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Book Summary and Reviews of The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys

by Maggie Stiefvater

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Published:
  • Sep 2012, 416 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve," Neeve said. "Either you’re his true love ... or you killed him."

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them - not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is 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 has it all - family money, good looks, devoted friends - but he's looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, 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 never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. It’s a tour de force of characterization, and while there is no lack of event or mystery, it is the way Stiefvater’s people live in the reader’s imagination that makes this such a memorable read. Ages 13 and up." - Publishers Weekly

"Starred Review. The magic is entirely pragmatic; the impossible, extraordinarily true." - Kirkus

"Starred Review. Indeed, reading this novel is like walking through a tangled thicket and coming across one unexpected and wonderful surprise after another. In that respect, the book is marvelous, for not only is it filled with marvels but it is also a marvel of imagination and, more prosaically, structure." - Booklist

This information about The Raven Boys was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Maggie Stiefvater Author Biography

Picture by: Stephan Voss

Maggie Stiefvater is the #1New York Times bestselling author of the novels Shiver, Linger, Forever, and The Scorpio Races. She is also the author of Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception and Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie. The first book in the Raven Cycle, The Raven Boys, was published in 2012. The second book, Chasing Shadows, was published in September 2013.

Stiefvater lives in Virginia with her husband and their two children.

Link to Maggie Stiefvater's Website

Name Pronunciation
Maggie Stiefvater: “Steve-Otter.” Like the name, “Steve,” and the little furry animal otter (from the author's website)

Other books by Maggie Stiefvater at BookBrowse

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