Title: The Raven Boys
Series: The Raven Cycle #1
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Pages: 409
Overall Goodreads Rating: 4.05
Published: September 18th 2012 by Scholastic Press
My Rating: 5/5 tea cups
Well the jury is out, and this book is everything that everyone says it is. I though there was no way it would hold up to the hype, but here I am eating crow (or raven). The Raven Boys is stunningly unique with heartbreaking love, and dark lyrical writing. I will say that if you go in thinking this book is about a girl fighting her fate of kissing and killing her first love, you are dead wrong. This book is so much more than that, and it will leave you breathless. This book is about character development. How they fight and refuse to play with the cards life hands them, and making their own family. Oh and there's also land lines, a dead prince, psychics, and tarot cards.
I am going to say what everyone else says so yes I am ready for the eye rolls. The Raven Boys has a complex plot that is better unknown ahead of time. It is very evident that Stiefvater meant for the plot to be mysterious and meant to learn as you go. I will say that even the description on goodreads is a little misleading, and gives the reader the wrong impression of what to expect in this story. In a nutshell what you need to know is Blue lives with a family of psychics, and she has grown up believing in their powers. This gives her a different way of looking at the world. When she meets the raven boys, and learns about their quest she jumps on the opportunity to learn more about land lines, a dead prince, and fate. That's all you need to know. I promise just learn to trust me.
I cannot remember the last time I felt like characters were real, and we were friends, and I needed to know they were okay. I read the physical book and listened to the audio version. I had to have both because I couldn't leave my friends hanging. I know I sound crazy, but when you read this book you will understand. I loved every single character. Blue has characteristics I desire to have. She is quite but strong. She has the strong personality that doesn't require loud voices, violence, and being the center of attention at all times. Blue is caring, smart, hardheaded, and intuitive It was very refreshing to have a main female character that is strong in a reliable and containable way.
The raven boys stole my heart, and I cannot decide who I love the most! I went into this thinking there would be a distinct male character that we all would fall in love with, but nope there isn't. They all will steal a different piece of your heart, and every individual part they individually fill make you whole and you can't live without all of them. You inhale these boys and their background stories. I won't tell you which boy has which characteristic because I'm mean (remember when I say it's best going in blind)? So characteristics you can expect to see are; independent, dependent, shy, hardheaded, misunderstood, hardworking, sad, mean, lovable, and so much more. If I gave you more characteristics it would be spoilers. Are you tired of me hiding stuff from you? Go read this book so we can talk about all the amazing details I'm keeping a secret!
The parts that I listened to on audio were fun. The narrator had a deep and interesting voice. Will Paton yes the actor is the narrator of The Raven Boys. It was fun having an actor read the book, because he was willing to really put himself out there. It felt like he got into the characters mind, and acted out their emotions in a beautiful way. I obviously recommend the audio version because of that, but I liked the book either way.
If you have a hard time getting into a book that is a little mysterious and leaves you confused in the beginning (I promise it's meant to feel confusing at first) I would suggest the audio version because it's easier to get into that way.
If you are use to pushing through the confusion, I suggest curling up with a blanket, sit by a window, and grab a nice cup of tea or coffee (or both, I won't judge). This is the perfect read to give you the feels of fall. It has all the elements that a fall read needs. Now is the perfect time to read this book, so what are you waiting for?
Let me know your thoughts on the book, did you fall as hard for it as I did?
Is it starting to feel like fall where you live?
I hope you guys are having an amazing day!
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