Review: The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Mate. What was that?

Like, I have no idea what just happened.

I happily admit this was a thousand and one times better than Shiver, but I'm just so confused.

Don't get me wrong: I did actually really enjoy it. I have no regrets at letting FOMO and peer pressure make this reading choice for me.

But ... I mean ... I just ... what???

I think it's the blend of reality and magic that did my head in. I like a taste of magic in the real world, but this just went with it so naturally. Are we really supposed to believe a guy as popular and handsome etc as Gansey is just perfectly accepted as a superstitious eccentric? No way he didn't cop a ton of crap for it all behind his back. Teenage boys are JERKS. There's no way all this weird crap was accepted as normal. Sorry, don't buy it.

And coincidently the teacher was into the same bs? No no no. I do believe it more of the social outcast, but the alpha male's gotta at least get some weird looks.

Blue makes perfect sense, though. She's odd, and a bit of a loner. Shame she didn't get at least one bff, though!

So there's that: the formula was off like a bag of prawns in the sun.

And then just ... ley lines and energy and dowsing and stuff ... it's a lot to wrap your head around. It's modern day magic brought to life like it's the most natural thing ever and I was a bit confused by it. I'm hoping reading the rest of the series will clear up a lot but basically there's a lot of magic and it's really hard to understand what is normal and what is science and what is fantasy and WHAT GENRE IS THIS, BTW??!

I really liked the characters, though. Those boys are adorable.

Gansey is a great hero, being the rich snob who's trying really hard (and failing) to not be a rich snob, and he's well balanced with his realistic, poor friend, his aggressive, idealistic friend and that one guy who doesn't say a lot. The boys make a great crew; a bromance for the century. I like that there's so much testosterone-fuelled angst thrown around but they still manage to stay thick as thieves. That's pretty cool. (view spoiler)[I definitely wanted to high-five Ronan for decking Adam's old man. Hes the real MVP. (hide spoiler)]l

Blue is a quirky little misfit but I like her assertiveness. Shame about that whole 'no kissing' thing, though. Total bummer.

Her wacky fam is fam goals. I mean, maybe not quite craziness at that level but just that honesty and community and trust etc. It's heartwarming to read about actual decent parents in YA - they always cop a raw deal! So Blue's family were a welcome addition to the plot. Handy having an in-house psychic!

Whelk was a creepy ol' douchebag so I was quite happy to hate him. What. A. Loser.

It's a pretty quirky story with a bunch of random symbolism that hopefully clears itself up in the next few novels. If you just kinda relax and go with it, it's a pretty enjoyable story. There's plenty of action and intriguing developments to drive the narrative, and how the characters relate to one another is probably the greatest charm of the book.

Can I just talk about the ending for a sec?

(view spoiler)[So I have no idea what happened with Adam? I think the vagueness failed to penetrate my thick skull. I thought he was gonna end up in Gansey's body (otherwise what was that 'I'll be your eyes and ears' crap?) and then he got not-shot which kinda confirmed my theory but then no one was shot? And Adam was basically the same except on a power trip? So was his sacrifice actually to the Latin trees? (Also, lol at the Latin trees) And why did we jump straight from there to the happily ever after?? What a terrible conclusion. I mean, I'm glad it wasn't a cliffhanger but that was a pretty terrible ending.

And what's up with Gansey being all, 'OMGeeeeee Adam you totally let him be trampled, you murderer!' (And also, I'm still confused about what did the trampling?? Like, I kinda just pictured Arwen's badass water horses from the Lord of the Rings movie but I'm pretty sure these things were more tangible. But where did they go???) Because Gansey seems like a pretty reasonable guy so I thought it was a bit condescending for him to suddenly be all accusatory towards one of his best mates. Plus, he's a weird dude. So I get that he might feel a bit sick over witnessing death but surely he kinda saw it coming after messing around with all this crazy stuff. Sigh. It just didn't make a huge amount of sense to me.

And since I'm divulging spoilery feelings, I'm totally shipping Gansey and Blue. Adam is aiight, but he's all soft and dull. Whereas Gansey can be soft but is more sharp, shiny edges. In short, he's a billion times more fun. Top pick for Raven bf.
(hide spoiler)]

I expected to love this because everyone else seems to (and that worked well for me with Six of Crows) but ir didn't nab me as hard as I hoped. I really enjoyed it, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one, but I'm not feeling obsession, so it didn't quite hit the 5-star mark.

I was also a bit frustrated by the writing - like when the author forgot she knew more than us. Eg. When Girlfriend is referred to by her name, creating a hitch in continuity. It still feels like messy writing but, considering it's come such a long way since the train-wreck that was Shiver, I'm pretty dang excited for what will be spawned in the future from such magnificent author growth.

Final verdict: quirky, but loveably so. Characters that are easy to fall for, and a story that raises plenty of questions, driving the pace. Best served with a grain of salt. YA lovers should be suitably smitten.





View all my reviews