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YA Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

3/15/2013

21 Comments

 
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The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1)
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publication Date: 9/18/12
Publisher: Scholastic Press
[Goodreads|Amazon]

Blurb(GR):
 Blue has spent the majority of her sixteen years being told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. When Blue meets Gansey’s spirit on the corpse road she knows there is only one reason why – either he is her true love or she has killed him.

Determined to find out the truth, Blue becomes involved with the Raven Boys, four boys from the local private school (led by Gansey) who are on a quest to discover Glendower – a lost ancient Welsh King who is buried somewhere along the Virginia ley line. Whoever finds him will be granted a supernatural favour.

Never before has Blue felt such magic around her. But is Gansey her true love? She can’t imagine a time she would feel like that, and she is adamant not to be the reason for his death. Where will fate lead them?

Review:



When I first started this book many months ago, it fell right into not one, but TWO of my worst book dealbreakers.  To quote myself from six months ago (because we all know how much I love to do that):

“Forbidden Love ­+ YA

= No. I just can’t handle it anymore. I can’t handle whatever crazy-ass excuse (different classes, different species, he’s a murderer, he’s a sociopath, he’s a stalker but he’s oh so HOT anyway…) will be used to keep the love interests apart. And even MORE than that, I definitely can’t handle the stupid justifications that will be used to actually bring them together. You know what?  If there’s a hot guy who might murder you someday…maybe you just shouldn’t, okay? Can we all just agree on that?”


And

“The problems of rich white people in boarding school/prep school

Yawn."


Substitute “hot guy” for “that kooky girl who feels isolated because she’s so unique and special and who makes her own clothes out of recycled materials” in the last sentence of “Forbidden Love + YA” and you have my basic reaction to the beginning of this book.  Strike two: I have a really, really hard time drumming up sympathy for entitled rich kids and I probably always will.  Oh, so you get to go to a fancy school and you have enough money to live on for the rest of your life without ever having to work…but you might have to wear a tie someday?  I FEEL SO SORRY FOR YOU.  Strike three:  all of these characters feel less like real people and more like stock characters from a romance novel to me.  Our heroes are:

  • The straight-laced, ridiculously wealthy, overly mature one who just needs to loosen up (a la every hero ever written by Sophie Kinsella).

  • The dangerous/violent (possibly insane) one who just needs a gentle hand (Jericho Barrons, et al).

  • The traumatized one who’s had to fight for everything and just needs to learn how to trust (Jamie Fraser and basically all of my favorite romance novel heroes).  

And of course, the stable of available guys wouldn’t be complete without the romance novel heroine, who as I stated before is just hopelessly, terribly unique and special.  Needless to say, I didn’t get very far in this book on my first attempt.

But then I joined a book club...and although I admit that I have stubbornly refused to read a couple of the selections, I do try to be good in general.  So I ended up giving this one another try.  And you know what?  I’m kinda glad I did.  Kinda.  There’s no doubt in my mind now that Maggie Stiefvater can write.  This book is beautifully detailed and atmospheric and I’ll be damned if I didn’t start caring for these boys by the end.  I mean, that right there speaks volumes about this woman’s writing talent.  Seriously, when she can get me to care about a guy who (at age 17) owns his own warehouse apartment filled with ancient tomes (plus like one issue of the sports illustrated swimsuit edition – just to give him a little bit of teenage legitimacy) and spends endless hours researching obscure Welsh monarchy, when he’s not helicopter-parenting his best friends with the dedication of the completely codependent, or “rebelling” by driving around town in his gorgeously restored “vintage” car or his sister’s helicopter…yeah.  That takes some talent.

So I did really get into this book for about a hundred pages towards the middle.  But then…I got to the “end”.  I put that in sarcasm quotes because I scoff at the idea that the back of this book can be called an ending.  Instead, this book commits one of the most annoying book crimes to arise out of the “every YA book must now be a trilogy” age that we live in: the non-ending.  Only, I think in this case it’s much worse because I genuinely believed that I was going to get some closure.  It all starts out so ominously with Blue’s vision and the PROPHECY about her deadly kiss and then there are all of these little hints along the way and I was just gearing up for some sort of huge climactic scene.  But no.  Instead we are left with about twenty questions and no answers in sight.  And I personally was left with the unsettling feeling that I knew exactly where this whole series was going.

