Sunday, November 18, 2012

Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater

love the art for this book! the lay lines,
school, ravens, and king are perfect.

Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love. Her policy is to stay away from the rich boys at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The boys there — known as Raven Boys — can only mean trouble. (via)

Oh Maggie Steifvater, how I love your books. And The Raven Boys did not disappoint  Then when you figure in all the fabulous artwork available on MS's website, you have a truly breathtaking experience. Not to mention this book is often hilarious. I laughed out loud. I also want to mention that this was a slow-burn of a book. The way the stories of the boys and Blue's family intersect take their time developing. But trust me, it was worth the wait.


  • Originality: 10. There is magic in the hills of Virginia. Lay lines crisscross the globe, and magic collects along them. And this is not just everyday magic. It is season-reversing, time-altering, mythic-dead-Welsh-king-waking magic. Then you add in Blue's wacky family of mystics. I love how original this world is.
  • Absurdity: 3. The raven boys, aka the boys of Aglionby Academy are rish and slightly pompous and they are supposed to be absurd. Otherwise the score is low because MS roots the magic of this story in a satisfyingly complex quest and mythology and gives it just enough grit to seem believable.
  • Level of Paranormal Romance: 5. Swoon potential gets high here, but mostly leaves you with only potential. I would debate you that Adam (looking up below) and Gansey (looking dead below) are equally in the running. Sure Adam is first out the gate, but I would never underestimate the charm of Gansey. Not to mention the plot turns by the end of the book might make us all re-think who Blue should be with, no?
  • Level of Harry Potter-ness: 9. MS knows how to make a world feel so real that you just want to slip inside and hang out with the characters on your own time (aka one of the things I love most about HP). Then you add magic and hello, 9 points.

Can we appreciate, simulateously, the awkwardness of book trailers and the incredible artistic talent of MS? 

1 comment:

  1. OMGOMGOMG yes........... I loved this book. I think I'm team Gansey, but I have no idea. MS is one of the only authors I completely trust tho. I can't wait for the next book.

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