The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Raven Cycle #1
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Length: 11 hours and 8 minutes
Narrator: Will Patton
Source: eLibrary
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Description:
“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.”My Rating:
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.
My Review: Oh what a suspenseful and mysterious read! Blue has grown up with a family of psychics and has always known a big piece of her future. When she crosses paths with Gansey and a few other privileged "Raven" boys, Blue finds that she simply can't stay away. Gansey is looking for a special energy path known as a ley line so that he may wake up a mythical figure who will grant a wish to the person who wakes him. Unlike the others, Adam must work his way through school and feels the pressure from both himself and his family. Noah is a sweet kid with a mysterious path. Roman is angry teenage kid who prefers to face his problems with his fists, haunted by a tragedy that hits too close to home. In this story we've got it all. There's a mysterious energy, an old mystery, an unsolved murder, betrayal, and mythology all center stage here.
On the story...
On one hand the story is well-written and has such an exciting premise. On the other hand, the underlying story about the missing guy and wanting a wish granted was a bit uninteresting. The other mysteries that arose from this were intriguing but the story dragged too much in the middle for me. Very little was solved in this installment and the biggest mystery of all--Blue's connection with Gansey--was left wide open. The beginning and the end was great. The beginning set an amazing stage and the end had some exciting adventure scenes. I quite enjoyed this read and would continue the rest of the series, but I couldn't help but be disappointed overall.
On the narrator...
I loved loved Mr. Patton. His voice was raspy and drew me in from the beginning. The guy voices were better than the female voice but it wasn't too bad because there were so many men. I can't think of a voice that could have been a better fit for both the characters and the tone of the read.
Overall, it didn't meet my expectations but I still plan to continue the series.