I mean, I think anyone who’s read a fair number of these forbidden love stories can make a prediction at the end of this book.  And I’m just not sure that I can take another six to eight hundred pages of Blue and Gansey angsting about kissing or not kissing, of Adam becoming more and more sullen and jealous and possibly evil, of Gansey trying desperately to mess with some mystical thing that actually allowed him to escape death.  (Why, Gansey?  When you are given a second lease on life I say just take it and don’t ask questions.)  But that’s just me.  I know that this series has a ton of fans and I will be relying on all of you to let me know if my predictions of angst come true.  If not, I hold out the right to come crawling back to this series and beg forgiveness later on when all the books are released and I can have closure.

2.5/5 Stars

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21 Comments
Lectus link
3/15/2013 12:25:52 pm

I tried reading this book. I think I managed to go half through it but then I couldn't take it any longer.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/16/2013 04:59:08 am

I did initially too. For some reason I got more into it on my second go-around.

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Liza link
3/15/2013 01:50:27 pm

I just skimmed it was too painful to read. I still have The Raven Boys on my bookshelf waiting to be read. I didn't click with Shiver, but hoped things would change with The Raven Boys.

Now that I read problems of rich white people, I'll probably be putting it at the bottom of the pile. I have to read it, because I bought it, but I'm just so much more hesitant now.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/16/2013 05:04:17 am

I didn't enjoy Shiver either and I'd been staying away from MS until now. I liked this one more than Shiver but it still wasn't really for me. I have to say that by the end, the entitled rich kids aspect was bothering me a whole lot less. She did actually make me care for these characters, at least somewhat.

Reply
Ana link
3/15/2013 06:59:51 pm

Whoa - It's like you are inside my head. Same thing with me, expect I never went back to finish it - BUT I am waiting for all the books to come out and then to see the overall reaction to the series as a whole before going back.

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Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/16/2013 05:05:25 am

It's so good to know that I'm not alone with this opinion. I will be interested to see what my favorite reviewers say about the sequels to this too.

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Reynje link
3/15/2013 09:46:17 pm

Catie, this review is SO good. I'm glad you wrote it. It's refreshing to hear a different take on it. I, too, have heard great things about MS's writing - mostly in this one and the Scorpio Races. But I have a real problem with unrealistic relationships... I know people will tell me to get over it, this isn't contemporary.. but I really dislike manufactured angst for the sake of angst. Also the whole: "We can't be together, oh noes!" You're 17. Seriously.

I think your comments about privilege are really interesting too. Definitely something to think about. The preoccupation with wealth seems to crop up regularly in the paranormal genre. It isn't so much that I resent these characters their unrealistic lifestyles - but that these books seem to glorify it a little? Ugh, no.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/16/2013 05:10:18 am

Yeah, I have such a hard time with the "we can never be together!!!" angst too. Especially in this one - I mean, every single one of us faces that same possibility EVERY SINGLE DAY. My husband could die today or tomorrow or the next day. That's the truth for every single person on Earth. Stop angsting about it and just seize the moment!!

And yes, about privilege. Every YA hero is wealthy and independent, it seems. Ugh.

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Deniz link
3/16/2013 12:02:02 am

Interesting Review!
I rated it slightly differently. It was my first book of Stiefvater and i really was blown away by her writing style. I agree with the ending. it was ANNOYING. For me this could have been a 5star book, they way it was written was brilliant. Till the last 100pages. i was like that was it? its over? all was neatly tied in a ribbon and finished off. It felt like all this build up was done... for nothing. AND like this is a set up for the actually book.
i am so going to read the next installment though

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/16/2013 07:27:15 am

I know a lot of other people who just adore her writing as well. I was so annoyed by the ending of this too. It does feel like a "set up" for the actual book. That's exactly how I felt.

