Maggie Stiefvater's THE RAVEN CYCLE

The town of Henrietta, Virginia, is home to Aglionby Academy--a posh private school full of pretentious jerks known as the Raven Boys. Henrietta is on a ley line, affording the town random bursts of energy and making it the stage for a series of paranormal events. Blue Sargent accidentally befriends four Raven Boys who soon become irrevocably steeped in the magical and increasingly-sinister story of Henrietta.

Gansey is an unwittingly pretentious, stifling wholesome, adventuresome teen on a mission to awaken a dead Welsh king; Ronan is an Irish Catholic thug with a pet raven and an unhealthy obsession with cars; Noah is apparently a ghost and no one has realized it until quite recently; Adam is a country hick who may or may not be possessed by a magical forest. Blue is the cursed daughter of a psychic--and she knows that this is the year Gansey will die.

POSITIVES

Writing quality:

Stiefvater is a wonderful writer. I had my reservations when I initially started the series--after all, Young Adult tends to have a reputation for quantity over quality. I've started many YA series and given up after the first book (or even first chapter) because I can't stand the miserable quality of the prose; it's condescending to the audience, for an author to assume no one will care that so little effort has gone into the the foundations of the novel.

This was my tip-off that this series wasn't going in that direction: I finished the first chapter and I sat back and went "wow". That was good. I tend to think, as I read, Could I have written that sentence? Could I have articulated that particular thought/sensation? And there were several times within this first chapter alone that I conceded no--I could not have done that. And Stiefvater didn't just fly by as passable--she's really an extraordinary writer.

While there are too many examples to list here, I'd be remiss if I didn't praise her character development. The characters really make the series--they drive the plot, their relationships add to the twists and turns, and they are really well-developed as well. There is an almost undetectable shift in perspective as the POV switches from chapter to chapter (similarly to Cornelia Funke's Inkheart series).

Friendship and Family

One of the overarching themes of the series is the friendship that develops between Blue and her Raven Boys. We see time and time again that this group would do anything for any single member. We see similar themes in Blue's home life. While none of the boys has the best relationship with their family, Blue is very close to the women in her life; her relationships with her mother and all her adoptive aunts are extremely important to her.

Humor

Not to say that the series is a comedy, but I'd be wrong to exclude this point, as it's one of my favorite things about the series. Stiefvater is able to maintain a balance of mystery, intensity, and dark-and-gritty escapades, with some of the best witty dialogue I've read in quite a while. The situations in themselves are hilarious. Consider: Ronan has a pet raven which he names Chainsaw for no good reason; Gansey lives in a warehouse where the refrigerator is kept in the bathroom beside the toilet (for no good reason); Blue has an unfounded hatred for boat shoes and hates Gansey for quite a while because he owns a pair.

NEGATIVES

Language

Lots of f-bombs. Fair amount of blasphemy as well. The timing is always perfect and it's honestly almost poetic, but I understand that the actual timing of cursing isn't necessarily most people's deciding factor in whether they should expose their young child to said cursing. I digress.

Mature relationships/content

It's YA, there's got to be some of this stuff in there. However, the fact that Blue "can't kiss her true love or he'll die" keeps most of the mature stuff to a minimum. It's suggested that another boy at Aglionby, Kavinsky, might be into Ronan, and he certainly insinuates that Ronan and Gansey might be a couple (they are not). However, in books two and three, it becomes abundantly clear that Ronan and Adam are in a relationship.

Paranormal/occult themes

This is probably the main source of my hesitance in recommending the book. While I don't believe there is anything spiritually damaging in THE RAVEN CYCLE, I understand that many people might be concerned with some of the topics discussed. For example, Blue comes from a family of psychics; they do palm-readings and tarot cards, scrying, the works. In the later books, there are a few cases of possession by a "demon"--a blobby wasp-looking creature intent on destroying the magical forest outside of Henrietta. I'd certainly say that the books get a bit darker as they go on.

The reason I'm okay with this, however, is that none of it strikes me as a realistic portrayal of actual occult/supernatural events. It's all framed by MAGIC. I don't consider myself a superstitious person at all, but there are certain topics that make me uncomfortable because I consider them a more realistic portrayal: demonic possession, communicating with spirits, etc. However, THE RAVEN BOYS didn't strike me this way. Again, it's all seen through a lens of "this is a magical version of the world"--like how God isn't necessarily a consideration in the MCU. It's a version of the world, yes, but these things are not presented as actual realistic events. That's why I'm okay with it, though I understand why some other people might not be.

PERSONAL OPINIONS

I enjoyed the series! I have an affinity for character-driven plots, and Maggie Stiefvater hits the mark. But aside from the characters, I would recommend the series for the writing quality alone--it's really well done.

Would I recommend it to children under 16? Probably not--it's got some mature stuff in it and a lot of cursing. This blog caters to a young, Catholic audience. Therefore, while I wish I could promote the series for everyone, I won't put it under the YA recommended-reading list--I think there's enough potentially-problematic material in the series that it would be irresponsible to slap it on the list without any sort of warning label for parents to read beforehand.

Overall, loved it. And I'll be reading more of Maggie Stiefvater's novels in the future,

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I'm keeping up with my summer class, but I'm about to tack on two more and I'm hoping I can continue updating the blog while I'm juggling all three. I've been eating a lot of Nutella and listening to a lot of Tamino, and I don't know if that's indicative of how my senior year is going so far, but I think it certainly sets the tone for the rest of this summer. I'm fine with that.

For those who have been following along on my emotionally-draining journey of querying agents: I sent out a slew of 20+ query letters a couple weeks ago. I've gotten six rejection letters back, and a whole lot of silence (silence usually means no). I'm going to send out another batch sometime next week. In the meantime, I'm distracting myself by writing Book 2, reading poetry, and eating more Nutella.

I'm currently working my way through Robin Sloan's Sourdough. While I'm only a few chapters in, my impression thus far is...confusion. I think it's technically women's fiction? Maybe? But there's also some potentially magical stuff going on with this woman's sourdough starter? I always enjoy a dark and twisty food story though, so I'm game--we'll see how this goes.

As always, if you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to comment under the Facebook post or email me.