Skip to main content

"The Raven Boys"

By


I saw this book all over book social media and wondered if it was good as everyone was saying. It seemed like a stereotypical contemporary young adult fantasy novel. I kind of did not want to read it and waste my time on something I had read before in the myriad of other novels that fall under the same genre.

Oh, I was very wrong. I fell in love with this book partially because it was like nothing that I had expected. It began slow and a bit sluggish at moments. There were facts and moments I didn't understand and it all seemed to be a bit surreal. I was uncomfortable with the erratic pacing of the book and wondered if I should just stop.

If you feel this way, I encourage you to do what I did and not stop.

IT is a lot less fantasy, and more character development and deep mental exploration. The magic naturally flows in and out of the world and every piece miraculously falls into place. The characters are real. They are gritty, they keep secrets from each other, and they all think they know what is best. There is no magic to the way that they "click" because their relationships are constantly being challenged.

I must clarify, the fact that they are imperfect is never the selling point for the characters. I am sick of  what I refer to as "Madonna" moments. I will probably discuss it more in length in another post, but for now just understand it as a crass or shocking character or scene meant to titillate with no true purpose to the plot or character development. It is one of my biggest pet peeves in a novel.

This book is "Madonna" free book. On this alone I would say read it.

Each character is distinct, and at times exaggerated in personality. However, they are also constantly changing. They react to their surroundings and are molded by their experiences. There was a character I thought was annoying and I wanted him to die, but now I'm his biggest fan. There is another character who does the exact opposite. You grow closer to some characters, but then you slowly grow apart again.

It is just wonderful, full of ancient magic contrasting with a wonderfully modern setting. Please, give this book a chance. You won't regret it.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce Review

By
I am going to start off with the warning that Tamora Pierce is the writer I wish I could be which means this will not be an unbiased review. Because she is perfect and everything that comes from her is perfect. That being said, some works of hers are more perfect than others. Like this one and I will proceed to tell you why in such a manner that I expect you to have purchased the book by the end of it so I'll just leave an amazon link here: https://amzn.to/2wD9hFq Arram is the young and awkwardly brilliant main character of the book. He has stumbled his way into a series of incidents at his mage school that indicate powers that he is not completely comfortable with having and is consequently thrown in with two other prematurely successful students, Ozorne and Varice. My sister once described this book to me as Harry Potter if Malfoy had successfully befriended Harry. While amusing, this book is really so much more. I have never read a book where I have gotten to know the...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Five Star Vampire Romance? I Didn't Believe It Either

By
If you had told me a while ago that I would be giving a vampire book five stars, I would have laughed in your face. There is a bit of a story behind how I came to read this wonderful novel and it starts with the rekindling of an old friendship. It had been years since I had seen my good friend Elliott and I was surprised to see a message from her on my Goodreads account. Of course, it was about books that I had read. We began talking and texting about our most recent reads and soon we were meeting up at our favorite local bookstores. The first time we met up, she handed me this book. I was doubtful and started to question every conversation we had in which I thought she had good taste. *Yes, I get judgmental about what books people like. I'm working on it. But, I also consider it extremely rude to not read a book received as a gift. It's like telling someone that you don't want a piece of their soul because you don't like the color of their shoes. I'm...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rage Against "The Sweet Girl"

By
Okay, I am not normally one to go off on a mad rant against anything, but I am completely horrified by the book Sweet Girl  by Annabel Lyon. I was browsing through the clearance section of my University's bookstore when I found it. The cover is beautiful and the main character is the daughter of Aristotle and the summary promised the beautiful tale of a young girl challenging gender roles. I love Aristotle, I love Greek history, and I love a book with a strong female lead and so I snatched it up for a what seemed like a bargain at the time. I will say, with the exception of a slightly forced voice and the use of the word "daddy" a few too many times, I enjoyed the beginning of the book. It was simple, it was a little complex with her scholarly and femine side at war with one another, and it seemed light. About a third of the way through the book the author began forcing everything. The book became edgy where it had no right to be edgy, there was no cohesion between ac...
Post a Comment
Read more