Trigger warnings: Ritualistic death
Synopsis: 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.
Review: How have I read The Raven Boys 3 times, and not reviewed it yet? The world may never know. I enjoy this story. A lot of people enjoy how different this series is, and I'm certainly one of them. I will say that I didn't care much for the characters. Blue was interesting, but she still fell into the trap of suddenly finding The Raven Boys fascinating and wanting to spend time with them. I felt a little bad for Adam too because everyone knows Blue is going to end up with Gansey, but it feels like Blue is wasting time with Adam. I just wish Maggie didn't try to put Blue in a relationship with any of the guys since it feels pointless to me. When I first read The Raven Boys, I used to like Rowan and Adam, but I didn't even really care for them during this re-read. Plenty of people find their attitudes endearing. I do not.
Like I said, the story is interesting. I loved seeing Blue interact with her family. They were the best characters. We got to see a bit of how they draw the line between being psychics and being witches. We also get to see how members of Blue's family intersect with Gansey and his quest. I wish that Maggie had spent more time discussing how easy this quest is for people with money and privilege. Other than little side remarks from Blue or Adam, those discussions don't really seem to happen. That was part of my problem with Gansey and Rowan, in particular.
Annoying characters, but interesting premise.
4 howls
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