Book Review | The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys went on my to-read list at the end of 2014, after I’d been blown away by the Scorpio Races. Judging from the Waterstones receipt inside my paperback copy, I decided to buy it in 2019. I thought it had been on my bookshelf for longer. It may even have gone straight into a moving box!

The Raven Boys (Raven Boys Cycle #1)

by Maggie Stiefvater

Even if Blue hadn’t been told her true love would die if she kissed him, she would stay away from boys. Especially the ones from the local private school. Known as Raven Boys, they only mean trouble.

But this is the year that everything will change for Blue.

This is the year that she will be drawn into the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys. And the year Blue will discover that magic does exist.

This is the year she will fall in love. (goodreads)

My Review

The first few chapters of the Raven Boys pretty much cover the blurb. I realised it was going to be a YA book, and early on I wondered if I was really going to enjoy it. It wasn’t doing what The Scorpio Races had done for me.

Then it changed.

For a start, I began to see the raven boys–originally named for their school motif–as distinct from each other (and so did Blue). I still had trouble distinguishing between Blue’s several relatives of mother, aunts and half-aunts (no, I don’t know either, and even one of the boys queries the term). But that wasn’t so important as their distinct magical ‘powers’, or at least precognition or sensory skills, usually classed as paranormal. And the quest that one of the boys was on seemed to take shape in my head. For all the frippery that went with being ‘Presidential Candidate Boy’ which was Blue’s early nickname for him, underneath there was someone completely different trying to use his considerable abilities to discover the truth of local paranormal activity.

The boys were very distinctive, and full of teen angst and hormones. It may be useful having vast sums of money at your disposal, but nothing works well when parental mismanagement violates your growing sense of self. Especially when you are trying to escape from your role in ‘the system’.

As usual, Maggie Stiefvater creates a wonderful landscape. The contrasts of the town/settlement of Henrietta with the hills and forests surrounding it. The absolutely magical forest they explore… the seasonal changes. The weather. The sights, sounds, and feel of the places. And several possible misdirections on what is reality.

I stayed up late into the night to finish this one, in fact I read nearly all of it in one weekend, once I’d got over the opening chapters. I’m hooked. Another series to add to my list.

The Raven Boys lived up to all my expectations–and they were high, believe me! Mystery and magic, coupled with myths and legends… I can think of several readers who will love this!

Book Review | The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater 'Mystery and magic, coupled with myths and legends… lived up to all my expectations' #5stars #ya #mystery Click To Tweet