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A review by brisingr
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
5.0
4.5 stars actually, because there are some problems I'll discuss a little bit later, but!!! I enjoyed this book so much!!
Everyone knows that Aglionby boys are the type of people that have it all: family money, good looks and a personality to match it. Maybe that's why Blue, simple daughter of a psychic, can't stand them. But on the night of St. Mark's Eve the spirit of an Aglionby boy speaks directly to her, and soon enough Blue finds herself caught up in a web of fantastical histories and uncertain futures, stepping on mystic grounds with the raven boys at her side.
If you've known me for some while now, you'll also know that at some point last year I've read The Scorpio Races, another book written by Maggie Stiefvater, and you'll also know that I loved that book a lot. Mostly because Stiefvater's writing is incredibly amazing, it makes you want to care about her story and her characters, it makes you hurt with the raw feelings she injects in your mind through her carefully arranged words. It's like I'm getting high on stories through words, and it's my favorite feeling in the whole world and the main reason why I keep reading so intensely (I will not find rest until I've found every book that can make me feel this way).
But anyway, getting back on track with The Raven Boys. Man, this was such a ride! The story starts quite slowly, you get an initial taste of the life of each of the main characters in the book and it does take a while to get caught up on the actual story. This is the first minus of this book, but oh god, it did make it up after the first 80-100 pages or so. I also adored the subject of the action, mixing welsh kings with psychic activities, and all the magic in the book is so dreamy and strong and raw and I loved it because I adored it but also feared it and it made me a little bit obsessed.
The other minus is that all the characters are whitewashed, and while I don't usually bring this up in reviews, it's a known thing that tumblr people do tend to head-canon the characters in this book as poc (which is totally cool!!), but I liked Maggie Stiefvater's very polite response to this (X) and well, it's a thing to keep in mind and hope for more amazingly written books with some diversity!
What I liked best though was definitely the friendship between the raven boys. They're all damaged in a way or other, they all have fears and dreams and they know how to act around each other to bring out the best (or the worst) in each other and the simple fact that they know each other well enough to make it seem like they're kings and forever and they're so young but they know and want to know so much, their curiosity endless and the posibilities just as such. Really, I was deeply unprepared for the force and the dynamics of this group, and it's not only because they're young and bold and rich and have the right of acting like spoiled children, while having to be mature as well, but the way they wear the burden of being alive is fascinating. Wow, I'm talking in lots of metaphors, but really. I love them so, SO much.
My favorite was Gansey (powerful but scared but excited Gansey, whom I could love to the moon and back because he so deserves it), followed closely by Noah (shy and silent Noah, that I want as my eternal bff).
This book brought tears in my eyes, several times. It made me gasp, it made me fiddle in my chair because I was so excited but could read only that fast, it made me nod in agreement, it made me laugh and I adored every moment spent reading this book (and my jam for this book was 'transpose' by bad suns!)
This was a really, really good first book in a series, it ended in such a cliffhanger, but so amazing and I am honestly so satisfied. Like, crazily so. This book stays very, very high in my top with satisfying endings and I adore that it promises to destroy my life even more in further volumes. I am all for it.
This series has the potential of becoming one of my favorites and I AM SO EXCITED.
Everyone knows that Aglionby boys are the type of people that have it all: family money, good looks and a personality to match it. Maybe that's why Blue, simple daughter of a psychic, can't stand them. But on the night of St. Mark's Eve the spirit of an Aglionby boy speaks directly to her, and soon enough Blue finds herself caught up in a web of fantastical histories and uncertain futures, stepping on mystic grounds with the raven boys at her side.
If you've known me for some while now, you'll also know that at some point last year I've read The Scorpio Races, another book written by Maggie Stiefvater, and you'll also know that I loved that book a lot. Mostly because Stiefvater's writing is incredibly amazing, it makes you want to care about her story and her characters, it makes you hurt with the raw feelings she injects in your mind through her carefully arranged words. It's like I'm getting high on stories through words, and it's my favorite feeling in the whole world and the main reason why I keep reading so intensely (I will not find rest until I've found every book that can make me feel this way).
But anyway, getting back on track with The Raven Boys. Man, this was such a ride! The story starts quite slowly, you get an initial taste of the life of each of the main characters in the book and it does take a while to get caught up on the actual story. This is the first minus of this book, but oh god, it did make it up after the first 80-100 pages or so. I also adored the subject of the action, mixing welsh kings with psychic activities, and all the magic in the book is so dreamy and strong and raw and I loved it because I adored it but also feared it and it made me a little bit obsessed.
The other minus is that all the characters are whitewashed, and while I don't usually bring this up in reviews, it's a known thing that tumblr people do tend to head-canon the characters in this book as poc (which is totally cool!!), but I liked Maggie Stiefvater's very polite response to this (X) and well, it's a thing to keep in mind and hope for more amazingly written books with some diversity!
What I liked best though was definitely the friendship between the raven boys. They're all damaged in a way or other, they all have fears and dreams and they know how to act around each other to bring out the best (or the worst) in each other and the simple fact that they know each other well enough to make it seem like they're kings and forever and they're so young but they know and want to know so much, their curiosity endless and the posibilities just as such. Really, I was deeply unprepared for the force and the dynamics of this group, and it's not only because they're young and bold and rich and have the right of acting like spoiled children, while having to be mature as well, but the way they wear the burden of being alive is fascinating. Wow, I'm talking in lots of metaphors, but really. I love them so, SO much.
My favorite was Gansey (powerful but scared but excited Gansey, whom I could love to the moon and back because he so deserves it), followed closely by Noah (shy and silent Noah, that I want as my eternal bff).
This book brought tears in my eyes, several times. It made me gasp, it made me fiddle in my chair because I was so excited but could read only that fast, it made me nod in agreement, it made me laugh and I adored every moment spent reading this book (and my jam for this book was 'transpose' by bad suns!)
This was a really, really good first book in a series, it ended in such a cliffhanger, but so amazing and I am honestly so satisfied. Like, crazily so. This book stays very, very high in my top with satisfying endings and I adore that it promises to destroy my life even more in further volumes. I am all for it.
This series has the potential of becoming one of my favorites and I AM SO EXCITED.