Review Detail

The Raven Boys was impressive. The book has a plot inventive enough to keep a reader guessing, and is populated with a fabulous assortment of characters who bring the story to life.

The Raven Boys centers on Blue, the pragmatic daughter of the town psychic, and her relationship with an eclectic group of prep-school students known as the Raven Boys. Led by sociable, rich, and effortlessly pretentious Gansey, the boys and Blue investigate the grey area between science and myth for “ley lines,” energy pathways tied to geographical areas. Their ultimate goal is finding the sleeping ancient Welsh King Glendower, who they believe slumbers somewhere on the East Coast. Blue’s household of women psychics adds depth to the plot. They all foresee that if Blue kisses her true love, he will die, and that this is the year she will fall in love.

Stiefvater adds color and strength to an already well-thought out plot (this book actually lays the foundation for continuation as a four-book series) with her delightfully realized characters. Blue is a well-developed protagonist, with relatable qualities and a personality that corresponds with her upbringing in a female-dominated, independent world that accepts the supernatural. Secondary characters are truly brought to full-bodied, dynamic characters in their own right. Blue’s mother and aunts, though relatively minor characters, have in-depth personalities and deviate from the stock characters of Supporting Albeit Domineering Mother-Figure. Blue receives assistance from her aunts to spy on a houseguest, and her mother has never given her a direct order.

The four Raven Boys each bring a fully developed and dynamic character to the scene, characters which have life both on their own and a synergy as a group. We are introduced to three of the boys from Blue’s perspective:

“One was smudgy, just as he said, with a rumpled, faded look about his person, like his body had been laundered too many times. The one who’d hit the light was handsome and his head was shaved; a soldier in a war where the enemy was everyone else. And the third was—elegant. It was not the right word for him, but it was close. He was fine-boned and a little fragile looking, with blue eyes pretty enough for a girl.”

The personalities of each boy are as distinct emotionally as they are physically, allowing true group dynamics to form. Each character relates to the others in an individual fashion, which makes the book more realistic.

The book is written from different points of view, so insights to internal feelings as well as their external interactions are both expressed. In this way, Steifvater creates holistic characters and the presentation of their side stories as well as role in the overall plot, is believable.

One complaint on The Raven Boys is that it is the first book in a series of four. The Raven Boys opens more doors than it closes, and as an impatient reader, I enjoy closure at the end of my novels, which is not provided here. Steifvater has the content to make a full, balanced story, in the same way that Melina Marchetta’s novels are separate entities that are fantastic in their own rights. The foreshadowing of plot intricacies in the books to come made me feel like I would eventually be overwhelmed.
Though Stiefvater writes books in series like most other YA authors, she breaks the mold in terms of subject matter and literary quality. Recently, supernatural fiction has heavily weighted the balance of young adult books. However, The Raven Boys asserts its individuality by breaking trail instead of following in the footsteps of mainstream supernatural, with lay lines and Welsh mythology creating an intriguing and fresh premise. What’s more, Stiefvater is a self-professed perfectionist, and it shows in her writing. This book demonstrates a lot of thought and effort, not only in plot organization, but also in the crafting of sentences and presentation of dialog. There is fluidity to the writing that weaves metaphors into a narration that connects the reader to the emotions of the novel.

In her blog, Stiefvater writes of a previous book:
“If it was about these things that were eating at me, it would have emotional truth, and no matter how great your plot or your hook or your legend is, if you don't have the emotional hook, it's just not going to mean anything to anybody else.”

The emotional hook remains in this novel. The Raven Boys is polished, consistent, interesting, and will leave you thirsting for the rest of the series. I recommend it as a solid piece of good writing for young adults, as well as anyone in the mood for a bit of mystery and an unforgettable assortment of characters.