(CONTAINS SPOILERS)
My first read through of these novels was years ago, but they've stayed in my heart the whole time. I often found myself thinking back on them and realizing that what I remembered most was the feeling they gave me, rather than their contents. So, obviously, I decided it was time for a re-read. I spent the end of September 2019 all the way to now, mid November 2019, reading on my work commute, late nights when I couldn't fall sleep, and any other small chance I got. In this post I'll be providing a small review/summary of each book accompanied by my favorite quotes from each of them!
THE RAVEN BOYS (Book 1)
It's incredible reading anything for the second or third time because you realize how many things you missed in the first read-- that fact has never been more evident than in my re-readings of this series. Authors always astound me when they have meticulously planned material, and Maggie Stiefvater has proven she's a pro. I'm the kind of reader (don't judge!) who will read ahead a bit if I'm feeling bored by what's currently happening. I only move forward until I find something that really peaks my interest, then I immediately go back to my original spot with far more motivation to keep reading. All throughout The Raven Boys, Stiefvater does that work FOR me-- she is constantly providing little snippets of moments to come; Blue and Gansey in the pig, Gansey's final moments, etc.-- so that my interests are always peaked.
Characters are introduced so flawlessly that you immediately know exactly who they are, without being basic archetypes; Ronan Lynch, a complete asshole and somehow everyone's favorite (myself included), Adam Parrish, a polite, hard working teen with a multitude of unresolved feelings, Noah Czerny, a "smudgy" but sweet soul, Richard Campbell Gansey III, a brilliant and charming young man with magic all around him, and Blue Sargent, our quirky and sensible resident non-psychic. After a rocky meeting, these five come together to search for the body of Welsh king, Owain Glyndwr (Owen Glendower). Along the way they discover an entire magical forest (called Cabeswater) that holds the secrets of time; a circle, rather than a straight line. To wake the ley line--the energy line keeping said magical forest alive-- one must make a sacrifice. In a crazy clash of four teenagers with no clue what they're doing, one psychic who only cares about fame, and one teacher who has nothing left to lose, Adam Parrish makes a bargain with Cabeswater. "I will be your hands. I will be your eyes."
This novel is a perfect example of what the first book in a series should be-- we are given a solid understanding of the world we live in, but not so much information that we can no longer be surprised. The characters are built the same way-- immense depth that we only scrape the surface of. We discover enough about our location and protagonists to keep us interested and invested, but we still have a lot to learn about all of them individually.
The most beautiful thing about The Raven Boys is the existence of magic in our own modern world. We do not have to travel to distant lands, fast forward hundreds of years, survive nuclear war, or perform any of the classic tropes usually involved with discoveries of magic. It is alive and under our noses in Henrietta, Virginia. The magic in this book feels like that tug in your gut when you know something is right-- it's your instincts kicking in saying yes yes yes. The best part of The Raven Boys? It's only the beginning.
MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
"Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love." (page 7)
"One, stay away from boys, because they were trouble. And two, stay away from Aglionby boys, because they were bastards." (page 15)
"She asked, 'Will you tell me your name?' He faced her and she realized with shock that he wore an Aglionby sweater. 'Gansey,' he said... 'Is that all?' she whispered. Gansey closed his eyes. 'That's all there is.'" (page 19)
"'There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve, Blue. Either you're his true love,' Neeve said, 'or you killed him.'" (page 19)
"The way Gansey saw it was this: If you had a special knack for finding things, it meant you owed the world to look." (page 26)
"'Excelsior'" (page 46)
"The fact was, by the time she got to high school, being weird and proud of it was an asset. Suddenly cool, Blue could've happily had any number of friends...But the problem with being weird was that everyone else was normal." (page 90)
"She recognized the strange happiness that came from loving something without knowing why you did, that strange happiness that was sometimes so big that it felt like sadness. It was the way she felt when she looked at the stars." (page 181)
"What happened was they drove to Harry's and parked the Camaro next to an Audi and a Lexus and Gansey ordered flavors of gelato until the table wouldn't hold any more bowls and Ronan convinced the staff to turn the overhead speakers up and Blue laughed for the first time at something Gansey said and they were loud and triumphant and kings of Henrietta, because they'd found the ley line and because it was starting, it was starting." (page 189)
"'Arbores loqui latine,' Ronan replied. 'The trees speak Latin.'" (page 198)
"'I died,' he said. 'I felt my heart stop. The hornets didn't care. They were still stinging me, even though I was dead.'" (page 219)
"'You will live because of Glendower. Someone else on the ley line is dying when they should not, and so you will live when you should not.'" (page 219)
"'Gansey's partying with his mother,' Ronan said. He smelled like beer. 'And Noah's fucking dead. But Parrish is here.'" (page 240)
"Whelk pointed the pistol at Gansey. Blue shouted, 'Stop!' There was no time. Adam threw himself into the middle of the pentagram." (page 320)
"'I guess now would be a good time to tell you,' he said. 'I took Chainsaw out of my dreams.'" (page 332)
THE DREAM THIEVES (Book 2)
I had originally believed that this was my least favorite book of the series, but now I know that I had only thought that because I didn't truly understand the creature that is Ronan Lynch until I finished all of the books. Going back now and seeing his actions with a new understanding of what he cares about and what motivates him, this book shines in a new light. We follow many characters in The Dream Thieves, but it is without a doubt, all about Ronan.
