Before her stood the multitasking cell phone Aglionby boy, looking tidy and presidential. His watch looked as if it cost more than her mother's car, and every area of exposed skin was a flattering shade of tan. Blue had never figured out how Aglionby boys managed to tan earlier than locals. It probably had something to do with things like spring break and places like Costa Rica and the Spanish coast...
"I certainly hope so," he said, in a way that indicated less hope and more certainty. He had to speak loudly to be heard, and he had to incline his head to meet her eyes. There was something annoyingly impressive about him, an impression that he was very tall, although he was no taller than most boys. "My socially inhibited friend Adam thinks you're cute, but he's unwilling to make a move. Over there. Not the smudgy one. Not the sulky one."
Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys is an interesting, fast-paced novel that draws on many fields of paranormal research. In terms of writing style, especially characterization and description, she is far better than any author I can remember happening upon in a while (think Laini Taylor, maybe a touch of Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices?). Her people- because they do feel like people, not characters- are funny, flawed, intelligent, rational young adults who just happen to be far cooler than anyone in real life could ever hope to be. Also, killer plot twists. Now that I've settled that, let's begin.
Blue Sargent has a fairly common (for Young Adult fictional heroines, of course) complaint- she comes from a family of psychics (not the problem), all of whom have reliably informed her that if she kisses her true love- like, ever- he'll die. (That's the problem. You got that, right?) Then, a couple chapters in, she sees the ghost of a guy whom she may or may not cause to die by the end of the year.
For any other author, that would be storyline enough. This book would consist of a meeting between the boy (Gansey) and Blue, and their initial tentative acquaintanceship would blossom into friendship (and maybe something more?). All the while, she would fight the knowledge of her prophecy and try to keep him in the dark about his impending doom and its potential cause.
Actually, all of that does happen. The great part about this book is that the Gansey-Blue storyline is, at best, a side story. The real story focuses on the search for Glendower, a mystic Welsh king whose discovery comes with rumored wish-fulfillment for his finder. Each of the main characters becomes part of the hunt for his or her own reasons: the thrill of the chase, a search for enlightenment, um, the wish...
On to the others: Gansey and Blue are only two members of an expansive cast of characters. They are joined on the hunt by Gansey's friends, the titular Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who develops a fledgling romance with Blue, Noah, a purposefully detached flatmate, and Ronan, who is angry and occasionally violent, but always (brutally) honest.
As is often the case with large casts, some characters are clearly better-developed. Blue and Gansey, our two leads, while certainly not unlikeable, simply do not have the more fascinating flaws of their friends. By the end of the book, I still felt that aspects of their personalities were unexplained (and not in a fun, cliffhangery way- but more on that later!). They are simply less detailed than the rest.
Adam and Ronan, on the other hand, are both wonderfully human and interesting- they are better-written from the start, and already have more dynamic characters arcs set up. Honestly, they should be running this show in the next books. The dimension that Stiefvater has leant to these two characters blows me away.
Noah, the eternal fifth wheel of the group, is and will probably always be a bit vague compared to the others. Stiefvater makes up for that, though, by giving him one heck of a twist in the middle of the book. Honestly, you can look, but you will not see this coming.
Stiefvater fits a lot in the way of research and characters into this book, and she makes very few concessions for people who can't keep up. I liked this- it's tedious to read the same explanations over and over again, but people who plan to pick this book back up after a few days of non-use may have a problem. Once a character is introduced, she expects you to remember them. Same with foreshadowing, teeny-tiny asides, and the definitions of obscure, ESP-like terms. Stiefvater chooses her audience in some ways by deciding not to compromise the speed and comprehensiveness of her storytelling to help out forgetful readers.
She also keeps the action driving up until the last few pages. The Raven Boys sets up so much action in the first half of the book that it can't even come close to wrapping it all up by the end of the novel (especially given how much gets added in the second half- dear Lord). If all of the storylines are played out by the end of the second book, I will be shocked. If Stiefvater does not end the second book with another game-changing revelation, I will be even more shocked (and a little disappointed).
Be sure to check out this book- it is well-written, smart, and full of potential!