The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Goodreads
409 pages, YA Paranormal (Ghosts & Magic)
The Raven Cycle #1
My Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis

“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 theShiver 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.

My 2 cents

This book was an odd duck!  I really liked the magical and paranormal elements to it, and the mystery of the ley lines.  The parts of the story where the group was uncovering the mysteries were the best parts of the story for me.  The characters themselves were definitely strange though!

So the way the synopsis read, I assumed that Gansey and Blue would be the couple of the book.  But not so!  It was actually Adam and Blue that were a sort-of couple in the book.  Although I think Gansey was drawn to Blue--but Blue really didn't like Gansey all that much.  After the ending though, I'm thinking Blue and Gansey may be drawn together in future novels.  

The group of friends was interesting and fun to read about.  Gansey is definitely the leader of the group--charismatic, rich, and in charge.  Ronan is his best friend, and they are like brothers.  Ronan has a major attitude problem.  Adam was my favorite of the boys.  He was the kid who was strong and sure, but suffered immensely for a hard knock kind of life.  He actually seemed the most normal.  Noah was always on the fringes of things,  and I didn't really get to know him that well until about two thirds of the way through the story.

Blue was an awesome heroine.  But it almost didn't feel like her story.  It really felt more like Adam and Gansey's story through most of the book.  Blue was just kind of there to lend support to the cause.  She was also the only one who knew Gansey's fate.  I am thinking her part to play must come later in the series.    

This was a great paranormal read with interesting characters and an interesting new concept of psychics  and magic.  I can't wait to read the next one!