The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, book 1)

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Dust Jacket Summary:
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, and he’s 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; Ronon, 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.

My Review
The best description of this book is this: cool, very cool. I adore author Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style; it’s so unique and descriptive. She expertly dives into the minds of all her characters and her story is expertly plotted. The supernatural component of this story is very “ancient aliens.” If you have no idea what that means, basically it lives on the edge of what could be real.

Blue and Gansey are superb characters. I especially enjoyed Blue’s style and down-to-earth determination. Fans of Stiefvater’s previous work (The Shiver Trilogy and The Scorpio Races) will not be disappointed by the first in this four-book saga.

Rated: High. For about five uses of strong language and other occasional use of foul language (this earns a high rating for teens, but would be a moderate for adults).

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