The Raven Boys
By Maggie Stiefvater
Review by Zoey Mills
The Raven Cycle follows a group of soon-to-graduate prep school boys and Blue, a clairvoyant’s daughter, and their quest to find the grave of the Welsh King, Glendower. Lead by Gansey, the group is certainly dynamic in that each character brings something to the story. I would say one of Stiefvater’s main strengths is building characters.
As I got further into The Raven Boys, I realized that I became invested in characters (some more than others) and I could picture them as real people. Building entirely different worlds in a book is an extremely difficult thing to do, and often authors tend to give their readers an information overload. Stiefvater is extremely subtle in providing the information needed, and her foreshadowing is so subtle to the point where I had no idea of any of the twists that lay ahead. Although some events within the story are definitely fantastical, her writing is so moving and powerful that you can find yourself lost in the world of Henrietta, Virginia.
Having just finished the final installment of the series, The Raven King, I’ve admittedly fallen into a reading slump because my mind is still stuck in Henrietta with Blue and the gang. If you enjoyed YA’s like the Mortal Instruments Series by Casandra Clare, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, or even Harry Potter certainly give Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys a try. There’s every ounce of charm, magic, and even that classic, but yet very subtle, teen angst in The Raven Cycle.
Check availability on The Raven Boys
About the reviewer: Zoey works at both Tredyffrin Library and Chester County Library. She is currently attending Drexel University in hopes of becoming a full-time librarian. When she has free time she enjoys reading science fiction, YA, and speculative fiction. In addition she spends too much time on Netflix.