We expect, after waking the ley line in The Raven Boys, that this sequel will be chalk full of even more magical adventures. But if you've ever read a romance novel, you'd know that there are ALWAYS relationship problems in the second book. In this series, the romance is between our favorite characters and their beloved magical forest, Cabeswater. Ronan struggles with his ability, his dreams having more control over him than he has over them. Adam's bargain is called upon, putting a further strain on his sanity and relationships, pushing him closer and closer to rock bottom. Blue and Gansey find something flourishing between them when they both know it will never be allowed to happen.
Since Cabeswater is out of commission, our focus closes in on Ronan's family and his father's secrets. A world of magical artifact trading opens up before us, bringing hit men to our front doors. Mr. Grey, potentially one of the most badass characters I've ever encountered, comes to Henrietta in search of the Greywaren-- an artifact that can pull objects out of dreams... If you read all of my favorite quotes from The Raven Boys, taking things out of dreams sounds a bit familiar, yes? To make matters even more complicated, Ronan Lynch is not the only person with this ability.
This sequel is unique, thoughtful, well planned, action-packed, and everything you could ever dream. In all honesty, this was not at all what I had expected from this series. I remember being confused about this book because I had originally expected everything to be all about Blue and Gansey, so this novel focusing on Ronan felt very... off course, I suppose. Looking back now, I completely understand why The Dream Thieves is the way it is; every single moment in this series is a different puzzle piece that must be thoroughly examined before it can be put into the finished project. Ronan's story contains more than a handful of those pieces, and therefore the focus is on him. To have a solid understanding of Cabeswater, the magical artifact trading business, problems with the energy line, etc., you have to have a solid understanding of Ronan Lynch (which is easier said than done).
MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
"In that moment, Blue was a little in love with all of them. Their magic. Their quest. Their awfulness and strangeness. Her raven boys." (page 15)
"If you never saw the stars, candles were enough." (page 56)
"Then there was the awkward moment that arrives when two thirds of the people in the room know that the other third is supposed to die in fewer than nine months, and the person who is meant to die is not one of the ones in the know." (page 92)
"'Do you think you're a train wreck?' 'That would mean I was on the tracks to start with,' he replied." (page 95)
"'While I'm gone,' Gansey said, pausing, 'dream me the world. Something new for every night.'" (page 190)
"The appetizers were delicious, not because of the kitchen, but because all food eaten in anticipation of a kiss is delicious." (page 192)
"You really didn't see the sadness or the longing unless you already knew it was there. But that was the trick, wasn't it? Everyone had their disappointment and their baggage; only, some people carried it in their inside pockets and not on their backs. And here was the other trick: Maura was not faking her happiness. She was both very happy and very sad." (page 193)
"The Raven King, make way for the Raven King." (page 227)
"It was a sort of ferocious, quiet beauty, the sort that wouldn't let you admire it. The sort of beauty that just always hurt." (page 316)
"Gansey sighed, small and quiet and ragged, like he hadn't meant to let it escape. She shifted her gaze from the window to the side of his head, watching him watch instead. He pressed his thumb against his lower lip-- this was Gansey, that gesture-- and then he swallowed. It was, she thought, just as she felt when she looked at the stars, when she walked in Cabeswater." (page 316)
"'I wish you could be kissed, Jane,' he said. 'Because I would beg just one off you. Under all this.' He flailed an arm toward the stars. 'And then we'd never say anything about it again.'" (page 318)
"How terrible it would be, Blue thought, her mind on Adam again, to not have a mother who loved you?" (page 323)
"There was that heavy silence that sometimes happens when a hit man enters a room." (page 330)
"Like a heart, the ley line jerked and spasmed to life. Cabeswater was alive. 'Now!' Adam shouted. 'Ronan, now!' The night horror hissed a scream. 'It's only you,' whispered Orphan Girl. She was holding his hand, crouched down next to him. 'Why do you hate you?' Ronan thought about it. The albino night horror swept in, talons opening. Ronan stood up, stretching out his arm like he would to Chainsaw. 'I don't,' he said. And he woke up." (page 361)
"'Who did this? Where is Mom?' Blue demanded. Calla wordlessly handed her a note. They all read it over Blue's shoulder. In a hasty, water-stained scrawl, it said, Glendower is underground. So am I." (page 377)
BLUE LILY, LILY BLUE (Book 3)
Ever growing, changing and morphing, we finally come across bad magic in the third installment in the series. "Bad" might be the wrong word; worrisome, alarming, or perhaps even disturbing might be more accurate. We've seen the beautiful, impossible side of Cabeswater-- trees that speak latin, pools that fill themselves with fish from a single thought, a small toy plane flying with no engine. This new magic and a few uninvited guests in Henrietta change the tone that Stiefvater has set for the previous installments-- we see corruption blossoming in a world that seemed to always be on the side of our foursome.
