The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater

THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater

I'm giving this book 4 stars! ★★★★

My brain has extremely mixed feelings about this book.

I'll try to explain, but forgive me if I sound like an idiot.

Around when this book first came out, one of my best friends told me she thought I wouldn't like it. I had been thinking about reading it but she made me believe it wasn't my type of book.

HOW VERY WRONG SHE WAS.

Goodness, I've been missing out!

I really, really enjoyed this book. It took me forever to read it, though (if three days counts as forever). The first half was pretty slow for me. Now, I'm aware this doesn't make sense, but hopefully you kind of get it. I LOVED the second half. And because I loved the second half so much and things started to make sense, I liked the first half. After I read it. When I was well into the second half of the book, I saw the significance of the beginning. Does that make sense? Probably not.

EITHER WAY, I liked it a lot. And I am SO READY to read the second book. Well... in the next month or so.

And this was my first Maggie Stiefvater book! I feel like I made an excellent choice. I also feel like it can only get better from here.

My biggest problem with this book was the very end. I... feel stupid for admitting this, but what in the heck even happened with Adam? I seriously have no clue. Maybe one day I'll understand. Maybe when I read the other books? WHO KNOWS.

So the characters were 50% of why I loved this book. I AM ABSOLUTELY CRAZY ABOUT THE CHARACTERS. I loved Blue. I loved Gansey. I loved Adam. I loved Ronan and Noah and Maura and Persephone and Calla. Unsure about Neeve at the moment. But GOODNESS, does Maggie Stiefvater sure know how to develop characters! They all felt so real and that is possibly the most important part of books, in my opinion. If I can connect with the characters, I am interested in their stories, so I like the book. Right? So I 100% applaud Maggie on her incredible characters.

I also thought the story itself was so unexpectedly original and shocking and intriguing. I like that the ending wasn't really a cliffhanger, but I'm still pumped to read the next one. I love that it was unpredictable. However, fair warning, I find almost NOTHING predictable. I don't do well with thinking beyond the words on the page, sadly.

I also think the best part of Maggie's writing is her ability to make readers feel like they're in the story. More so than other authors do. Let me explain.

So the raven boys and Blue (and I guess Maura, Calla, Persephone, and Neeve as well) get pulled into this crazy thing and it gets so real and so intense that they're sucked into it and once they're in, they're in. You know? There's no getting out now. That is also how I, as the reader, felt. I feel like now that I've read this first book, I'm in. I have to read more. I am now involved and there's no other option. I have to continue. It's too late to turn back. I can't erase it from my memory or go on pretending like I never got so involved. IT SUCKED ME IN AND I LOVE IT.

I probably sound like a crazy person, so I'll end this.

Basically, this book is golden.

Imaginative. Addicting. Thought-provoking. Mysterious. Even a bit creepy.

Read it even if one of your best friends tells you it's not your style. GIVE THIS ONE A CHANCE, I BEG YOU.

The end.