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Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Series Review: The Raven Cycle (#1-3) by Maggie Stiefvater

Publisher: Scholastic
Published: 2012-2014
Pages: 1,246
Source: Gifted
Rating: 5 Stars


Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.
His name is Gansey, 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 is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher 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 doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

In short: The Raven Cycle proves once again that Maggie Stiefvater ranks up there with the most masterful storytellers and visionaries.
Finally. Finally! My reading of The Raven Cycle has been a long time coming. From the moment I learned about The Raven Boys, I knew it was a "me" book that I would love to death. But I also knew that my feelings about books can be heavily influenced by my current mood and because I had been a wee bit stressed the past few years, I put off reading it. Cut to years later, my schooling is done, and I have now finally read the first three books in The Raven Cycle - just in time for the finale, The Raven King! And the series was every bit as special as I was hoping it would be.

Having said that, I'm honestly having a hard time phrasing my thoughts in a way that would truly do the series justice. How would I even describe the premise?? It's hard because a) it's unlike anything I have ever read before and so it's hard to draw comparisons and b) The Raven Cycle is definitely a series best appreciated if you go into it knowing as little as possible. But suffice it to say, the conclusions you should draw from this are that a) The Raven Cycle is a wholly original tale with no comparisons and b) Maggie Stiefvater always keeps it interesting with one intriguing and unexpected twist after another.

I think where the series really shines for me though is in the characters, each more carefully drawn and complexly unraveled than the next. While the plot is wildly imaginative and the prose correspondingly artistic, it is the characters that bridge the gap between magic and reality and elevate the series to a wonderfully memorable saga. The Raven Cycle proves once again that Maggie Stiefvater ranks up there with the most masterful storytellers and visionaries.

Author Links:
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16 comments :

  1. I am SO STOKED for the upcoming release of TRK. Just finished re-reading the series in anticipation of going to a book signing at Blue Willow up in Houston next week. (I might have to go home "sick" a little early that day in order to make it in time -- don't tell my boss.) I can't wait to found out how it all wraps up.

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    1. Heh, don't worry, I totally approve of people skiving off work early if it means they get to go meet their favourite author!!

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  2. I wholeheartedly agree! I love this series and every book keeps getting better! I binge reread THE DREAM THIEVES this past Monday and stayed up till 2AM to finish. I haven't done that in years! I finally got BL,LB so I can get to reading it and being ready for THE RAVEN KING. (WHICH I ALREADY SAW RELEASED SO I AM NOT READY OMG.)

    *breathes in and out*

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    1. Ahhh I know, I saw a few people got their copy of TRK early so it's officially out in the world!! (I'm not sure I'm ready to have it end so soon either o.o)

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  3. Yesss :D I am so glad you finally had time to read all three books, and that you loved them so much. <3 Huuugs. I did too :D They are PERFECT. Gosh, I have been waiting for The Raven King for so long, lol. Hope we will both love it :)

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    1. I'm so late to the game on my TRC obsession, but I'm glad everyone is stoked to have me join the party late! And I'm glad I'm only having to wait a few weeks for TRK :)

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  4. Words truly cannot express how happy I am that 1. You finally read this series LOL! And 2. That you LOVED IT!!!! Gah! I agree with you, doing the series justice in a review is a daunting task. Like you, I feel like the characters are the biggest draw of this series. I love each and every one of them. They seem SO real, they leap off the pages. My favorite is Ronan but each and every one of the other boys+Blue hold a piece of my heart! The prose is as delicious as anything Stiefvater puts to paper and the plot is just the icing on an already delicious cake! And now we wait for The Raven King and hope it doesn't shatter our souls O.O

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    1. :D:D I think Ronan might be my favourite too. BUT how can I not love all the rest of them too!! And I just know that at least one of them is going to die in TRK and the thought of that makes my heart cry. Why Maggie, why??

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  5. There is definitely something wrong me because I STILL have to read this series. I've had my copies (book 1 and 2) on my shelf unread and I just ordered book 3. I'm going to take some time once the school year is over to sit down and read them. I also know that I will love them, but I don't want to rush and read them, you know? I'd rather savor them and appreciate them.

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  6. Apparently I'm not in the minority as much as I thought I might be. I've not read this author's work as of yet either but I've HEARD amazing things. I will...one day... ^-^ Thanks for the share!

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  7. Gah, fantastic review. I love that you said the characters are so well done because that's often a HUGE thing for me when it comes to books - especially series. I have the first two of these from the library and I really need to find some time to binge read, because I'm hoping to see Maggie live in May and it would be nice to have read them all - or at least up to The Raven King.

    -Lauren

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  8. FIVE STARS ohmygoodness yes that is so awesome. Maggie is such a great writer, I have a couple of her books about the werewolves and the singing girl, and they've all been really good, so I'd like to read these. I'm so glad that you enjoyed the series, because The Raven Cycle looks pretty gripping. Also, omg what adorable covers!

    Amy;
    Little Moon Elephant

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  9. READING THE RAVEN KING RIGHT NOW, I'M ONLY ON THE INTERNET AS A BREAK FROM THE INTENSITY! BUT I'M ABOUT TO GO BACK IT OUT! YIKES WILL WE MAKE IT OUT ALIVE????

