorite things about reading Maggie's work is how she can take something mythological or magical and make it seem real, as though it could actually happen. In a modern setting where life seems completely normal and unordinary, she inserts something out of this world. It blows me away how she does it every time.
We also get introduced to the Raven Boys: Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah; as well as the girl that enters their world Blue. Each of them bring an interesting piece to the group and what it is they're searching for. I'm crossing my fingers that we get to learn a bit more about Ronan in the next book.
Now I'm waiting excitedly (and a little impatiently) for book 2, The Dream Thieves, and for the chance to meet Maggie again in September when it comes out. So close!
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