Saturday 23 July 2016

A Book Review of The Raven Boys







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, 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; Ronan, 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. 



I originally found The Raven Boys at my local Shiploads store which is basically one of those two dollar type shops. It stood out to me because I had heard Cait @ Paperfury rave about it so many times. To be honest when I bought it I had little to no idea of what the book was about. Several months after I had bought it I decided to give it a go. I looked it up first and I became unsure about whether I should read it or not because of the mention of tarot cards. As a Christian I was uneasy about it. But even though I was uneasy I decided to pick it up and give it ago. And I am so glad I did. 




My first thoughts were intrigue, intrigue, intrigue. I was curious and wanted to know so much more. At first I didn't want to leave Blue's point of view but I soon warmed to the next. I liked how the different points of view worked well into the story. It made the book feel well constructed. I loved all the characters. Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam and Noah. They all had their own stories and struggles which I liked. Noah was well Noah. He was sad and liked at the same time (If that made sense). Adam, very independent. Definitely struggles with his struggles. (Very informative, I know :)). Ronan. He was very Ronan. Clearly has issues with his brother. I want to know more about him and the way he finished off the book. Seriously I need to read the next book. Also chainsaw. Why the name. *Shakes head* I really don't understand why he named it that. Onto Gansey. He is very caring and also very grown up. It makes sense though, but naughty Gansey must stay away from bees and wasps. I wonder what is too come in the next book. :) Finally there is Blue. She's very, I don't really know how to say it. Her family is definitely very interesting. But I want to know more about the males. Seriously her family is very populated with females.  I do have to say one mistake I made was reading this late into the night. I freaked myself out doing that. It was okay again when I picked up in the morning, but I should not to self to be careful what books I read that keep me up late. 


A night a so after I had finished reading this I was almost asleep when a picture came into my mind of chain links breaking. It seemed unusual at first and I wasn't sure what it meant, but after a few moments of pondering I came to the conclusion that it had a symbolic meaning. As a Christian I have been hesitant to read or watch anything that had anything to do with dark magic. For an example I was brought up believing that Harry Potter was bad for me and whenever the ads for the movies came on I would get a shiver. But recently I've been wanting to watch and read the books for myself to make my own decision and not one that has been influenced by what my parents have always said. So probably two or three months ago I decided to find the first movie online and watch it for myself. I was surprised how different it was from my expectations. I loved it. It was as dark as I had expected it to be and I wanted to watch the next one, though I haven't yet. So this image of the breaking chain for me meant that The Raven Boys was the book that has allowed me to read and watch things that I may not have before due to darkish content. Now I definitely want to read the Harry Potter books sometime. 

Similarly I have always stayed away from Doctor Who. For some reason it has just seemed scary but a few months ago one night while asleep I was having a dream. I have absolutely no idea what I was dreaming about, but what I do remember is that the Tardis (the police box?) appeared in the dream. This is strange for two reasons. 1. I know little to nothing about Doctor Who and 2. I had no interest in watching it. But then it appeared in that dream and I wanted to watch it. So I found an episode online and watched it. I actually rather enjoyed it. But then I did research and scared myself away but I think I am still willing to try it. 

To Finish Off
This post ended up being part review and part how it changed or opened me up to reading and watching different things. I can't wait to read the next book in the series and find out what happened next. I look forward to try other books that may have left me wary at first but I could really enjoy. 

I give it a B+ :)


Maggie Stiefvater's life decisions have revolved around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in you pyjamas are frowned upon when you're a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists (she's made her living a one or the other since she was twenty-two). Maggie now lives a surprisingly eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia, with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, and multiple neurotic dogs. 

Find Maggie Stiefvater  Website / Facebook / Tumblr / Twitter / Instagram 

2 comments:

  1. OMG I AM SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT!! *flings confetti in the air* And I mean, I always feel mildly bad for shouting at people to read books that might make them unhappy/uncomfortable...but I'm actually glad this was a sort of release for you! I do believe in making one's own decisions about reading/content. :') But I was the same with Harry Potter. XD My parents brought me up believing it was pure evil...but it's actually not even that dark and the themes of friendship and loyalty and bravery and family are just AMAZING. <33
    Anyway. I hope you read the rest of TRC!!! IT IS ALL GLORIOUS AND THOSE BOYS. <333 Ronan is my favourite, but only by a smidge, because Gansey and Noah are too precious for this world, and I love how well done Adam's character development is. I end up loving him too in the next books. :D

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    1. Yes I've come to the conclusion (for the little I know) that it is basically a battle between good and evil like a lot of fantasy. Yeah I want to learn more about Ronan. I may also have a slight soft spot for him, but I can't help loving all of them.

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