The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
Format: Paperback (arc)
Publisher: Scholastic
Published: 18th September 2012
Pages: 408
Main Characters: Blue, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, Noah
Date Started:11th September 2012
Date Finished: 19th September 2012
Rating Given: ** 1/2
Blurb from Goodreads:
“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.”
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.
The reason why I wanted to try this book was because it was written by Maggie Stiefvater so imagine my delight . Thanks to Scholastic publishers for giving me the chance to review this book. I loved her Shiver series and even though I didn't like Lament I was still excited to try this book, however I felt the same way I did with Lament.
I don't like the cover one bit but that is probably because I am petrified of birds!
I loved the sound of this book and I thought it was going to be interesting but I felt a bit let down by the book. I found it was a unique take on the paranormal. There was far too much background information that I just got lost. Yes a bit of background information is needed as it's the first book but it just made it boring. I am hoping that the next book will have less information and more of a story if not I won't be able to continue. There was times when I didn't even want to pick the book back up as I felt like it was a chore to read. Even though I was bored at time, there was parts that was very entertaining and had me gripped. The ending had a lot of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting which I liked.
I didn't really feel connected to the characters. Blue was funny at times but other times she was a bit annoying. Gansey seemed to have a split personality as one minute he would act like a snob and then other times he seemed sweet and would do anything for anyone. Adam I actually liked at the beginning but then throughout the book I went off him. Ronan was just annoying. Noah was my favourite character but wasn't in it much but there was a reason behind this which I for one never saw coming. I was expecting a bit more romance than what we got if you could even say romance. I think that might change throughout the series.
Overall it was a bit information overload but there was times when I enjoyed it. I will most likely continue with the series in the hope that it will pick up.
