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.
Portrait
Maggie Stiefvater, geb. im November 1981 in Virginia, verlebte eine nach eigenen Worten sehr chaotische aber sehr kreative und musisch geprägte Kindheit und Jugend. Nach dem College versuchte sie u.a. als Kellnerin, Zeichenlehrerin beruflich Fuß zu fassen. Doch sehr bald schon meldeten sich ihre kreativen Talente und verlangten, ausgelebt zu werden zunächst als Musikerin und Songwriterin, dann zunehmend als bildende Künstlerin. Für ihre künstlerischen Arbeiten wurde sie inzwischen mit einigen wichtigen Preisen ausgezeichnet. Seit 2007 hat sich Stiefvater aufs Schreiben konzentriert und zählt inzwischen zu den erfolgreichsten Autorinnen der Romantasy.
Meet Blue, who lives in a family full of extraordinary women with clairvoyant abilities. Blue seems to be very ordinary, even though her mother keeps ensuring her that she makes those ability of others stronger.
Desperate to find her own adventure, Blue joins a group of guys from the nearby boys academy, who are on a magical questMeet Blue, who lives in a family full of extraordinary women with clairvoyant abilities. Blue seems to be very ordinary, even though her mother keeps ensuring her that she makes those ability of others stronger.
Desperate to find her own adventure, Blue joins a group of guys from the nearby boys academy, who are on a magical quest to find a dead welsh king.
Meet unique characters and an exquisite way of writing. A books full of magic forest, smart boys and even smarter girls, foreshadowing of a different kind and dead welsh king!
Mystisch! Auf den ersten Blick kein Buch mit viel Fantasy, doch im Laufe der Geschichte kommt immer mehr dazu. Spannend, tolle Charaktere, macht Lust auf mehr.Mystisch! Auf den ersten Blick kein Buch mit viel Fantasy, doch im Laufe der Geschichte kommt immer mehr dazu. Spannend, tolle Charaktere, macht Lust auf mehr.
The characters make the whole series so good.
I always hear people rave about Stiefvater's writing and while it is quite good, I personally have some issues with it. Her writing isn't very straightforward and she likes to keep you hanging in the middle of unresolved scenes and start a...The characters make the whole series so good.
I always hear people rave about Stiefvater's writing and while it is quite good, I personally have some issues with it. Her writing isn't very straightforward and she likes to keep you hanging in the middle of unresolved scenes and start a new chapter.
Aside from that I enjoyed The Raven Boys a lot, thanks to the wonderful characters who feel magical but also like they could maybe exist, but only in a town like Henrietta.
The plot is interesting though not very fast paced. This is a four book series, so if you want a fast paced story I suggest you go look at some of the Duologies that have become popular in the last few years. The whole series is mostly character driven which I love. I don't care about a plot if I don't care about the characters.
I'm sure most people know this by now but there are instances of child abuse throughout the series (though nothing very graphic), underage alcohol abuse (once again not very graphic) and a suicide attempt in the past that is not discussed in further detail but mentioned.
I have to say that I don't like this edition very much. It feels weirdly hard for a softcover, you have to open it quite a lot because the whole page is printed and the cover makes a noise whenever you move it. The other scholastic softcover editions (which are "Scholastics Ltd." on here whereas the one I own is only by "Scholastics") are a lot smoother. The drawing of the boys is only not my kind of art either.
Langweilig..
von einer Kundin/einem Kunden
aus Bergisch Gladbach
am 14.06.2017
Bewertet: gebundene Ausgabe
Ich finde die Bücher von Maggie Stiefvater so unglaublich langweilig! Verstehe den Hype echt nicht. Ich dachte nach dem Ersten würde es besser werden, aber The Dream Thieves war noch schlimmer. Kann es echt keinem empfehlen :(
Magical
von einer Kundin/einem Kunden
aus Kassel
am 10.02.2017
Bewertet: Taschenbuch
Talking trees in a magical forest, sleeping kings, a non-psychic psychic, a group of four good-looking high school boys and the feeling of nostalgia besides the pure want of knowledge. If that's not what you're looking for in an urban-fantasy book, then shame on both of us. Shame on...Talking trees in a magical forest, sleeping kings, a non-psychic psychic, a group of four good-looking high school boys and the feeling of nostalgia besides the pure want of knowledge. If that's not what you're looking for in an urban-fantasy book, then shame on both of us. Shame on you that you don't give this wonderful book a try. Shame on me that I couldn't convince you otherwise. Because let me say from the bottom of my heart - this was one of the best reads I had in the entire year of 2016. Maggie Stiefvater built a world where one cannot ignore the fact that all of the main characters are equally lovable.
