THE RAVEN BOYS REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

I’m so excited to share Maggie Stiefvater's THE RAVEN BOYS with you. As those of you who’ve been following me know, I’m a HUGE fan of Maggie Stiefvater. I found her first book, LAMENT, THE FAERIE QUEEN’S DECEPTION, at the library in 2008 and have been a fan ever since. A highlight of my life was meeting Maggie at a book signing two years ago. 

Here’s a blurb of THE RAVEN BOYS 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.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

This is one of my favorite books by Maggie. I LOVED it! I was immediately sucked into the story in the first few pages learning that Blue’s psychic family has predicted that if Blue kisses her true love, he’d die. So she vows never to fall in love. How can you not be sucked into that?

She’s the only one in her family who isn’t psychic, but her presence increases their powers. Then when she goes with her mom’s mysterious half-sister Neeve to record the-soon-to-be dead, for the first time she sees a boy named Gansey who speaks to her. And you can see in the above blurb what Neeve tells her that means.

Of course, Blue meets Gansey and his faithful friends Adam, Ronan, and Noah. Gansey’s mission is to find the ley lines that Henrietta, Virginia is situated on. He hopes it will help him discover where a mysterious Welsh king is buried and to unlock the king’s secrets. It’s fascinating watching their search for the ley lines and seeing the magical world they discover. Maggie has created such an interesting world of everyday Henrietta, where Blue lives, the private boarding school of Aglionby where Gansey, Ronan, and Noah live and Adam goes to school, and this hidden world they discover. I couldn’t turn the pages quickly enough to see where their quest would take them.

Not only has Maggie created an amazing hidden world and search for the ley lines, but she’s also created the most interesting, memorable characters. Blue lives with her psychic mother and her mom’s psychic friends Persephone and Calla. Then her mom’s mysterious half-sister Neeve comes to stay. The family dynamics are so interesting. Blue is an independent teen who doesn’t take crap from anyone. And you can’t help sympathizing with her plight of never being able to fall in love and worrying that she’ll somehow cause Gansey’s death.

Gansey is a rich boy who has everything and could just be a party boy. Instead, he cares deeply for his friends, Adam, Ronan, and Noah, and does what he can to help them. And he’s obsessed with finding the ley lines and the body of the Welsh king. You’ll have to read the story to find out why. Adam, Ronan, and Noah are equally compelling in their own ways. They all have back stories that totally connect with the plot and why they embark on the dangerous quest with Gansey. 

Blue’s relationship with Gansey and his friends develops very naturally from not wanting to have anything to do with them to a deepening friendship. Maggie does a really good job of the little love triangle relationship between Blue, Gansey, and Adam. I’m not usually a fan of love triangles, but this one is done perfectly. 

There’s a lot of narration here, which would normally slow down the story for me. But not here. The fantastic plot, the desire to learn about the ley lines, the Welsh king, the world Blue and her friends discover, and the totally fascinating characters kept the pages flying. I consumed this in two days. I so recommend that you read this book. And I’m super excited that this is a four book series. I can’t wait to read more.

I'm giving away my ARC because I want to share this awesome book with you. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment by midnight on October 27th. I’ll announce the winner on October 29th. If your e-mail is not on Blogger, please list it in your comment. International entries are welcome.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. 

And don't forget to enter my contests for CREWEL,  THE TORN WING and ASHEN WINTER, three awesome books. The links to the contests are at the top of the blog.

Here's what's coming up:

On Friday I'll be sharing a guest post by debut author Jordan Jacobs and giving away a copy of his middle grade book, SAMANTHA SUTTON AND THE LABYRINTH OF LIES. It's a story about a legendary ghost, a hidden treasure, and a ancient temple in Peru. 

Next Monday, I'm interviewing debut author Shelby Bach and giving away a copy of OF GIANTS AND ICE. It's a unique fairy tale retelling centering around the Ever After School. It's a story I really enjoyed and I think you will too.

Next Wednesday, I'm interviewing debut author Laura Ellen and giving away an ARC of BLIND SPOT, a fantastic contemporary YA book about a girl who's dealing with macular degeneration, a schoolmates death, and a whole lot more. 

The following Monday I am SO excited to share an interview with New York Times best selling author Cinda Williams Chima and give away a copy of THE CRIMSON CROWN, book 4 in The Seven Realms series. This is a fantastic fantasy series as good as George Martin's A GAME OF THRONES. Even if you haven't read the other books in Cinda's series, you'll want this book and you'll want to read Cinda's awesome advice. She's an amazing  writer that I was lucky enough to meet at a SCBWI conference. 

And don't forget our Tuesday Tips and Casey's Thursday agent spotlights.

Hope to see you Friday!