Title: The Raven Cycle: The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, The Raven KingAuthor: Maggie StiefvaterRating: ★★★★★ ★
Review
Okay, so, I know The Raven King isn't out yet which means I can't review it but I've just finished reading Blue Lily, Lily Blue and I want to review that, as well as the first two in the series. Since I read them a while ago, I thought I'd do a review of the series as a whole rather than the individual books. So, here goes.
I didn't actually come across this series until my friend read it and adored it (this is the Peter Pan friend I keep referring to). She then went on and on, telling me I had to read it. I read the blurb and wasn't sure it'd be my thing. My friend and I have a pretty good relationship about reading. A lot of the time we read and love the books we recommend to one another but we're just as happy to read a book and disagree about it, or even not read a book recommended y the other. And, like I said, I wasn't going for it, but she seemed so enthusiastic and passionate about it that I guess I was curious. So, I borrowed it, and I am SO GLAD I did.
I'm not a huge fan of fantasy, but this is a kind of fantasy I hadn't read before. The magic of this series is different from the usual. It's mysterious and quiet, the stuff of myths and legends. I'm also not a particular believer of fortune tellers, psychics, people who can see the future, but that element of this series is intriguing and ties so well with the magic aspects. I think that the psychic theme, something that is real (whether you believe in it or not) and present in our own world, grounds the more magical and fantastical elements – the dream thievery for example.
The plots of this series are incredibly well-woven. The main plot, that of finding Glendower, comes in and out of focus, but I never forget that that's the ultimate goal. I love that I get to read about every character in each book, as most have a chapter that focusses on them and their own story, which, eventually, comes to tie in to the larger plot. In Blue Lily, Lily Blue, for example, there's chapters that take the focus away from the raven boys, and put it onto Greenmantle and Piper. I can't imagine the planning that went into this series and am in awe of the cleverness and scale of it.
I have two favourite things about this series. One is as a writer, the other as a reader. As the former, I'm amazed by Maggie's ability to make every sentence count. When I'm writing for uni, I have word counts to stick to, and when my deadline comes around and I'm over the word count, I have to start cutting. Sometimes, I have to be ruthless. I have to think about every sentence, every word, to make sure that they all mean something. Reading these books, I think that Maggie manages that in an incredible way. Not only does every sentence carry purpose, every sentence seems to mean something MORE than just what it says. She uses language in a beautiful way and I can only hope to write in the same way someday. Hence, the gold star.
In terms of the latter, I am IN LOVE with the raven boys (and Blue, of course). Each one is so different and distinct; there are no blurred edges to these characters. They are fully defined, complex, their own flaws, ideas, hopes and fears. They're all given space to interact with each other separately, in couples, or groups of three, as well as altogether. I love that they have all developed friendships that exclude Gansey. To begin with he was the common denominator, and while it will always be him that brought them together, they now have personal relationships with one another. I don't think I could possibly pick a favourite relationship. As soon as I think I know which one it would be, there's another moment with another pair and I change my mind.
Favourite Quote
On that note, I'm going to finish with my favourite quote from Blue Lily, Lily Blue.
'"You can just be friends with people you know," Orla said. "I think it's crazy how you're in love with all those raven boys."
Orla wasn't wrong, of course. But what she didn't realise about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another, analysing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another. Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn't all-encompassing, that wasn't blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she'd had this kind, she didn't want the other.'
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