The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

4.5/5 Stars ★★★★☆

Published by Scholastic Press

Published September 18th, 2012

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 watching 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.

After spending multiple years on Twitter hearing about the wonders of The Raven Boys, I've finally decided to wish and wish for Santa to bring me the first three books and Santa did indeed. As soon as I picked up this book, I was hooked - it was impossible to put down and even more impossible to quit thinking about every aspect about this book. Maggie Stiefvater has a writing style that is quirky and easy to fall into; dragging you into the pits of everything wonderful and terrible all at once in hopes of you ever returning to the surface. This was such a brilliant story with a great plot and dynamic characters that made the journey all the more worthwhile.

From the synopsis alone, you already know you're gonna fall in love with these characters only to be torn apart from them and driven mad by the unbearable consequences of their actions. It's the unescapable and the inevitable. However, when you aren't too busy worrying over the well being of the characters in this book, you're falling in love with their individuality, their teamwork, and their pursuit of something greater than them. It's mystical and magical and everything you could hope for in a novel. You're taken on a journey and swept off of your feet by the Raven Boys of Aglionby, and it feels quite literally like you're on the adventure with them. 

There are entirely too many things that I could say about how much I love each character individually, but you've just gotta trust my instinct on this one. They all compliment each other exceptionally well and create, though sometimes dysfunctional, a chemistry that reminds me a bit of the heist crew from Six of Crows. When they're together and aren't being snarky teenagers with wise remarks, they're solving the improbable. Another thing that I really enjoyed was how relatable these characters were. They are all just teenagers in high school going through the same things most of us are experiencing, and that just makes this story that much more personal. 

My love for this series runs incredibly deep. By the time this review is up I'll have just started Blue Lily, Lily Blue, the third book in The Raven Cycle. I can sneakily tell you right now that the sequel is even better than the first book. Stiefvater will lure you in with her words, her characters, and her world. I recommend this to anyone and everyone who loves adventure, teenage angst (give or take), and psychics, lots and lots of psychics.