Since I have never read something from Maggie Stiefvater before, I needed quite some time to become accustomed to her writing style. It is very unique and the first few pages of the book were some kind of slow-moving for me. But the further I read the better I understood. To be honest, The Raven Boys was a book I never intended to buy. It got my attention when I saw it on many pictures from different bookstagramers and after some time it found a place on my wish-list. When I went shopping last week it was mere coincidence that my local bookshop had it in store and considering I love crossing things off of my wish-list, I took it home with me.
The book has - next to its fascinating and charismatic characters - an eerie and extremely hypnotizing but also melancholy atmosphere. It had me - despite the slow start - within a few pages and gave my many emotions throughout the story. With every word I could picture the story and where it played (Henrietta, a small town in Virginia) even tough I have never been there. I felt the story building and I really wished to be part of the adventures that took place. I wanted to dive into the pages and find myself right in the middle of Henrietta. Sadly I remained an outsider, damned to only read.
It was something new to get to know what will happen eventually without really knowing. Right at the very start - and also mentioned in the synopsis - of The Raven Boys, Blue Sargent along with the reader gets to know that she will sooner or later meet Gansey, a boy from Aglionby Academy. The latter is a place full of hideous people - at least, that's Blue's opinion. But what exactly will develop between those two is unclear. Gansey brings his three best friends - namely Ronan, Adam and Noah - along and together with Blue they form and inseparable troupe whereas every single one of them holds their own unknown secrets and ghosts. Not only the characters among themselves but the reader as well don't know the truth all along. These background stories covered in fog can only add to the unique feeling of the book. Since I'm way beyond looking for love-triangles - I have read about them way too much! - the constellation in this book is interesting. Blue is the only female character - while living in a house full of women - among the four male protagonists. One might think that Blue instantly falls in love with all of them (I did and I don't regret anything!) but as well as the book, this girl is different. She never ceases to amaze me with her behavior. Although she gets described as 'sensible', she knows exactly how to handle all of her boys. She knows when they need the calm and relaxed Blue but also does she know when to deadpan someone - mostly Gansey and Ronan. Furthermore her appearance is more than just unique. With her short black hair - short enough to be considered short and barely long enough to be made into a ponytail - and her self-made and up-cycled clothes, Blue really isn't the typical heroine compared to other books. Maybe because of that she is only more lovable.
The plot reveals itself chapter after chapter, page after page. I might say that it's relatively light on the beginning. Surely, it wrapped its fingers around my heart and never dared to let go, but a faster pace is shown in around the last quarter of the book. This is where most of the action happens and where you really don't want to put the book down - it's the fear of missing something very important. But through the whole plot you'll find yourself pulled deeper into all of the mysteries hidden on a search for a mysterious sleeping king and the promises he holds. Sadly (or luckily?), The Raven Boys ends with a cliffhanger that left me speechless and wanting more at the same moment. Maggie Stiefvater really knows how to end a book. But don't die right here, my friend. The Raven Boys is part one of a series called The Raven Cycle and the last book was published on April 26th 2016. This means you can order all of them at once and read it in one - okay, maybe more - sitting.
I highly recommend this book to well ... everybody? No, I'm kidding. But you should definitely read it when you're fan of mystic and psychic things and know the feeling of knowing something. Also if you want to grab something nostalgic that covers the fields of wanderlust and adventures, you should give it a try to let yourself be surprised - just like me.