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  10. Q: Can anyone tell me the difference between K2 and IQ? A: Nthn. In Seventh-Heaven, we gitt'm both for eternity HawrHawr Neeeed summore thots, ideers, raw wurdz or ironclad iconoclasms? Yay! Voila!

    VERBUM SAT SAPIENTI: As an ex-writer of the sassy, savvy, schizophenia we all go through in this lifelong demise, I just wanna help U.S. git past the whorizontal more!ass! we're in (Latin: words to [the] wise)...

    "This finite existence is only a test, son," God Almighty told me in my coma. "Far beyond thy earthly tempest is where you'll find tangible, corpulent eloquence" (paraphrased). Lemme tella youse without d'New Joisey accent...

    I actually saw Seventh-Heaven when we died: you couldn't GET any moe curly, party-hardy-endorphins, extravagantly-surplus-lush Upstairs when my beautifull, brilliant, bombastic girly-girl passed-away due to those wry, sardonic satires.

    "Those who are wise will shine as brightly as the expanse of the Heavens, and those who have instructed many in uprightousness as bright as stars for all eternity" -Daniel 12:3

    Here's also what the prolific, exquisite GODy sed: 'the more you shall honor Me, the more I shall bless you' -the Infant Jesus of Prague.

    Go git'm, girl. You're incredible. See you Upstairs. I won't be joining'm in the nasty Abyss where Isis prowls
    thesuperseedoftime.blogspot.com
    infowars.com
    -YOUTHwitheTRUTH
    -------------------------------
    PS Need summore unique, uncivilized, useless names? Lemme gonna gitcha started, brudda:

    Oak Woods, Franky Sparks, Athena Noble, Autumn Rose, Faith Bishop, Dolly Martin, Willow Rhodes, Cocoa Major, Roman Stone, Bullwark Burnhart, Magnus Wilde, Kardiak Arrest, Will Wright, Goldy Silvers, Penelope Summers, Sophie Sharp, Violet Snow, Lizzy Roach, BoxxaRoxx, Aunty Dotey, Romero Stark, Zacharia Neptoon, Mercurio Morrissey, Fritz & Felix Franz, Victor Payne, Isabella Silverstein, Mercedes Kennedy, Redding Rust, Phoenix Martini, Ivy Squire, Sauer Wolfe, Yankee Cooky, -blessed b9...

    God blessa youse
    (trust-in-Jesus)
    -Fr. Sarducci, ol SNL

    ReplyDelete
  11. Q: Can anyone tell me the difference between K2 and IQ? A: Nthn. In Seventh-Heaven, we gitt'm both for eternity HawrHawr Neeeed summore thots, ideers, raw wurdz or ironclad iconoclasms? Yay! Voila!

    VERBUM SAT SAPIENTI: As an ex-writer of the sassy, savvy, schizophenia we all go through in this lifelong demise, I just wanna help U.S. git past the whorizontal more!ass! we're in (Latin: words to [the] wise)...

    "This finite existence is only a test, son," God Almighty told me in my coma. "Far beyond thy earthly tempest is where you'll find tangible, corpulent eloquence" (paraphrased). Lemme tella youse without d'New Joisey accent...

    I actually saw Seventh-Heaven when we died: you couldn't GET any moe curly, party-hardy-endorphins, extravagantly-surplus-lush Upstairs when my beautifull, brilliant, bombastic girly-girl passed-away due to those wry, sardonic satires.

    "Those who are wise will shine as brightly as the expanse of the Heavens, and those who have instructed many in uprightousness as bright as stars for all eternity" -Daniel 12:3

    Here's also what the prolific, exquisite GODy sed: 'the more you shall honor Me, the more I shall bless you' -the Infant Jesus of Prague.

    Go git'm, girl. You're incredible. See you Upstairs. I won't be joining'm in the nasty Abyss where Isis prowls
    thesuperseedoftime.blogspot.com
    infowars.com
    -YOUTHwitheTRUTH
    -------------------------------
    PS Need summore unique, uncivilized, useless names? Lemme gonna gitcha started, brudda:

    Oak Woods, Franky Sparks, Athena Noble, Autumn Rose, Faith Bishop, Dolly Martin, Willow Rhodes, Cocoa Major, Roman Stone, Bullwark Burnhart, Magnus Wilde, Kardiak Arrest, Will Wright, Goldy Silvers, Penelope Summers, Sophie Sharp, Violet Snow, Lizzy Roach, BoxxaRoxx, Aunty Dotey, Romero Stark, Zacharia Neptoon, Mercurio Morrissey, Fritz & Felix Franz, Victor Payne, Isabella Silverstein, Mercedes Kennedy, Redding Rust, Phoenix Martini, Ivy Squire, Sauer Wolfe, Yankee Cooky, -blessed b9...

    God blessa youse
    (trust-in-Jesus)
    -Fr. Sarducci, ol SNL

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yay!!! I'm so glad that you loved these books, Eilidh!!! I'm a mega, super duper fangirl over them, and I always love it when my favourite people love my favourite books!!! I completely agree that this is a series that works best when you go into it not knowing what to expect--it adds to the magic of it all! And yes!!! Maggie Steifvater is AMAZING! She's most definitely a masterful storyteller and certainly a visionary. I couldn't agree with you more about that!! :D

    Great review, Eilidh! You've done a great job of telling us you loved it without spoiled anything for newbies to The Raven Cycle. :D

    ReplyDelete