Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Cycle #1)

Supernatural, Magic
Feb 11, 2014
3 min read

Blue's mother is the local psychic, something that has been a subject of both endless teasing and wary respect her whole life. The one dark spot in her cluttered, happy life is the fact that every fortune teller she's ever gone to has told her that if she kisses her true love, he will die.

Every year, Blue and her mother watch as the people who will soon die walk through the churchyard. This year, however, things are a bit different. One of the spirits, that of a boy not much older than herself, speaks to her. He calls himself gansey, and he is a raven boy.

The raven boys are what the locals call the boys who go to the exclusive private school, Aglionby Academy. Blue wants nothing to do with the raven boys. They are stuck up, selfish, and intolerably rude.

But Blue feels that Gansey is different, somehow, and when they meet in reall life, she is inclined to help him on his quest to find the tomb of an anciet king. She also eets his companions on his quest - frightning Ronan, quite Noah, and Adam, who resents the privilege around him.

The characters compliement each other perfectly. Gansey is intelligent and sophisticated, as well as laid back. He is a bit obsessed with finding the tomb of Glendower, the king. On the other hand, Ronan is hostile and aggressive towards pretty much everyone. I didn't really get an explanation why. His friends know not to take his rudeness personally since he's a jerk to everyone. Adam is a bit different from the other three since he's not rich at all and has to be very carefull with how he spends his money, while the others ignore the price tags of most items. Adam is very practical and helps keep Gansey grounded, even if it's with a little thing like reminding him that he has oil on his pants. I think that without Adam, Gansey would be working on finding Glendower 24/7. Noah, the fourth and final Raven Boy, comes and goes, and sometimes he acts a bit like a little kid. The best way I can describe him sometimes is that he's a bit weak. As for Blue, she's eccentric and independant, not giving a crap about what anyone thinks of her. She takes great offense if Gansey offers to do anything for her, even if it's something as mundane as buying her a bag of chips. Blue can buy her own dang chips - she doesn't need a man to do it for her.

I can't imagine what it would be like to know that your true love would die if you kissed him. You couldn't kiss anybody, because you can't afford to take a chance. Even if it's, I don't know, Kim Kardashian or something. I can't stand her, but if you kiss her, and she's your true love, she'll die. Then you'll go to prison. Seriously though, it would be awful. It would make having a boyfriend or girlfriend very difficult, since you couldn't kiss them. And if you tried to explain why, you could get laughed off, or they could become very angry with you and think you were making up the dumbest excuse ever.

This was a great start to the series! I found the idea and plot original and intriguing. The characters were delighfully unusuall and Stiefvater's writting was almost poetic. She uses grwat figurative language and details to build a facinating setting, and I loved how the story was told from multiple points of view, allowing me to see into all the characters thoughts! The Raven boys combined Welsh mythology with the supernatural and a touch of teen angst for a magical (That's a terrible pun, I'm sorry.) read. This book is a must-read for any fan of magic and supernatural adventures! 5/5 stars!