Despite the incoming gloom we can all sense as we move forward, it is also clear that everyone is coming closer to what they want. Blue and Gansey steal moments together, Ronan and Adam steal glances, and all four of our heroes find themselves closer than ever to finding Glendower. But oh, instead of Glendower, what do we find? FOUR OTHER SLEEPERS???? WILD!! Because of this, the sense of urgency really picks up as we move closer and closer to springtime with no sign of Glendower or the favor he will supposedly grant his finders.
(Kind of a side note?: It would be a shame to go through this whole review/summary thing without mentioning Piper Greenmantle-- the ONLY hardcore Greenmantle in this novel. As with many of Stiefvater's characters, it's impossible not to have a very strong love-hate relationship with Piper. She's a modern day woman breaking down barriers, but she may also be waking up a demon with plans to unmake the world. You win some, you lose some.)
The end of this book contains one of my favorite adventurous moments in the whole series; our heroes entering a magical cave filled with living bones, mirror lakes, and three sleepers, one to wake, one to keep asleep (and the third is a maybe). As finding her mother is Blue's journey, she is the only one able to make it to the end and find both her mother and her mysterious father waiting. Blue being forced to go alone felt very charged to me. One of those moments where you just feel like, oh yes, of course, it couldn't have gone any other way. I love seeing the characters exploring what makes them special-- yes, we have Ronan with his dreamer powers, yes, we have Adam with his Cabeswater connection and now Gansey as well with his commanding voice-- but now we also have Blue Sargent the Mirror, able to cross nightmare-ish lakes or stand between two reflections, unharmed. I loved that she got this moment and that it was hers alone.
Making the third book all about underground sleepers was the biggest psych-out of the century, considering our quest has always been to find one very specific underground sleeper. This whole book feels like someone nudging you closer to the edge of a cliff and you think you know what's at the bottom, but then at the last minute it's actually a huge pile of pillows and you're confused but not upset, but then OH NO, the pillows are filled with spikes! Does that get my point across? I guess you just have to read it to understand.
MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
"'Maybe I dreamt you,' he said. 'Thanks for the straight teeth, then,' Adam replied." (page 14)
"Blue touched his fingertips. Just this-- He pinched her fingers lightly, just for a moment, and then he withdrew his hand and put it back on the wheel. His chest felt warm. This was not allowed. Ronan had not seen; Adam was still sleeping. The only casualty was his pulse." (page 31)
"The stars moved slowly above her, an array of possibilities, and for the first time in a long time, she felt them mirrored in her heart." (page 60)
"'I hear if you want magic done,' he said, 'you ask a magician.'" (page 133)
"There was nothing inherently guilty about the moment except that Gansey burned with guilt and thrill and desire and the nebulous feeling of being truly known. It was on the inside of him, and the inside was all Noah ever really paid attention to." (page 135)
"'Blue,' he said. She was so relieved. But then he added, 'Lily.' 'Noah--' 'Lily. Blue.'" (page 145)
"'Why didn't you say you could see him?' 'I DIDN'T SAY I COULD SEE YOU, EITHER.' 'But I'm not dead,' Blue pointed out. 'BUT YOU ARE PRETTY SHORT.'" (page 147)
"'Stop it, Lynch,' Adam said. He was right at the back of the line; Ronan was right in front of him. 'Stop what?'...'Singing,' Adam said. 'I'm not doing anything.' Adam had his fingers pressed against one of his ears. 'I know now-- I know it's not you.' 'You think?' 'No,' Adam said, voice thin. 'I know it's not you because I'm hearing it in my deaf ear.' A little chill scurried across Gansey's skin." (page 166)
"Calla walked right up to the woman, who gazed around the kitchen with something between bewilderment and regal insanity. 'What's your name?' 'My name is that of all women,' the woman replied. 'Sorrow.' One of Calla's eyebrows momentarily considered punching the woman." (page 180)
"The scent of Cabeswater, all trees after rain, drifted past Adam, and he realized that while he had been looking at Ronan, Ronan had been looking at him." (page 194)
"Blue Sargent was afraid. There are many good words for the opposite of afraid. Unafraid, fearless, unfrightened. Some might suggest courageous or brave as opposites. But Blue Sargent was brave because she was afraid." (page 271)
"Adam understood, then, that Gansey and Blue's awe changed this place. Ronan and Adam may have seen this place as magical, but Gansey and Blue's wonder made it holy. It became a cathedral of bones." (page 277)
"Blue knew she was going the right way, because she began to feel the subtle tug of the third sleeper. It was like Adam had said-- it was a voice in your head that sounded a lot like yours if you weren't paying attention. But Blue was paying attention." (page 287)
"The sleeper wasn't human. Piper wasn't sure why she'd expected it would be. Instead, it was small, and black, and shiny, with more legs than she'd expected. It was powerful. Neeve said, 'We have to do it at the same time to get the fa--' Piper reached out and touched it before Neeve could move. 'Wake up.'" (page 304)
THE RAVEN KING (Book 4)
I used to consider myself the kind of person who needs a fast paced book with constant crazy moments to keep my attention. Stiefvater has proven to me with this series, as well as with another of her novels, The Scorpio Races, that slow burn is THE way to go. You have to work up to the drama or it means nothing. In this final novel, everything that has been growing, budding throughout the series comes to a full bloom. All of the puzzle pieces connect, kings are discovered, and lives are lost.
With a beautifully ironic twist, our characters have never been more genuine, happy versions of themselves. Blue and Gansey can finally tell the others that they have feelings for each other, Adam has come to understand his powers and is no longer at war with himself, and Ronan is finally able to admit his feelings to Adam, even finding that Adam reciprocates them. We also officially add Henry Cheng to the mix; a witty, talkative Aglionby student who is just as mixed up in the world of magic as our heroes. It seems that as the characters mature and grow, Cabeswater decays and dies.
While discussing Blue Lily, Lily Blue, I said that we were beginning to see the bad side of magic-- well that bad side comes to a full crescendo in this book. The horrors that Stiefvater brings to life, or I guess I should say, the horrors that she unmakes are upsetting, to say the least. Potentially one of the worst things she does to us is telling us exactly how the book will end IN THE FIRST NOVEL. We all know Gansey will die. We've seen him on the corpse road, we know Blue is supposed to kill her true love, we've even already seen the moment it happens. What's so awful (in a good way) about the way Maggie Stiefvater writes these books is that she spoils everything for you from the start and the dread that has been building up in the back of your mind throughout the whole series just makes those moments so much worse when they come to fruition.
I've said it a million times and I will continue to say it-- this book is my favorite in the series and currently my favorite novel in general. Ironically, I find it hard to review. The way I feel about this book can only be conveyed with feelings, not words. The magic, the love, the something more-ness of it. It was everything I had hoped it would be, and I'm so glad I found it.
MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
"He was a king. This was the year he was going to die." (page 9)
"The kitchen window groaned open, and Jimi shouted out, 'Blue! Your boys are out front, looking like they're fixing to bury a body.' Again? Blue thought." (page 42)
"They approached in the way of things in a dream, too. Were they walking? Gansey couldn't remember, even though he was watching it happen. They were getting closer. That was all he knew. Their hands were up by either side of their faces; their palms were red. 'Make way,' they said together. Ronan's eyes darted to Gansey. 'Make way for the Raven King,' they said together." (page 62)
"'It's not always running away... to leave.'" (page 68)
"'But the difference between a nice house and a nice prison is really small. We chose Fox Way. We made it, Calla and Persephone and I. But it's only your origin story, not your final destination.'" (page 68)
"'Trees in your eyes,' Calla added, more gently than usual. 'Stars in your heart.'" (page 69)
"His feelings for Adam were an oil spill; he'd let them overflow and now there wasn't a damn place in the ocean that wouldn't catch fire if he dropped a match." (page 117)
"Ronan held out his hand; Adam took it. Ronan hauled him up, his mind all palm against palm, thumb crossed over thumb, fingers pressed into wrist bone-- and then Adam was facing him and he released his hand. The ocean burned." (page 118)
"It was this: Gansey saying, 'I like you an awful lot, Blue Sargent.'" (page 130)
"'Something more.'" (page 177)
"Gansey looked at him sharply. Somewhere along the way, during this hunt for Glendower, he'd forgotten to notice how much magic there was in the world. How much magic that wasn't just buried in a tomb. He was feeling it now." (page 177)
"'You working after school?' 'With a dreamer.' He held Ronan's gaze over his locker door. School had improved." (page 179)
"Adam smiled cheerily. Ronan would start wars and burn cities for that true smile, elastic and amiable." (page 180)
"'Why do we breathe air? Because we love air? Because we don't want to suffocate. Why do we eat? Because we don't want to starve. How do I know I love her? Because I can sleep after I talk to her. Why?'" (page 214)
"When Adam kissed him, it was every mile per hour Ronan had ever gone over the speed limit. It was every window-down, goose-bumps-on-skin, teeth-chattering-cold night drive." (page 230)
"'Unguibus et rostro,' Adam said." (page 230)
"'Tell me,' Artemus whispered, 'when you dream, do you dream of the stars?'" (page 266)
"'I stopped asking how. I just did it. The head is too wise. The heart is all fire.'" (page 273)
"He couldn't see anything but the birds, every shape and color. His heart was a winged thing itself." (page276)
"If you can't be unafraid, Henry said, be afraid and happy." (page 276)
"Ronan addressed the steering wheel. 'I'm aware of how dreaming works, Parrish.' He did not say I can't stand the idea of finding Gansey's body, too. He did not say If I can't save my old family, I can save my new one. He did not say I will not let the demon have everything." (page 279)
"He was a book, and he was holding his final pages, and he wanted to get to the end to find out how it went, and he didn't want it to be over." (page 299)
"The choice was death or hurting Adam, which wasn't much of a choice at all." (page 316)
"Adam finally lifted his head. 'Then you better cover my eyes.' Gansey looked puzzled. 'What?' 'Because,' Adam said bitterly, 'otherwise they'll betray you.'" (page 318)
"'The road is flooded,' Blue said. 'It looks like blood, though. And there's something floating in it. What is that, Gansey? Is it... petals? Blue petals?'" (page 327)
"You will be one of those gods without magic powers. What are they called? 'I don't think there is a word.' King. Probably." (page 331)
"The demon kept pulling him unconscious, and in those short bursts of blackness, the dreamer snatched at light, and when he swam back to consciousness, he trust the dream into reality. He shaped them into flapping creatures and earthbound stars and flaming crowns and golden notes that sang by themselves and mint leaves scattered across the blood-streaked pavement and scraps of paper with jagged handwriting on them: Unguibus et rostro." (page 333)
"Blue said, 'I hate this.' It was right, though. Gansey felt the feeling of time slipping-- one last time. The sense of having done this before. He gently laid the backs of his hands on her cheeks. He whispered, 'It'll be okay, I'm ready. Blue, kiss me.'" (page 337)
"He fell quietly from her arms. He was a king." (page 337)
"The problem with being dead was that your stories stopped being lines and started being circles. They started to begin and end in the same moment: the moment of dying." (page 338)
"Blue Sargent had forgotten how many times she'd been told that she would kill her true love." (page 340)
"Then, holding these things in his head, he climbed up onto the roof and gazed up at the sky. Then he closed his eyes and he began to dream." (page 355)
If you couldn't tell, it really hurt my heart to pick and choose only a few quotes (yes, I said a few) when in reality the entire novels are my favorite quotes... I don't just read these books and think "oh yeah, those are good books!" I feel them in my bones, they're in the back of my mind at all times, they make me feel like something is starting for me too, if only I look hard enough. I've found pieces of myself in each character, and maybe that's why they mean so much to me. I am so sick of people saying that they don't like books. If I leave you with nothing else from this post, I just want to say that I wholeheartedly believe that there are books out there for every one of us, we just have to find them.
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