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Bookworm1858 link
3/16/2013 03:03:23 am

Wow-you had such a different take on this! While I struggled to get into this book, I ended up loving it. There are some YA conventions I hate but the ones here worked well for me although a bit more closure wouldn't have gone amiss.

Reply
Amy @ Turn the Page link
3/16/2013 06:57:48 am

I love this review - it's kind of refreshing to read a review where someone brings up these points (the ridiculous way those boys lived, the poor rich kids, the lack of ending, all of which annoyed me while reading) and who doesn't point blank adore MS. I absolutely love The Scorpio Races, but have pretty much disliked all her other books. Its a bit odd really.

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VeganYANerds link
3/16/2013 07:21:56 am

Even though I loved this book, I can completely understand your issues, Catie. I do worry that it's going to end up being a horrible love-tri btw Blue, Gansey, and Adam and I have a feeling that Adam will lose out.

And the ending did leave me with so many questions, I would have like a bit more rather than having to wait a year.

Reply
molly @ wrapped up in books link
3/17/2013 02:34:57 am

I'm one who actually really loved The Raven Boys, but your lukewarm feelings are well supported. I'm a reader who is usually intrigued by forbidden love so that hook really worked for me, but I am always skeptical of rich white boarding school kids. You're so right that it's the writing that is impressive and what I enjoy about Maggie's books. The ending was frustrating, and this one is going to be FOUR books and not just a trilogy, which kind of has me thinking that some subplots could go away and that the story would be better if it were distilled into its essence. Fantastic review!

Reply
Renae @ Respiring Thoughts link
3/17/2013 03:14:02 am

Uh-oh! I recently surveyed my friends and asked which one of Stiefvater's novels I should pick up first, and The Raven Boys was the unanimous answer.

But reading your review, I seriously question how much I'll like this. Like you, I hate stories about rich white kids (though I DO like boarding school stories, for some reason). But the boarding school stories I enjoy are usually about people with real problems, like date rape or whatever. Just reading your description of the 17-year-old boy with an apartment, thousands of books, and a helicopter, I couldn't keep a straight face.

Reply
Christina (A Reader of Fictions) link
3/17/2013 11:09:33 pm

YES to this. I agree wholeheartedly on forbidden love and rich white people and their troubles. I'm happy to have seen a middling review for this, because everything I've seen has been so fangirly and positive. I've had pretty bad experiences with Stiefvater's writing, and I thought I was going to be alone whenever I got around to reading the ARC I have of this, but you're paving the way. Fantastic.

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Heidi link
3/18/2013 05:43:46 am

Catie, I love you. I had so many of the same issues as you, and even though I probably WILL pick up the next one (because I'm just too damn curious not to, and am hoping that it's NOT going to go where I'm afraid it's going to go), I'll be more than willing to call it quits if that doesn't pan out better. I hated the non-ending of this story--it wasn't a story, it was like a 500 page prologue! Ugh. I did love Adam, but I hate where the whole jealousy thing is leading. Yuck yuck yuck.

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Amanda @ Late Nights with Good Books link
3/18/2013 10:25:14 am

I do think that speaks to Stiefvater's abilities if she is able to use tons of tropes you really dislike in YA lit and end up making you think the book isn't completely awful. I feel exactly the same way about what seem to be obligatory YA trilogies and their use of non-endings. It's incredibly frustrating and gets me wondering if all these trilogies really need to be expanded into three parts. I'm still not sure whether I really want to read this book yet. I loved The Scorpio Races, but it sounds like that is Stiefvater's most acclaimed book. Perhaps I'll wait and read this series when it all releases, to see if it continues to receive all the hype and praise.

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Maggie, Young Adult Anonymous link
3/22/2013 07:33:04 pm

I am cracking up, Catie, because your two dealbreakers pretty much describe 95% of Korean dramas. This is also why I've only watched like 3 kdramas in the last 2 years.

I liked the atmosphere and Gansey the helicopter mother hen. And of course Ronan. However, this book felt like an appetizer and I'm waiting impatiently for my entree to come out already.

Reply
TiaPearl link
4/22/2013 04:36:57 am

I love this book! Maggie is super talented <3

Reply
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